perfect tense

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Sentinel76 Astrakhan wrote:

> To me "вчера вечером я устал" sounds completely unnatural. The
> proper way is "Вчера вечером я был усталым" or, colloquially, "вчера
> вечером я был усталый".

I took the past perfective to denote a change in state (from fresh to 
tired): "I became tired." This transition was complete at the stated 
time. No?

The options you offer clearly denote an ongoing (imperfective) state of 
affairs, not the same thing.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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