Common Russian Phrases for Cleaning Your Home

Here are some common Russian sentences showing how to describe cleaning your home in Russian in the past tense (masculine/feminine forms):

  1. Я помы́л/помы́ла зе́ркало.
    (I cleaned the mirror.)
  2. Я вы́тер/вы́терла пыль.
    (I wiped the dust.)
  3. Я поли́л/полила́ расте́ния.
    (I watered the plants.)
  4. Я подмёл/подмела́ пол.
    (I swept the floor.)
  5. Я пропылесо́сил/пропылесо́сила ковёр.
    (I vacuumed the carpet.)
  6. Я помы́л/помы́ла пол.
    (I washed the floor.)
  7. Я вы́нес/вы́несла му́сор.
    (I took out the trash.)
  8. Я прове́трил/прове́трила ко́мнату.
    (I aired the room.)

Note 1

Both expressions ‘вытира́ть пыль’ and ‘протира́ть пыль’ are correct and are often used as synonyms.

  • ‘Вытира́ть’ usually implies removing dust completely, making the surface clean.
  • ‘Протира́ть’ often sounds lighter — a quick or surface-level action.

Both are natural in everyday speech.

Note 2

Pay attention to vowel and consonant alternations in some verbs when conjugated in the present tense:

Я мо́ю зе́ркало. (I am washing the mirror.)
Я вытира́ю пыль. (I am wiping the dust.)
Я полива́ю расте́ния. (I am watering the plants.)
Я подмета́ю пол. (I am sweeping the floor.)
Я пылесо́шу ковёр. (I am vacuuming the carpet.)
Я мо́ю пол. (I am washing the floor.)
Я выношу́ му́сор. (I am taking out the rubbish.)
Я прове́триваю ко́мнату. (I am airing the room.)

When in doubt, always check a dictionary.

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Activity

For each photo, write a sentence describing the action shown, using verbs in the past tense; sentences 1—4 should be in the feminine form, and sentences 5—8 in the masculine form. Click the tick in the bottom right corner to check your answers.

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