Quick answer
Drop -ть and add -л: чита́ть → чита́л. Then agree with the subject’s gender: -л (m.), -ла (f.), -ло (n.), -ли (pl.). The person does not matter at all.
The four forms
| Subject | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| он, я (man), ты (man) | -л | чита́л |
| она́, я (woman) | -ла | чита́ла |
| оно́ | -ло | чита́ло |
| мы, вы, они́ | -ли | чита́ли |
That is the whole system: the past agrees with gender and number, never with person.
In use
Вчера́ я чита́л кни́гу.Yesterday I read a book. — said by a man
Вчера́ я чита́ла кни́гу.Yesterday I read a book. — said by a woman
Мы бы́ли до́ма.We were at home.
Она́ не зна́ла.She didn’t know.
The irregulars worth knowing
| Verb | Past | Note |
|---|---|---|
| идти́ | шёл, шла, шли | a completely different stem |
| мочь | мог, могла́, могли́ | no -л in the masculine |
| быть | был, была́, бы́ли | stress jumps in the feminine |
Typical mistakes
Я чита́ла — said by a man
Я чита́л
The ending follows the speaker’s gender, not the word я.
Мы чита́л
Мы чита́ли
Plural always takes -ли.
Check yourself
A woman says: “I was at home.”
A female speaker takes была́ — with the stress on the ending.