Categories: "Motion"

Ехать

by Don  

Ехать is the determinate (unidirectional) form of the verb ездить “to go by vehicle.” Note especially the odd д that shows up in the present tense forms, as well as its curious command form.

to go
Imperfective
Infinitive ехать
Past ехал
ехала
ехало
ехали
Present еду
едешь
едет
едем
едете
едут
Future буду ехать
будешь ехать
будет ехать
будем ехать
будете ехать
будут ехать
Imperative поезжай(те)

Ехать is more specialized than ездить in that it always talks about motion in progress toward a particular place. Let's say you bump into a friend on the subway. Because you are in a vehicle, you can say:

— Куда ты едешь? “Where are you going?
— Еду в библиотеку. “I'm going to the library.”
“I'm on my way to the library.”
“I'm heading to the library.”

Although normally adverbs of frequency and phrases of frequency (like часто and каждый день) usually trigger an indeterminate verb, if the situation describes something that happens regularly on the way to a place, then you use the determinate verb ехать:

Каждое утро, когда я ехал на метро, мы с Ниной Петровной обсуждали наш любимый телесериал «Санта Барбара». Every morning, when I was going to work on the subway, Nina Petrovna and I would discuss our favorite soap opera, “Santa Barbara.”
Когда я утром еду на работу, я всегда проезжаю мимо Кремля. Every morning when I go to work, I always pass by the Kremlin.
Когда ты будешь ехать по улице Плеханова, ты увидишь справа электростанцию. When you ride down Plekahnov street, you will spot a power plant on the right.

One of the curious uses of determinate verbs is that they can be used to say how long it takes to get to a place. From the English-speaking point of view that is rather odd. After all, getting to the place implies a completed action, so we should use a perfective verb, right? But from the Russian point of view in these sentences they are indicating how long the process takes, so the imperfective works:

Я eхал от дома до работы двадцать минут. It took me twenty minutes to get to work from home.
Сколько минут будем ехать из Министерства здравоохранения до табачной фабрики? How long will it take us to get from the Ministry of Health to the cigarette factory?

Ездить

by Don  

Ездить is the most generic word in Russian that means “to go by vehicle.”

to go
Imperfective
Infinitive ездить
Past ездил
ездила
ездило
ездили
Present езжу
ездишь
ездит
ездим
ездите
ездят
Future буду ездить
будешь ездить
будет ездить
будем ездить
будете ездить
будут ездить
Imperative езди(те)

Although we often say the verb addresses motion by vehicle, it's actually broader that that. It covers travel on animals (horse, donkey, camel, etc.), bicycle or motorcycle or scooter, and by the typical wheeled conveyances like train, bus, car and truck. In addition to the “go” translations, words like “ride” and “drive” are also suitable:

Каждое утро я езжу на работу на своей машине. Every morning I drive to work.
Каждую субботу я езжу в парк на своём велосипеде. Every Saturday I ride my bike to the park.
Автобусы ездят из Тулы в Брянск два раза в день. Buses go from Tula to Bryansk twice a day.

The verb is also used to describe the driving around a locale with no set direction, e.g., driving around an area for sight-seeing, or going here and there to shop. In this meaning the verb is complemented by the preposition по with the dative case:

В воскресенье мы ездили по Москве, посещали самые знаменитые места, в том числе и Красную площадь, Воробьёвы горы, Парк им. Горького. On Sunday we drove all over Moscow visiting the most well-known spots including Red Square, Sparrow Hills, and Gorky Park.

Last but not least, the verb is used to indicate a single completed trip in the past. In this usage it implies that the person is no longer at the place mentioned.

Вчера мы ездили в Тулу. Yesterday we went to Tula (and then came back).
В августе я ездила в Загорск. Как там было красиво! In August I went to Zagorsk. It was so pretty there!

Как долго идти

by Don  

Today we'll learn about asking “How long does it take to get to such-and-such a place.” Probably the easiest way is to use the phrase «как долго» “how long” followed by a unidirectional infinitive and the prepositions от/до. (От and до are usually used to mean “from” and “to” when talking about distances or times.) Of course, you will want to change the verb depending on the mode of transport:

— Как долго идти от почты до аптеки?
— Недолго. Минут пять.
“How long does it take to walk from the post office to the pharmacy?”
“Not long. About five minutes.”
— Как долго ехать от Москвы до Петербурга?
— На скором поезде туда ехать всего восемь часов.
“How long does it take to get from Moscow to St. Petersburg?”
“On the express train it takes only eight hours.”
— Как долго плыть от Хельсинки до Стокгольма?
— На пароходе семнадцать часов.
“How long does it take to get from Helsinki to Stockholm?”
“By boat seventeen hours.”
— Как долго лететь из Москвы в Париж?
— Только три часа.
“How long does it take to get from Moscow to Paris.”
“Only three hours.”

If you want to ask about how long it will take on a particular occasion, then of course you can use either the past or future as well:

— Как долго будем ехать от Москвы до Петербурга?
— Часов восемь.
“How long will it take to get from Moscow to Petersburg?”
“About eight hours.”
— Как долго вы ехали от Москвы до Петербурга?
— Шестнадцать часов. Не было билетов на скорый поезд.
“How long did it take to get from Moscow to Petersburg?”
“Sixteen hours. There weren't any tickets for the express train.”

The phrase «сколько времени» can replace «как долго» in all those sentences and will mean the same thing.

Пойти

by Don  

The next generic verb of motion is пойти. Note especially its irregular past tense forms.

to go
Perfective
Infinitive пойти
Past пошёл
пошла
пошло
пошли
Present No such thing as
perfective present
in Russian.
Future пойду
пойдёшь
пойдёт
пойдём
пойдёте
пойдут
Imperative пойди(те)

Пойти is more specialized than ходить in that it always talks about motion in one particular direction; since it is perfective it also focuses on some result of the action:

Я пошёл в аптеку и купил аспирин. I went to the pharmacy and bought aspirin.

In that sentence, the result is that I arrived at the pharmacy and thus could make my purchase.

Пойти can also be used to describe each leg of a multileg journey:

Я пошёл в аптеку, потом я пошёл на рынок, и потом я пошёл домой. I went to the pharmacy, then I went to the market, and then I went home.

Of course you can do the same thing in the future tense:

Я пойду в аптеку, потом я пойду на рынок, и потом я пойду домой. I'll go to the pharmacy, then I'll go to the market, and then I'll go home.

Now here's something amusing... let's think about this English dialog:

“Where's Mom?”
“She went to the store.” ¹

Does the second sentence imply that Mom got to the store? No, it doesn't. Here it emphasizes absence from the point of departure while mentioning her intended destination. Likewise in Russian a perfective verb of motion can be used with meaning of “absence from point of departure”:

— Где мама?
— Она пошла в магазин.

The sentence does not say whether Mom has necessarily reached the store, just that she is no longer here.


¹ In terms of the classical description of English grammar, this sentence should be, “She has gone to the store.” For some English speakers that is still the best version of the sentence, but the English present perfect is slowly being replaced by the simple past, so “She went to the store” sounds perfectly normal for many speakers of American English.

Идти

by Don  

The next generic verb of motion is идти. Note especially its irregular past tense forms.

to go
Imperfective
Infinitive идти
Past шёл
шла
шло
шли
Present иду
идёшь
идёт
идём
идёте
идут
Future буду идти
будешь идти
будет идти
будем идти
будете идти
будут идти
Imperative иди(те)

Идти is more specialized than ходить in that it always talks about motion in progress toward a particular place. Because of that “in progress” bit, we can often translate it as “heading to” or “on the way to”:

— Куда ты идёшь? “Where are you going?
— Иду в библиотеку. “I'm going to the library.”
“I'm on my way to the library.”
“I'm heading to the library.”

Although adverbs of frequency and phrases of frequency (like часто and каждый день) usually trigger an indeterminate verb, if the situation describes something that happens regularly on the way to a place, then you use the determinate verb идти:

Каждое утро, когда я шёл мимо газетного киоска, Нина Петровна здоровалась со мной. Every morning, when I passed by the newspaper stand, Nina Petrovna said ‘hello’ to me.
Когда я иду в библиотеку, по пути я всегда покупаю мороженое у Лены. Whenеver I go to the library, I always by ice cream from Lena on the way.
Когда ты будешь идти по улице Плеханова, ты увидишь справа электростанцию. When you walk down Plekhanov street, you will spot a power plant on the right.

One of the curious uses of determinate verbs is that they can be used to say how long it takes to get to a place. From the English-speaking point of view, that is rather odd. After all, getting to the place implies a completed action, so we should use a perfective verb, right? But from the Russian point of view in these sentences they are indicating how long the process takes, so the imperfective works:

Я шёл до института двадцать минут. It took me twenty minutes to get to the institute.
Как долго будем идти от дома до почты? How long will it take us to get to the post office from home?
— Долго идти от школы до парка?
— Нет, недолго, всего минут десять.
“Does it take long to get from the school from the park?”
“No, not too long, only about ten minutes.”

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