Полететь
The most generic perfective verb for travelling by air in Russian is полететь “to fly”:
| Perfective | |
| Infinitive | полететь |
| Past | полетел полетела полетело полетели |
| Present | No such thing as perfective present in Russian. |
| Future | полечу полетишь полетит полетим полетите полетят |
| Imperative | полети(те) |
Perfective verbs like полететь have several different uses. The nature of the perfective verb is to put focus on the result of an action, so полететь can mean “to head off somewhere by air and actually arrive there.” Thus it can be used to describe a series of flights, each one complete:
| Какая у меня была сумасшедшая неделя! В понедельник я полетел в Киев. Во вторник я полетел в Самару, и потом в четверг я полетел в Новосибирск. | What a crazy week I had! On Monday I flew to Kiev. On Tuesday I flew to Samara, and then on Thursday I flew to Novosibirsk. |
The verb can also mean “to go and arrive” on a single trip; we see it in that meaning in a headline from Guy Laliberté's recent flight into space. (He is the founder of Cirque du Soleil).
| Клоун-миллионер полетел в космос. | The millionaire-clown has flown into space. |
One last use is a colloquial one. It can also mean “I'm gone,” just as побежал and пошёл can.
| — Пашенька, не уходи! Останься ещё хоть на полчаса. — Нет, Юлeчка, я полетел. Ты же знаешь, что мама не любит, когда я опаздываю. — Господи, почему я хожу с таким маменькиным сынком, понятия не имею. |
“Pavel, don't leave! Just stay another half hour.” “No, Yuliya, I'm out of here. You know that Mama doesn't like it when I'm late.” “Lord, why I'm going out with such a Mama's boy I'll never know.” |
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