| First post is here. I wrote an introductory post relating to this topic. |
In Russian there is no one basic verb to express to go. This is a very complex part of grammar, because Russians like to be very specific when they talk about movement.
Given that this is our first real post of verbs of motion, we’re going to start out really slow so we can fully understand this concept in Russian.
Probably the very first verb of motion you learn is the verb идти. This is an extremely common verb in Russian, making it extremely useful to know. This verb means to go, however, on foot and in one direction [from point A to point B]. This means that it can also be translated as to walk, but in one direction [from point A to point B].
| идти ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯) |
| This is a unidirectional [motion in one direction] verb, which means that it’s from point A to point B. The speaker is going directly to a place in that one direction. |
Let’s take a look at the conjugation:
| идти [to go] |
| иду | идём |
| идёшь | идёте |
| идёт | идут |
Let’s now look at a key construction with this verb.
| –Куда ты сейчас идёшь? -Where are you going now? –Сейчас я иду к другу. -Now, I’m going to a friend’s place. |
Point B [destination] is being inquired and then mentioned in the response.
Additional examples:
| Мы с бабушкой идём на рынок. Grandma and I are walking to the market. |
| Сегодня они идут на оперу. Today they’re going to an opera. |
| Студент идёт на лекцию. The student is going to the lecture. |
| Мама идёт в банк, а потом в супермаркет. Mom’s going to the bank and then to the supermarket. |
Don’t forget! The verb идти carries the meaning of not only to go, but also to walk. You can also use пешком [on foot] to stress it, but it’s not always necessary.
Imagine we’re walking home [point B] from the park [point A].
| –Почему ты так медленно идёшь? -Where are you walking so slowly? –Потому что у меня болят ноги. -Because my feet hurt. |
| Лена и Вера идут пешком на вечеринку Вики. Lena and Vera are going on foot to Vika’s party. |
To recap, let’s observe the following:
| 1. идти [to go] is a unidirectional verb – from point A to point B. 2. идти can also mean to walk in certain contexts. |
We’re taking things very slowly and repeating a lot of key concepts in order to lessen the complexity of this topic.
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