Chapter 3. The determinate
Prev |  | Next

# Chapter 3. The determinate

Answer: indeterminate and determinate (either order)

First let's take up the determinate imperfective. The most common determinate verb is идти "to go on foot". As you can see on the card, идти, along with all imperfective verbs, has a present tense, a past tense, an imperative, and an infinitive. You can also form a future tense with the present tense forms of the verb быть "to be" plus the infinitive form.

One note of caution. If you are going to rely on that card, you will probably be making a mistake. There are about twenty prefixes that can be added to these verbs to form new verbs — approximately 100 verbs, and all are in common use! It wouldn't hurt to write them out for practice right now.

Now that you know the forms of the imperfective determinate verb идти let us see how to use it. Since a determinate verb is a subcategory of an imperfective verb, we shall start with our definition of an imperfective verb.

What are the three meanings of an imperfective verb?

1. ________________________________

2. ________________________________

3. ________________________________

Answer:

1. progressive action

2. repeated action

3. naming the action

The determinate verb describes a motion in progress at a given time — a progressive motion. The determinate roughly correlates with the English progressive tenses.

I am going to the movies. | A motion in progress in the present tense.
He was going home. | A motion in progress in the past tense.

NOT:

I go to school. | A repeated (habitual) action.
They went home every day. | A repeated (habitual) action.
The baby walks now. | Naming the motion (action) without reference to time.

The determinate imperfective verb roughly corresponds to the English progressive forms. Which of the following sentences in English would be translated into Russian using the verb идти

DEFINITION: A determinate verb describes an action in progress at a given (specific) moment in time.

Mary goes to church. (page )

Bobby usually comes to work late. (page )

Here comes Harry! (page )

Your Answer: Here comes Harry!

Correct. "Here comes Harry" is an action in progress at a specific moment in time. In English we do not always use the progressive form "is coming" to express a progressive action.

Turn to page .

Your Answer: Mary goes to church.

That's not it. "Mary goes to church" is a repeated action. Doesn't the English imply that she goes to church regularly (or at least occasionally)? To express the idea of an action in progress at a specific moment we would have to change this sentence to:

Mary is going to church (right this moment).

Return to page and select the correct answer.

Your Answer: Bobby usually comes to work late.

Very unlikely. The adverb "usually" implies something that takes place repeatedly. To express the idea of an action in progress at a specific moment in time we would have to change the sentence to read:

Bobby is coming to work late (today).

Return to page 16 and select the correct answer.

Whenever determinate verbs of motion are discussed, the notion of a definite direction is brought up. A favorite textbook definition is: "Determinate verbs of motion describe an action in progress at a given time in a definite direction.

- I am going to the movies.

- He is coming home.

- Olga is coming into the room.

Although direction is sometimes a handy way of looking at determinate verbs, it can cause some con-fusion. The phrases "to the movies", "home", and "into the room" really say more about destination than direction. The point is this: if you can see (visualize in your mind's eye) a motion in progress, then whoever or whatever is moving at any given moment can only be moving In one direction. This is self-evident. A better way to look at determinate motion is to visualize a simple progressive motion along a line. This line is not necessarily straight. Turn to the next page and consider the drawings of determinate motion.

All of the motions below can be expressed by the determinate verb of motion.

All of the above motions can be expressed by the determinate verb of motion.

Ольга шла мимо дома. | Olga was walking past the house.

Using the definition "motion in progress along a line at a specific moment", are you able to visualize in your mind's eye Olga's walking along a line (in the past)? It is a concrete image. A simple act of motion progressing along a line at the moment you visualize it. In this case, I saw in my mind's eye Olga walking in a fairly straight line on a sidewalk running past a house. In this sentence I don't know her destination, but I do visualize her moving in some direction. Here are two sentences with a determinate verb expressing a progressive motion along a line at a specific moment in time.

Which sentence has the more crooked line of motion?

- Иван идёт туда в кино. Ivan is going there to the movies.

- Собака идёт зигзагами к дому. The dog zigzagged toward the house.

Answer. Your choice . It all depends on how you visualize it. A determinate verb expresses the action along a line irrespective of how intricate the line is.

Did you notice the adverb туда "there" in the sentence Иван идёт туда в кино? Until now you have always used там in Russian for the concept "there". Russian has two adverbs for the concept of "where", "there", and "here". These adverbs have specific uses in Russian, and they are not interchangeable.

The adverb где "where" (you already know this one)refers only to location — where someone or something is located. The adverb куда "where" is used when motion is involved. Куда really means "whereto". In English we now generally use the adverb where, to mean both location and motion-to. Not too long ago we had the same opposition in English as the Russians have. The adverb whither was used with motion-to, and where referred only to location. You are familiar with words of Ruth: "Whither thou goest, I shall go ...." Notice the difference in the following sentences.

Где Иван? | Куда идёт Иван?
Where is Ivan? | Where is Ivan going?

Go to the next page.

Can you fill In the "blanks below?

где | = | where | куда | = | where (whither)
здесь | = | here | сюда | = | _____( _____)
там | = | there | туда | = | _____(_____ )

Answer:

- куда = where (whither)

- сюда = here (hither)

- туда = there (thither)

The adverbs где, здесь, and там are used for location; and куда, сюда, and туда are used with verbs expressing motion.

Choose the correct form.

1. Иван, (куда/где) ты идёшь? Ivan, where are you going?

2. Ольга, (куда/где) ты работаешь? Olga, where do you work?

3. Вы тоже шли (туда/там)? Were you going there also?

4. Он живёт (сюда/здесь). He lives here.

5. Она была (сюда/здесь) в комнате. She was here in the room.

Answer:

1. куда

2. где

3. туда

4. здесь

5. здесь

Now, will you write a definition of determinate verb?

Answer: Determinate verbs express a simple progressive motion along a line at a given (specific) moment in time. (It is not necessary to have the same words as mine.)

Does this motion have to visualized as a straight line?

Answer: NO.

Is a stated direction necessary for determinate verbs? __________

Answer: NO.

Many Russian sentences can be generated without a stated direction. For example:

Поезд идет быстро. | The train is going fast.
Вор идёт! | A thief is coming!

Fill in the blanks with the correct adverb ( куда, где, туда, там, сюда, or здесь ).

1. _____ твоя мама живёт? Where does your mother live?

2. Я иду _____ . I am going there.

3. Ольга шла _____. Olga was coming here,

4. _____ автомобиль? Where is the car?

5. Пётр стоял _____ Peter was standing there.

Answer: 1.

1. Где

2. туда

3. сюда

4. Где

5. там

This completes the section on determinate verbs of motion using the verb идти.

Turn the page when you are ready to start the next section on the indeterminate verbs.

Prev |  | Next
Chapter 2. Verbs of motion | Home | Chapter 4. The indeterminate verbs of motion