Russian verbs of motion:

As you already know, Russian verbs exist in pairs -- imperfective and perfective. In Russian it is necessary to have at your command both verbs, the imperfective and the perfective, to express all the possibilities of a verbal idea. The imperfective and the perfective verbs are basically identical in meaning, but differ in aspect. To express the verbal idea of "writing" in English we need only one verb "to write". The Russian language has two verbs, the imperfective писать and the perfective написать. Both mean "to write".

Perfective verbs generally express the notion of completion. For example, the perfective verb написать "to write" is used in the past tense below expressing the notion of a completed action.

Imperfective verbs describe an action without reference to its completion. imperfective verbs are used when expressing a progressive action, repetition, or simply naming the action. Considering only the past tense of the imperfective verb писать "to write", you might find the following:

This opposition between imperfective and perfective verbs is superficially adequate for most verbs in most contexts.

Before we start with the "verbs of motion" translate this sentence into English.

RUSSIAN: Я написал это письмо.

ENGLISH:

Answer:

ENGLISH: I wrote this letter. (a completed action)

That was simple. The perfective verb tells you it is a completed action.

O.K.: translate this one.

RUSSIAN: Я писал маме.

ENGLISH:

Answer:

ENGLISH:

The three translations above point out the problem with imperfective verbs -- they can be interpreted in several ways. All you know when you see an imperfective verb is that the emphasis is not on a completed action.

This is an important point to know about Russian verbs: perfective verbs carry an intrinsic meaning of completion, while imperfective verbs have no intrinsic meaning. The problem with imperfective verbs is one of interpretation.

Where do you suppose you would look for hints on interpreting the meaning of an imperfective verb?

Answer: Look at the rest of the sentence or paragraph.

Looking at the rest of the sentence for clues is the normal approach. Since imperfective verbs may have several meanings (interpretations), it is necessary to know the sentence context as well as the possible meanings of the imperfective verb. From now on we shall deal with imperfective verbs only.

What are the three basic meanings of the imperfective verbs?

Answer:

Now, in the sentences below choose the best meaning for the imperfective verbs according to the context of the sentences; progressive, repeated, or naming.

Answer:

The last answer, "naming the action" occasionally gives the student some trouble. This meaning, of imperfective verbs is used to simply state the verb without reference to any quality of action or time.

Below are listed some English sentences that name the verb.

None of these verbs truly tie themselves to the notions of progression or repetition.

In Russian certain verbs have two imperfective forms. These verbs are called the "verbs of motion", because they state the basic types of motion — going on foot, going by vehicle, flying, swimming, crawling, etc.

There are only thirteen of these verbs, but they play a large role in both the spoken and written language. For our purposes, only the verbs of going, carrying, and leading are used. If you are curious, all of the verbs of motion are listed in the Appendix page in the back.

The two imperfective forms of these verbs present alternate views of going, carrying, swimming, etc. In general, a Russian needs only two verbs to express all possibilities of a verbal idea — the imperfective and the perfective.

To express a verbal idea in all possible ways for a verb of motion you need three verbs — the perfective verb and two imperfective verbs called the indeterminate and the determinate.

Now look at the card that comes with this booklet. This card is titled CONJUGATION PATTERNS OF THE VERBS OF LOCOMOTION AND CONVEYANCE. (page )

These are the five verbs used throughout this text for examples, practice exercises, and tests. You may use this card anytime you wish as a reference, "cheat sheet", or bookmark. Of course, if you going to learn Russian you will eventually have to memorize them, but in this text it is not obligatory.

There are in Russian two verb-pairs with the general meaning of "to go", "to come", or "to travel", The verbs ходить-идти mean "to go on foot", and the verbs ездить-ехать mean "to go by vehicle or some means of conveyance".

In English we use the verb "to go" much more generally than the Russians. The English sentence "I am going to town" has two counterparts in Russian.

A similar distinction is made for носить-нести "to carry on foot" and возить-везти , "to carry by vehicle, to transport".

This is a simple exercise to help you start to discriminate between "going on foot" and "going by vehicle". Place a check beside the correct response.

Answer:

Now with the aid of your card translate the two sentences into English.

Answer:

The verbs of motion have two imperfective forms. They are called the _____________ and the _____________.

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?

Answer:

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

NOT:

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.

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.

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?

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.

Go to the next page.

Can you fill In the "blanks below?

Answer:

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.

Answer:

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:

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

Answer: 1.

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.

Before we start on the indeterminate verbs of motion, there is one more point of grammar paralleling the kind of choice we must make between куда and где , Two prepositions в and на + locative express location. This is something you have been doing all along.

When в or на governs the locative case: в means "in, at", and на means "on, at".

In sentences with verbs of motion, a question is generally а куда-question. A кyда-question asks, "whereto?" The same prepositions в and на may be used to answer a куда-question. In this case в means "in, to", and на means "on, to". In answering куда-questions, в and на govern the accusative case — в or на + accusative.

Choose the correct form.

Answer:

There is one other pair of adverbial forms meaning "home" used the same way — дома (location) and домой (destination or direction).

Translate the answers to the following questions into Russian using either дома or домой.

Где Иван?

He is at home. _______

Куда идёт Иван?

He is going home. _______

Answer.

Answer:

Since indeterminate verbs are Imperfective verbs, what are the three basic actions expressed by imperfective verbs?

Answer:

If determinate verbs of motion express a progressive (a simple progressive motion along a line at a given moment), then indeterminate verbs express ____________ and ______________.

Answer: repeated action (motion) and naming the action (motion)

To put repeated motion and naming the action into the same sort of definition as the determinate one, let us say that an indeterminate verb may describe:

The repeated or habitual actions when translated into repeated or habitual motions can be thought of as non-progressive motion along a line. Using the indeterminate verb ходить (the partner of the determinate verb идти), turn to the next page and look at the sentences describing non-progressive motion along a line.

Now at the sentence below. Select the best answer.

Зина _____ в школу.

Your Answer: (b) зина ходит в школу. Zina goes to school.

"Zina goes to school" is a non-progressive motion considered as a repeated action or habitual action. It certainly can be interpreted in this way. But can't you also say Зина идёт в школу "Zina is going to school" (a progressive motion along a line at a given moment in time)? This also correct.

The problem is there is not enough information in the rest of the sentence to give you only one possible interpretation. The sentence can be visualized in more than one way.

Most often a sentence with an indeterminate verb of motion will have adverbial clues for repeated or habitual actions.

Can you think of any adverbs or adverbial phrases that will help you visualize the motion as being repeated or habitual?

Turn to page and you will see some that I thought of.

Your Answer:

You are absolutely right. There was not enough Information in the rest of the sentence to be sure of any one single interpretation. The sentence can be visualized in more than one way.

More often than not a sentence with an indeterminate verb will have adverbial clues for repeated or habitual motions.

Can you think of any adverbs or adverbial phrases that will help you visualize the motion as being repeated or habitual?

Turn to page and you will see some that I thought of.

Your Answer: (а) Зина идёт в школу. Zina is going to school.

"Zina is going to school" describes a simple progressive motion along a line at a given moment in time. This is correct as far as it goes. What about Зина ходит в школу "Zina goes to school" (an habitual or repeated motion)? This is also possible.

The problem is there is not enough information in the rest of the sentence to give you only one possible answer. The sentence can be visualized more than one way.

Most often a sentence with an indeterminate verb of motion will have adverbs or adverbial clues for repeated or habitual actions. Can you think of any adverbs or adverbial phrases that will help you visualize the motion as being repeated or habitual? Turn to page and you will see some that I thought of.

Here is my list of adverbial clues or cues that can assist you in choosing the indeterminate from.

In the three sentences below the forms of the determinate идти can not be used.

What are the cues in the sentences that make the forms of the indeterminate ходить the only choice?

Answer:

These clues help you determine that the sentences express a repeated or habitual action. Therefore, the indeterminate verb is called for. An indeterminate verb expresses a non-progressive motion along a line — motion back and forth along that line or motion several times along that line. Since a non-progressive motion can be a back-and-forth motion, the indeterminate verb is sometimes used in the past tense to describe a completed round trip (having gone somewhere and returned).

This round-trip notion easily falls into the definition of what Indeterminate verbs can do, that is, indeterminate verbs express _________________________________.

Answer: motion non-progressively along a line. (At this point any definition using the idea of repeated, habitual, or back-and-forth motion Is correct.)

"Motion non-progressively along a line" is only half of the definition of indeterminate verbs. Can you fill in the blank below?

An indeterminate verb may describe:

Answer: motion having no relation to the line (or any words to that effect).

Indeterminate verbs may also express motion without any reference to a line. This is simply naming the action, a general description of the motion.

Translate the following sentence into Russian.

Answer: я люблю ходить. "I love to walk."

Since the motion is simply described with no relation to a line, the indeterminate verb of motion ходить is required. Let us do one more.

Translate this sentence into Russian.

Our baby can walk. ________________________________.

NOTE: The English modal verb "can" is not translated.

Answer: Наш ребёнок ходит. "Our baby can walk."

Write a definition of an indeterminate verb.

An indeterminate verb expresses:

Answer: An indeterminate verb expresses: (1) motion non-progressively along a line, and (2) motion having no relation to a line.

Now write a definition of a determinate verb.

A determinate verb expresses ____________________.

Answer: A determinate verb expresses a simple progressive motion along a line at a given moment in time.

Circle the correct form:

Answer:

We have now covered the basic uses of the determinate and indeterminate forms of the imperfective verbs of motion. In the next sections we shall apply these principles to some other verbs of motion.

The indeterminate ездить and the determinate ехать act the same way as ходить and идти. The big difference is that ездить-ехать means to go by vehicle in stead of on foot. Use the card supplied with this program to learn the conjugation patterns of both ездить and ехать then select the correct form in each sentence below. Be careful not to have someone walking to California or riding in the bedroom.

Answers:

The determinate expresses a progressive motion along a line at a specific moment in time. The determinate ехать "going by vehicle" is shown in several examples below.

The indeterminate verb expresses a non-progressive motion along a line or a motion without reference to any line.

Change the determinate verb in the following sentences to the corresponding indeterminate form. Add one of the following adverbs to the altered sentence: часто, редко, всё время, каждый день, or обычно. For example:

Answers:

Not only do you have to pay attention to the correct choice between determinate and indeterminate, but also you must note whether the verb in the sentence means on foot or by vehicle. It is necessary to memorize the following oppositions.

Another pair of indeterminate-determinate verbs of motion that we shall take up is водить-вести "to lead". Водить-вести can mean "to lead on foot" or "to lead by vehicle". With водить-вести it makes no difference.

The Indeterminate

The Determinate

Complete the following using the verbs

Answers:

Don't get confused with the idea of. "on foot" or "by vehicle". Remember that it makes no difference with водить-вести. The choice is the same for both sentences -- the determinate verb, action progressing along a line.

The verbs носить-нести "to carry on foot" are similar to ходить-идти "to go on foot". However, the verbs носить-нести take a direct object, that is , they carry something or someone.

Replace the verbs ходить or идти in the following sentences with the correct form of носить or нести plus a direct object. For example:

Answers:

Using your definitions of the determinate and indeterminate, select the proper verb form from the following sentences.

Answers:

The verbs возить-везти "to carry by vehicle" is used exactly like носить-нести.

The determinate form expresses motion in progress at a given moment in time, a progressive motion along a line.

The indeterminate form expresses a motion non-progressively along a line (repeated or habitual motion), and motion with no reference to a line (a naming of the motion).

The verbs возить-везти "to carry by vehicle" also take a direct object. Underline the direct object in the following sentences and translate the sentences into English.

Answers:

Now supply the correct form (the indeterminate or the determinate) of the verbs возить-везти "to carry by vehicle".

Answers:

When you use the verbs водить-вести "to lead". It makes no difference whether you are leading on foot or by vehicle, the same verb is used. The verbs водить-вести also take a direct object, that is, you lead someone or something.

Circle the correct forms and underline the direct object.

Answers:

Take a break, and then take the final test!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Foote, I. P. Verbs of motion. In Dennis Ward (Ed.) Studies in the modern Russian language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1967.

Forsyth, J. A grammar of aspect. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1970.

Murphy, A. B. Aspectival usage in Russian. Oxford, England: Pergamon Press, 1965.

Stilman, L. Russian verbs of motion. New York: Columbia University Press, 1951.

Stilman, G. & Harklns, W. E. Introductory Russian grammar.

Waltham, Massachusetts: Blaisdell Publishing Company, 1964.