When speaking of actions which involve motion, either with or without some form of transport, Russian uses a system of verbs commonly referred to as the "verbs of motion". These verbs are grouped in a way unique from other verbs and, in many respects, follow their own logic and system in terms of usage. The following is a very brief and schematic explanation of these verbs. For more detailed information, you should consult any of the handbooks on Russian grammar available.
There are 3 verbs which convey the message of simply "going":
These are:
ходи́ть
идти́
пойти́
To best understand how these are used, study the examples below:
ходи́ть (multi-directional, indeterminate)
| Де́ти хо́дят в шко́лу. | The children go to school. (They make regular trips there and back.) |
| Де́ти хо́дят по па́рку. | The children are strolling about the park. (random motion, no goal) |
| Де́ти ходи́ли в кино́. | The children went to the movies. (They made one round trip, there and back.) |
| Ребёнок уже́ хо́дит. | The child is already walking. (He/she can perform the action.) |
Идти́ (uni-directional, determinate)
| Он идёт по у́лице. | He's going along the street. (action in progress, directed toward a goal) |
| Когда́ он шёл в магази́н, он встре́тил своего́ дру́га. | While on his way to the store, he met his friend. (goal-directed action in progress, "intersected" by a secondary action) |
Пойти́ (setting out; future intent to go)
| Где ва́ша сестра́? Она пошла́ в библиоте́ку. | Where's your sister? She's left for the library. |
| За́втра мы пойдём в музе́й. | Tomorrow we'll go to the museum. |
All these verbs simply convey the meaning of "going" and say nothing about HOW that action will be accomplished. If it is necessary to emphasize that you will be "walking", you need to add пешком after the verb.
For example:
| У́тром де́ти иду́т в шко́лу пешко́м. | The children walk to school in the morning. |
| Я люблю́ ходит́ь пешко́м. | I like to walk |
| Они́ хотя́т пойти́ в музе́й пешко́м. | They want to walk to the museum. |
If you are emphasizing that you are using a form of transportation, you will use the following verbs:
е́здить (for ходи́ть) е́хать (for идти́) пое́хать (for пойти́) and indicate, if you wish, the form of transport in the following manner:
на маши́не, на авто́бусе, на трамва́е, на метро́, etc.
For example:
|
Мы е́здили туда́ на маши́не. |
We went there by car. |
| Он лю́бит е́здить на метро́. | He likes to take the metro. |
| Мы пое́дем в Москву́ на по́езде. | We'll take the train to Moscow. |
Note:
Авто́бус (тролле́йбус, трамва́й, по́езд): хо́дит/идёт.
Маши́на: е́здит/е́дет.
For example:
Вот идёт наш авто́бус.
There goes our bus.
Вы не зна́ете, како́й трамва́й идёт до библиоте́ки?
Would you happen to know which bus goes to the library?
Смотри́те! Вот е́дет маши́на президе́нта!
Look! There goes the President's car!