- Define and explain Verbs of Motion in your own words
- Use key terms such as идти (idtí) / ходить (khodít') — to go (on foot) accurately
- Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
- Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic
This is where Russian grammar shows its full power — and its full difficulty. Verbs of motion split 'going' into four verbs, aspect forces you to choose how an action is viewed, and participles pack whole clauses into single words. Master these and you will read real Russian prose, not just textbook sentences.
This lesson focuses on Verbs of Motion: conquer идти (idtí — to go on foot) versus ходить (khodít'), ехать (yékhat' — to go by transport) versus ездить (yézdit'), and their prefixes.
Conquer идти (idtí — to go on foot) versus ходить (khodít'), ехать (yékhat' — to go by transport) versus ездить (yézdit'), and their prefixes.
Key ideas
Unidirectional versus multidirectional
Идти (idtí) and ехать (yékhat') describe a single journey in one direction happening now; ходить (khodít') and ездить (yézdit') describe going and returning, habitual trips, or movement with no fixed direction. Prefixes then add direction and completion: прийти (priytí — to arrive on foot), уйти (uytí — to leave on foot), приехать (priyékhat' — to arrive by transport), уехать (uyékhat' — to leave by transport). Note that prefixed motion verbs become perfective.
Choosing aspect
Use the imperfective for processes, habits and repeated actions: Я читал книгу вчера (ya chitál knígu vcherá — I was reading the book yesterday). Use the perfective for single completed results: Я прочитал книгу (ya prochitál knígu — I have finished the book). After уже (uzhé — already) the perfective is almost always right: Я уже сделал домашнее задание (ya uzhé sdélal domáshneye zadániye — I have already done my homework).
Key term — идти (idtí) / ходить (khodít') — to go (on foot): A motion pair: идти is one journey in one direction — Я иду в школу (ya idú f shkólu — I am going to school); ходить is repeated or multidirectional — Я хожу в школу каждый день (ya khozhú f shkólu kázhdyy den' — I go to school every day).
Give the prefixed verb for 'to arrive by car'.
Приехать (priyékhat' — to arrive by transport).
Answer: Приехать (priyékhat' — to arrive by transport).
- Treating прийти as imperfective Прийти (priytí — to arrive on foot) is perfective: Я приду завтра (ya pridú závtra — I will come tomorrow) is future, not present. Its imperfective partner is приходить (prikhodít').
- Using идти for a habit Я иду в школу каждый день is wrong — a repeated trip needs ходить: Я хожу в школу каждый день (ya khozhú f shkólu kázhdyy den' — I go to school every day).
Practice
Я иду в школу сейчас (ya idú f shkólu seychás — I am going to school right now).
Они ездят в Москву на поезде каждое лето (oní yézdyat f Moskvú na póyezde kázhdoye léto — they go to Moscow by train every summer).
Я прочитал книгу вчера вечером (ya prochitál knígu vcherá vécherom — I finished reading the book yesterday evening).
Читающий (chitáyushchiy — reading, who is reading).
Quick check
Which of these best defines "идти (idtí) / ходить (khodít') — to go (on foot)"?
Translate 'While reading, she drank tea' using a gerund.
- Verbs of Motion: conquer идти (idtí — to go on foot) versus ходить (khodít'), ехать (yékhat' — to go by transport) versus ездить (yézdit'), and their prefixes.
- Unidirectional versus multidirectional: Идти (idtí) and ехать (yékhat') describe a single journey in one direction happening now; ходить (khodít') and ездить (yézdit') describe going and returning, habitual trips, or movement with no fixed direction.
- ехать (yékhat') / ездить (yézdit') — to go (by transport): The vehicle pair: ехать is one directed trip — Мы едем в Москву (my yédem f Moskvú — we are going to Moscow); ездить is habitual — Мы ездим туда летом (my yézdim tudá létom — we go there in summer).
- Watch out for: treating прийти as imperfective