Going and Travelling: Motion Verbs I

Куда́ ты идёшь?

Where are you going (on foot)?

идёшь is the one-way verb, so this asks about the journey in progress right now. Note the ё: идёшь, идёт, идём, идёте — all four print it, and because ё is always stressed none of them needs an acute.

Я иду́ в магази́н.

I am walking to the shop.

в + the Accusative answers куда? — the destination, exactly as in Lesson 6. The verb itself tells you that you are on foot.

Я иду́ домо́й.

I am walking home.

домой is the directional adverb, "homewards". Its locative partner дома (Lesson 5) answers где?, and the two never swap.

Мы идём в кино́.

We are walking to the cinema.

идём means "we are on our way", this minute. The в is pronounced [ф] before the voiceless к.

Ты е́дешь и́ли идёшь?

Are you going by transport or on foot?

The most important question in this lesson, because the two answers are not interchangeable. или is the "or" of an open choice, as opposed to а, which contrasts.

Как ты е́дешь?

How are you getting there?

The question that earns you the answer: на автобусе, на метро, на машине or пешком. To somebody you address as вы it is Как вы едете?

Я е́ду в Москву́.

I am travelling to Moscow.

ехать covers every vehicle at once — bus, tram, car, train, plane, bicycle. Only your own two feet are excluded.

Она́ е́дет на метро́.

She is going by metro.

на + the Prepositional is the fixed way to name the means of transport. метро is indeclinable, so this chunk is the easiest one in the set.

Мы е́дем на авто́бусе.

We are going by bus.

Two reductions in one word: the в of автобус devoices to [ф] before the т, and the first о collapses to [ɐ].

Он е́дет на маши́не.

He is going by car.

This is the Prepositional of машина, the same case as на автобусе, not the Instrumental. The и after the always-hard ш is really [ɨ].

Я е́ду на по́езде.

I am travelling by train.

по́езд moves its stress onto the ending in the plural — поезда́ — but this Prepositional form keeps it on the first syllable.

Ты е́здишь в Москву́?

Do you go to Moscow (from time to time)?

ездить, not ехать: the question is about your life, not about the trip you are on this minute. Compare Ты едешь в Москву?, asked of somebody with a suitcase in their hand.

Я хожу́ в парк пешко́м.

I walk to the park (regularly, or there and back).

хожу́ is the only present-tense form of ходить with the stress on the ending — хо́дишь, хо́дит and хо́дят all pull it back to the stem. пешком needs no preposition: it is the one means-of-travel word in this lesson that takes no case.

Она́ хо́дит в кино́.

She goes to the cinema (regularly).

ходить, so this is a habit or a round trip, never a journey in progress. Contrast Она идёт в кино — she is on her way there now.

По́езд идёт в Москву́.

The train goes to Moscow.

Vehicles themselves go with идти: поезд идёт, автобус идёт, трамвай идёт. This is the standard way to say where a service runs. The final д of поезд devoices to [т].

Куда́ идёт авто́бус?

Where does this bus go?

The question to ask at any stop. The same frame works for every vehicle: Куда идёт трамвай? Куда идёт поезд?

Вокза́л далеко́?

Is the station far?

No verb is needed: далеко is the whole predicate, and the rising intonation of Lesson 1 makes it a question. The к voices to [ɡ] before the з.

Нет, вокза́л бли́зко.

No, the station is close.

близко and далеко are the two answers that make asking worth the effort. Note the opposite stress: бли́зко but далеко́.

Иди́те пря́мо.

Go straight ahead.

The вы imperative, which is what you use with a stranger or with more than one person. To one friend or child it is иди прямо.

Напра́во и́ли нале́во?

To the right or to the left?

The natural follow-up once you know it is not far. Both adverbs are stressed on their second syllable: напра́во, нале́во.

Пойдём!

Let's go! (on foot)

пойти in the "we" imperative, and the everyday way to say "let's go". It works for a vehicle journey too, because you still walk to the stop. The group or polite version is пойдёмте, and the singular imperative is пойди́.

Я пойду́ домо́й.

I'll go home. / I'm off home.

пойти is perfective, so this form looks like a present tense and is really a future one: "I shall set off home". It is also the standard polite way to leave.

Когда́ ты придёшь?

When will you arrive?

прийти is perfective, so придёшь is future. It covers arrival on foot; arriving by vehicle is приехать, which is Lesson 15.

За́втра я приду́ в парк.

Tomorrow I'll come to the park.

The perfective future needs no auxiliary: приду already means "I shall arrive". Compare the imperfective future of Lesson 2, я буду идти, which is grammatical but sounds marked.

Вчера́ мы ходи́ли в кино́.

Yesterday we went to the cinema (and came back).

ходили, not шли: the round trip is finished and you are home again. «Вчера мы шли в кино» would mean you were on your way there at some point yesterday.

Я е́зжу на велосипе́де.

I ride a bicycle.

The з and the ж of езжу merge into a single long [ʐː]. ездить keeps its stress on the first syllable all the way through the paradigm: е́зжу, е́здишь, е́здит, е́здят.