Colloquial Russian

(Steven Felgate) #1

142 Unit 10: Арба́т


Идти� is used to describe journeys going in a particular direction:
Сего�дня Пи�тер идёт нe нa рабо�ту, a в кaфé
‘Today Peter is not going to work but to a café’.
Ходи�ть is used for the ability to walk:
Моя� до�чка yжé хо�дит
‘Му little daughter can already walk’.

The other verbs of motion
The (a) verbs, éздить, носи�ть etc., are used under the same circum-
stances as you would use ходи�ть, i.e. for repeated round trips or jour-
neys with no specific destination. The (b) verbs, éхать, нести� etc., are
used under the same circumstances as you would use идти�, i.e. for
single journeys and journeys going in one particular direction:
Пи�тер ча�сто лета�ет в Ло�ндон
‘Peter often flies to London’.

Сего�дня он лети�т в Пари�ж
‘Today, he is flying to Paris’.
Обы�чно он во�зит карти�ны нa маши�не
‘Usually, he transports his pictures by car’.

Сего�дня он везёт их на велосипéде
‘Today, he is transporting them in by bicycle’.
Мой сын бéгает о�чень бы�стро
‘Му son runs (can run) very quickly’.

Мальчи�шки бегу�т за ним
‘The boys are running after him’.

Figurative uses of verbs of motion
Verbs of motion are used in several figurative expressions. Usually, in a
given expression, only the (a) or the (b) verb will ever be found:
Дождь идёт It is raining
Снег идёт It is snowing
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