Prefixed verbs of motion
In the last lesson we’ve covered Russian verbs of motion without prefix. Today let’s look at the prefixed verbs of motion.
About the prefixes
In the Russian language, the prefixes are used to change the meaning of the words. By adding a prefix (a few extra letters in the beginning of the word) you can change the meaning of each of the verbs we’ve learned in the previos lesson. Here is list of possible prefixes:
Prefix | Meaning |
в- | in |
вы- | out |
вc-/вз- | up |
с- | down from |
у- | from |
за- | drop in, stop by |
до- | as far as, reach |
об- | around |
от- | away |
при- | arrival |
под- | approach |
про- | through, pass |
пере- | across |
ис-/из- | origin, provenance, action |
Prefixed verbs of motion
Now let’s have a look at how it works with the verbs идти́ / ходи́ть.
Keep in mind, that both these verbs are irregular. When we add a prefix to the verb идти́, the base with which we work changes to -йти.
идти́ | ходи́ть | to go (by foot), to walk |
---|---|---|
войти́ | входи́ть | to go in, to enter |
вы́йти | выходи́ть | to go out, to leave, to exit |
взoйти́ | вcходи́ть | to go up, to ascend |
сойти́ | сходи́ть | to go down, decend |
уйти́ | уходи́ть | to go from, to leave, depart |
зайти́ | заходи́ть | to drop in, to stop by |
дойти́ | доходи́ть | to get to, to get as far as, to reach |
обойти́ | обходи́ть | to walk around, to bypass |
отойти́ | отходи́ть | to walk away |
подойти́ | подходи́ть | to approach |
прийти́ | приходи́ть | to arrive, to come |
пройти́ | проходи́ть | to go by, to go past |
перейти́ | переходи́ть | to go across, to turn |
произойти́ | происходи́ть | to happen |
Pay attention that now, when we added a prefix, we are dealing not with the unidirectional or multidirectional verbs but with perfective and imperfective verbs respectively. So when you are pondering which verb of the pair to choose, follow the logic of the verb aspects, which is:
– The Imperfective aspect describes the actions that are taking place at the moment of speaking, actions with no indication of the start and the end, and actions that haven’t finished yet or repeat.
– The Perfective aspect is used to talk about the actions that happened or were supposed to happen once, actions that have finished with success. The Perfective aspect, due to the fact that it implies a finished action, is never used in the Present tense.
More examples
нести́ / носи́ть – to carry (unprefixed)
Он несёт су́мку.
нести́ – to carry
He is carrying a bag.
(in one direction: unprefixed, unidirectional, Present tense)
Он принесёт су́мку.
принести́ – to bring
He will bring the bag.
(one-time action: prefixed, perfective, Future tense)
Он унесёт су́мку.
унести́ – to take away
He will take the bag away.
(one-time action: prefixed, perfective, Future tense)
Я всегда́ ношу́ с собо́й па́спорт.
носи́ть – to carry
I always carry my passport with me.
(repeated action: unprefixed, multidirectional, Present tense)
Мы прино́сим ему́ е́ду ка́ждый день.
приноси́ть – to bring
We bring him food every day.
(repeated action: prefixed, imperfective, Present tense)
Он выно́сит му́сор в шесть часо́в.
выноси́ть – to take out
He is taking out the garbage at six o’clock.
(repeated action: prefixed, imperfective, Present tense)
лете́ть / лета́ть – to fly (unprefixed)
Смотри́, пти́ца лети́т.
лете́ть – to fly
Look, a bird flies.
(happening right now: unprefixed, unidirectional, Present tense)
В окно́ залете́ла пти́ца.
залете́ть – to fly in
A bird flew through the window.
(happened once: prefixed, perfective, Past tense)
Он прилете́л вчера́.
прилете́ть – to arrive by flying
He arrived (by plane) yesterday.
(happened once: prefixed, perfective, Past tense)
Самолёты лета́ют высоко́.
лета́ть – to fly
Planes fly high.
(in general: unprefixed, multidirectional, Present tense)
Самолёт взлета́ет.
взлета́ть – to take off
The plane is taking off.
(happening right now: prefixed, imperfective, Present tense)
Самолёт прилета́ет ско́ро.
прилета́ть – to arrive by flying
The plane arrives soon.
(action hasn’t finished yet: prefixed, imperfective, Present tense)
This is it for this lessons. Practie with the audio that includes the table with the verbs and examples. And come back to learn Russian with us!
The offline version of this lesson is available here
Start the quiz-
Question # 1Fill in the gapsОн … от меня́. (убежа́ть / убега́ть)He ran away from me.
- убежа́л
- убега́л
Answered: 0 out of 10Next
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 2Fill in the gapsЯ … тебе́ докуме́нты ве́чером. (занести́ / заноси́ть)I’ll bring the documents to you in the evening.
- занесу́
- буду заноси́ть
Answered: 0 out of 10Next
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 3Fill in the gapsЗа буйки́ … нельзя́. (заплы́ть / заплыва́ть)Swimming beyond the buoys is not allowed.
- заплы́ть
- заплыва́ть
Answered: 0 out of 10Next
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 4Fill in the gaps… к нам в го́сти. (зайти́ / заходи́ть)Come to visit us (when you can).
- заходи́
- зайди́
Answered: 0 out of 10Next
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 5Fill in the gaps... ко мне на мину́тку. (зайти́ / заходи́ть)Come to me for a minute (right now).
- зайди́
- заходи́
Answered: 0 out of 10Next
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 6Fill in the gapsЗа́втра мы … (уе́хать / уезжа́ть)Tomorrow we are leaving.
- уе́дем
- уезжа́ем
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Question # 7Fill in the gapsОн .. вчера́. (уе́хать / уезжа́ть)He left yesterday.
- уе́хал
- уезжа́л
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Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 8Fill in the gapsВы ... на сле́дующей? (вы́йти / выходи́ть)Are you getting out on the next station?
- вы́йдете
- выхо́дите
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Question # 9Fill in the gapsОн ... в друго́й го́род. (перее́хать / переезжа́ть)He moved to another city.
- перее́хал
- переезжа́л
Answered: 0 out of 10Next
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 10Fill in the gapsУ него́ ... маши́ну. (угна́ть / угоня́ть)His car was stolen.
- угна́ли
- угоня́ли
Answered: 0 out of 10
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
More lessons on the Russian verbs
More lessons on Russian verbs of motion
- Russian verbs of motion (unprefixed)
- Prefixed verbs of motion