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One important group of words in Russian is the 'verbs of motion'. Verbs of motion are words which take you somewhere. For example: walk, go, run, travel. In Russian such words behave a little differently from the other verbs.
There are a lot of grammar concepts to introduce in this lesson. As a result we have included a huge amount of examples to help you learn this grammar in a realistic context. Spend some time going through this lesson slowly, it may take you a few days to digest it all. Your time will be well invested because verbs of motion form an important part of any language. A more abbreviated version of this lesson is also available in the grammar section of this site. If you are having difficulty understanding this lesson, also refer to the grammar section as the grammar is explained a little differently.
In Russian most verbs have two forms, the imperfective and the perfective. As we saw in lesson 15 the present tense uses only the imperfective form. The past and future tenses use both the perfective and imperfective forms of a verb. The perfective indicates that a word has or will be completed successfully. The exception to this rule is the verbs of motion. There are three forms of these.
The Russian verbs of motion have two imperfective forms. The unidirectional and the multidirectional. These forms indicate whether the travel is made in one direction, or whether there is a return trip. There is only one form in the perfective aspect.
The Verbs of Motion
Here are the simple Russian verbs of motion. It is worth learning most of these as they are a commonly used.
Ходить / Идти - To go by foot (walk). (View Conjugations)
Ездить / Ехать - To go by transport (drive, train, bus, etc.). (View Conjugations)
Бегать / Бежать - To run. (View Conjugations)
Бродить / Брести - To stroll. (View Conjugations)
Гонять / Гнать - To drive.** (View Conjugations)
Лазить / Лезть - To climb. (View Conjugations)
Летать / Лететь - To fly. (View Conjugations)
Плавать / Плыть - To swim, To sail. (View Conjugations)
Ползать / Ползти - To crawl. (View Conjugations)
Возить / Везти - To Transport, To Carry (by vehicle). (View Conjugations)
Носить / Нести - To Carry, To Wear (View Conjugations)
Водить / Вести - To Lead, To Accompany, To Drive (a car) (View Conjugations)
Таскать / Тащить - To Drag, To Pull. (View Conjugations)
**Rarely used: Гонять / Гнать does not mean 'to drive by car'. (see Водить / Вести). It means 'to force to move'. Example: 'To drive someone into a corner', 'to drive cattle to market'.
Verbs Meaning 'To Go'
If you remember back to lesson 8 we presented the words for 'to go' as different verbs. Now that you know a little more about verbs of motion you can see that they are related. Let's review those examples from lesson 8 now. Additional examples are also included below.
Ходить - To go on foot, in more than one direction, or repetitively.
(Я хожу, Ты ходишь, Он ходит, Мы ходим, Вы ходите, Они ходят )
| Я хожу в школу | I go to school. |
| Я часто хожу в кино | I often go to the cinema |
| Мы ходим в кафе каждый день | We go to the cafe every day. |
| Мой сын еще не ходит. | My son can't walk yet. |
| Я всегда хожу на работу пешком. | I always walk to work. |
Идти - To go on foot, in one direction.
(Я иду, Ты идёшь, Он идёт, Мы идём, Вы идёте, Они идут)
| Я иду в школу | I am going to school. |
| Я иду в кино | I am going to the cinema. |
| Ты идёшь в кино? | Are you going to the cinema? |
| Он идёт в гостиницу | He is going to the hotel. |
| Мы идём в кафе | We are going to the cafe. |
| я иду в университет | I am going to the university |
| Туда мы шли пешком, а обратно вернулись на автобусе. | We walked there and took the bus back. |
Ездить - To go by transport, in more than one direction, or repetitively
(Я езжу, Ты ездишь , Он ездит , Мы ездим, Вы ездите, Они ездят)
| Он часто ездит в Лондон | He often goes to London |
| Я езжу в театр каждый день | I go to the theatre every day. |
| Они часто ездят в Амстердам | They often go to Amsterdam |
| Он ездит на работу на велосипеде. | He goes to work by bicycle. |
| Ты ездишь на работу на машине? | Do you go to work by car? |
Ехать - To go by transport, in one direction.
(Я еду, Ты едешь, Он едет, Мы едем, Вы едете, Они едут )
| Я еду в школу | I am going to school. (by transport) |
| Я еду в кино на метро | I am going to the cinema on the metro. |
| Он едет в гостиницу на такси | He is going to the hotel by taxi. |
| Мы едем в кафе | We are going to the cafe. (by transport) |
| Он едет в Лондон | He is going to London |
| Лететь самолетом быстрее, чем ехать на автобусе. | It is faster to go by plane than by bus. |
As you can see Ходить and Ездить are multidirectional and indicate return trips, habitual or repeated actions. Идти and Ехать are unidirectional (one-way) verbs. All the other verbs of motion work in exactly the same manner. The first verb listed above is multidirectional and the second is the unidirectional.
Prefixed Verbs of Motion
It is also possible to add a prefix to a verb of motion to slightly change its meaning. This normally adds a direction to its meaning. For example you could change the meaning of “walk” to “walk in”.
In English we do this by adding an adverb after the verb. Words like “in”, “down”, “through” or “across”. Often it is also possible to do this by using a different verb, “walk in” could also be “enter”.
If you find the concept of ‘prefixes’ difficult you could just remember each of these verbs. Treating each verb as it’s own word, rather than a set of related verbs. This would be good for learners with a good memory for words. Other learners, who may be more conceptually minded, may choose to remember how all the pre-fixes work. We think it’s best to do a little of both. Once you understand this concept, you might find that you can suddenly decipher a whole lot of Russian verbs, and the language may really open up to you.
Let’s take a look at these prefixes.
в- - in
вы- - out
до- - as far as, reach
за- - drop in, stop by
об- - around
от- - away
пере- - across
под- - approach
при- - arrival
про- - through, pass
с- - down from
у- - from
Now let's see some examples of the prefixes in use. This is how you can use them with the primary motion verb: Ходить / Идти. (Note that Идти becomes йти when used with pre-fixes.)
входить / войти - to go in, to enter
выходить / выйти - to go out, to leave, to exit
всходить / взoйти - to go up, to ascend
доходить / дойти - to get to, to get as far as, to reach
заходить / зайти - to drop in, to stop by
обходить / обойти - to walk around, to bypass
отходить / отойти - to walk away
переходить / перейти - to go across, to turn
подходить / подойти - to approach
приходить / прийти - to arrive, to come
проходить / пройти - to go by, to go past
сходить / сойти - to go down, decend
уходить / уйти - to go from, to leave, depart
OK, now here is the interesting bit: As these new verbs already indicate a definite direction, they can not be multi-directional and they lose the concept of unidirectional or multi-directional that we learnt above. Instead the first word above is the imperfective aspect, and the 2nd is the perfective. (refer lesson 15) So in the present tense you will always use the first of these verbs above.
Other Simple Verbs of Motion
Here are some examples of how to use the other verbs of motion in Russian. Our examples are starting to get a little more advanced. There may be some grammar concepts you don't fully understand yet so you can just ignore these for now. There will also be plenty of words that you have not learnt yet. Don't worry too much about such words. Our aim is to provide sentences in a realistic context.
Бегать / Бежать - To Run
| Он пробежал 4 мили. | He ran 4 miles. |
| Он хорошо пробежал дистанцию. | He ran a good race. |
| Он забегался. | He ran himself to a standstill. |
| Я бегу от него за милю, когда он начинает говорить о своем хобби. | When he starts talking about his hobby, I run a mile. |
| Он бегал взад и вперед по улице. | He ran up and down the street. |
| Беги за ней! | Run after her! |
| Я должен бежать. | I must run. |
| Он побежал к маме. | He ran to his mother. |
| Я бежал со всех ног, чтобы успеть на автобус. | I ran for all I was worth to catch the bus. |
| Он взбежал по лестнице / сбежал с лестницы. | He ran upstairs / downstairs. |
| Мы сбегали за врачом. | We ran for the doctor. |
| Мы побежали к нему за помощью. | We ran to him for help. |
| Он прибежал нам на помощь. | He ran to help us. |
| Дети разбежались по своим местам. | The children ran to their places. |
| Дрожь пробежала у него по телу. | A shiver ran down his spine. |
Бродить / Брести - To Stroll
| Он бродил по пляжу. | He strolled along the beach. |
| Он любит бродить по террасе. | He likes strolling up and down the terrace. |
| Вечерами он бродит по улицам. | In the evenings he strolls about the streets. |
| Пойдем бродить по парку. | Let's stroll through the park. |
Лазить / Лезть - To Climb
| Дети любят лазить по деревьям. | Children love climbing trees. |
| Чтобы попасть на крышу надо влезть на лестницу. | You need to climb a ladder to get to the roof. |
| Они перелезли через забор и попали в прекрасный сад. | They climbed a fence and got into a beautiful garden. |
| На занятиях по физической культуре они лазают по канату. | They climb a rope at PT lessons. |
| Они решили залезть на эту гору во что бы то ни стало. | The decided to climb this mountain at any cost. |
| Слезать со скалы было труднее, чем забираться на нее. | It was more difficult to climb down the cliff than going up. |
| Грабитель влез в окно. | The robber climbed through the window. |
| Сколько человек влезают в твою машину? | How many people climb into your car? |
Летать / Лететь - To Fly
| Он мечтал перелететь Атлантический океан. | He dreamed about flying the Atlantic. |
| Ласточки летают стремительно. | Swallows fly swiftly. |
| Во время бури мы летели над Лондоном. | We were flying over London during the storm. |
| Они полетели в Арктику. | They flew to the Arctic. |
| Вчера он улетел в Париж. | He flew to Paris yesterday. |
| Мы долетели из Лондона в Париж за час. | We flew from London to Paris in an hour. |
| Пилоты учатся летать по приборам. | Pilots learn to fly blind. |
| Птичка улетела. | The bird has flown. |
| Как летит время! | How time flies! |
| Он налетал 5000 миль. | He has flown 5000 miles. |
| Я в апреле слетал в Москву. | I flew to Moscow in April. |
Плавать / Плыть - To Swim, To Sail
| Она проплыла 3 мили. | She swam three miles. |
| Он переплыл Ла-Манш. | He swam the Channel. |
| Он может проплыть метра два, не больше. | He can swim a few strokes. |
| Он может переплыть бассейн десять раз. | He can swim ten lengths. |
| Он совсем не умеет плавать. | He can't swim a stroke. |
| Ты умеешь плавать под водой? | Can you swim under water? |
| Мы сплавали вокруг острова. | We swam round the island. |
| Рыба уплыла. | The fish swam away. |
| Он переплыл реку. | He swam across the river. |
| Он заплыл далеко в море. | He swam far out to sea. |
| Мы доплыли до большой скалы. | We swam as far as the big rock. |
| Он подплыл ко мне. | He swam up to me. |
| Все поплыло у него перед глазами. | Everything swam before his eyes. |
| Корабль вошел в гавань. | The ship sailed into the harbour. |
| Корабль отплывает в три часа. | The ship sails at three o'clock. |
| Он плавал вокруг света. | He has sailed round the world. |
Ползать / Ползти - To Crawl
| В часы пик машины еле ползут. | In rush hour traffic is reduced to a crawl. |
| Змеи и некоторые насекомые ползают. | Snakes and some insects crawl. |
| Мне пришлось поползать, собирая булавки. | I had to crawl round to pick up the pins. |
| Ребенок ползал по полу. | The baby was crawling on the floor. |
| Поезд еле полз. | The train was crawling along. |
| Гусеница переползла через тропинку. | A caterpillar crawled along the path. |
| Ко мне в ботинок заполз муравей. | An ant crawled into my boot. |
Verbs of Motion Meaning 'To Carry'
The other types of verbs of motion are the words that imply the meaning 'to carry'. These words can translate to 'to transport', 'to lead' etc. The main difference is that these words are used in conjunction with an item that is being carried. Lets have a look at these words:
Возить / Везти - To Transport, To Carry (by vehicle). (View Conjugations)
Носить / Нести - To Carry, To Wear (View Conjugations)
Водить / Вести - To Lead, To Accompany, To Drive (a car) (View Conjugations)
Таскать / Тащить - To Drag, To Pull. (View Conjugations)
Here are some examples:
Возить / Везти - To Carry (by vehicle), To Transport.
Generally this word corresponds 'to transport'. Or 'to take' by some means of vehicle. For example in a sentences like “The train transports passengers to Moscow” or “Ivan takes his daughter to school”.
| Продукция нашего завода перевозится в Москву по железной дороге. | Our products are transported by rail from the factory to Moscow. |
| Судно могло перевезти 70 пассажиров. | The ship could carry 70 passengers. |
| Этот мотоцикл вез меня пять тысяч миль. | This motocycle has carried me five thousand miles. |
Носить / Нести - To Carry, To Wear
Generally this word corresponds to 'to carry' when the person is carrying the object by walking. It's used in sentences like "The driver carried our bags to the taxi".
| Я обычно ношу деньги в кошельке. | I usually carry my money in a wallet. |
| Я очень устал, полдня поносив ребенка на руках. | I'm very tired after carrying the child around for half the day. |
| Когда я нес покупки домой, я потерял бумажник. | When I was carrying the shopping home I lost my wallet. |
| Теперь ты понеси чемодан. | You carry the case now. |
| В руках он нес большой сверток. | He carried a big parcel in his hands. |
This verb also means to 'to wear'. Although it is not really a verb of motion in this case.
| Я никогда не ношу галстук. | I never wear a tie. |
| Я давно не носил эту шляпу. | I haven't worn this hat for ages. |
| Она носит очки. | She wears glasses. |
Водить / Вести - To Lead, To Accompany, To Drive (a car)
This word generally means 'to lead', or 'to take on foot' where the object itself is also walking. For example "The dog leads the blind man to the shop". It also means 'to drive a car'. The verb has a number of other uses, where it is not considered to be a verb of motion.
| Он вел нас по музею. | He led us round the museum. |
| Попросите кого-нибудь провести вас через лес. | Ask somebody to lead you through the forest. |
| Учитель отвел непослушных учеников к директору. | The teacher led the naughty pupils to the head master. |
| Она вела ребенка за руку. | She led the child by the hand. |
| Он вел лошадь на поводу. | He was leading his horse. |
| Случай привел его в Москву. | A chance led him to Moscow. |
| Мой брат провел меня за кулисы, чтобы встретиться с актерами. | My brother accompanied me backstage to meet the actors. |
| Мой отец водит такси. | My father drives a taxi. |
| Дай мне поводить. | Let me drive your car for a while. |
| Поезд вел его напарник, когда на рельсы выехала машина. | His mate was driving the train when a car drove on the rails. |
| Я стал водить автобус, когда мне было 20 лет. | I drove my first bus when I was twenty. |
Examples with Prefixed Verbs of Motion
To conclude the lesson here are some examples of prefixed verbs of motion. Remember that these verbs already have a sense of direction so don't behave like the true verbs of motion above. Yes, we know there are lots of examples! It's time to start learning words in context. Again, don't worry if you find these examples too advanced.
входить / войти - to go in, to enter
| Я вошел через задний ход. | I went in by the back door. |
| Рояль слишком велик — он не входит в дверной проем. | The piano's too big – it doesn't go in the doorway. |
| Она вошла в кухню и увидела, что обед уже готов. | She went into the kitchen and saw that the dinner was ready. |
| Все вещи входят в багажник? | Does everything go into the trunk? |
| Он вошел в комнату и включил свет. | He entered the room and switched on the light. |
| Они вошли в густой лес, тесно прижавшись друг к другу. | They entered the thick forest close together. |
| Войска вошли в город вчера вечером. | The troops entered the town yesterday evening. |
| В случае опасности сначала входит наше подразделение. | In case of danger our unit goes in first. |
| Лодка вошла в зону неглубоких болот. | The boat entered an area of shallow marshes. |
выходить / выйти - to go out, to leave, to exit
| Он вышел из комнаты. | He went out of the room. |
| Он вышел прогуляться с друзьями. | He went out for a walk with friends. |
| Это платье уже вышло из моды. | This dress has gone out of fashion already. |
| Могу я выйти из-за стола? | Can I leave the table? |
| Солдаты выходят на задание. | The soldiers go out on missions. |
| Она хочет выйти. | She wants to leave. |
| Вы хотите выйти из этой программы? | Do you want to exit this program? |
вcходить / взoйти - to go up, to ascend
| Каждое лето они с друзьями взбираются на горы. | Every summer he and his friends go up the mountains. |
| Лифт поехал наверх. | The lift has gone up. |
| Мы взошли на гору. | We ascended the mountain. |
| Ребенок учится взбираться (всходить) по лестнице. | The child learns to go up a ladder. |
| По пожарной лестнице ты можешь взобраться только до третьего этажа. | By the fire escape you can go up only to the second floor. |
| Она взошла на престол после смерти короля. | She ascended to the throne after the King's death. |
| Альпинисты медленно всходили на крутой склон. | The mountaineers slowly ascended the steep slope. |
| Завтра всходит Юпитер. | Jupiter ascends tomorrow. |
доходить / дойти - to get to, to get as far as, to reach
| Мы дошли до озера. | We got as far as the lake. |
| Мы не дошли до обсуждения финансовых вопросов. | We didn't get as far as discussing finances. |
| Он едва доходит (достает) мне до плеч. | He hardly reaches my shoulders. |
| Когда мы дошли до моста, пошел дождь. | When we reached the bridge, it started raining. |
| Ваше письмо дошло да адресата сегодня. | Your letter has reached addressee today. |
| Сад доходит до самой реки. | The garden reaches to the river. |
| Через некоторое время его поддразнивания начали доходить до меня. | After a while his teasing started to get to me. |
| Он позвонил мне, когда дошел (добрался) до железнодорожной станции. | He called me when he got to the railway station. |
заходить / зайти - to drop in (into), to stop by
| Зайди, пожалуйста, в библиотеку после уроков. | Drop into the library after lessons, please. |
| Я хочу зайти повидать своего старого друга. | I want to drop in on my old close friend. |
| Заходите к нам, если будете поблизости. | Do drop in on us if you are in the neighborhood. |
| Я всегда захожу сюда по дороге домой. | I always stop by here on my way home. |
| Если будешь в городе в следующем месяце, пожалуйста, постарайся зайти. | If you're in town next month, please try to drop in. |
| Мы часто заходим на чашечку кофе в соседний дом. | We frequently drop into the neighbors' house for a cup of coffee |
| Пожалуйста, зайди в мой офис. | Please stop by my office. |
| Я проходил мимо твоего дома и решил зайти поболтать. | I was passing your house, so I thought I'd stop by for a chat. |
обходить / обойти - to walk around, to bypass
| Он внимательно обошел комнату. | He walked the room around attentively. |
| Давай обойдем окрестности, пока они не придут. | Let's walk around till they come. |
| Мы объехали (обошли) Кембридж стороной. | We bypassed Cambridge. |
| Мы обошли весь сад. | We've walked around the garden. |
| Мы обошли все окрестности в поисках открытой аптеки. | We've walked around the neighborhood to see whether we could find an open drugstore. |
| Ты не можешь обходить правила! | You cannot bypass these rules! |
| Они часто стараются обойти стандартные офисные процедуры. | They often try to bypass standard office procedures. |
| Лучше ехать по дороге, которая обходит весь город стороной. | It is better to take the road that bypasses the city altogether. |
отходить / отойти - to walk away
| Он отошел от окна. | He walked away from the window. |
| Он повернулся, чтобы уйти. | He turned to walk away. |
| Актер отошел от декораций. | The actor walked away from the scenery. |
| Я разозлился и отошел от нее. | I got annoyed and just walked away from her. |
| Он ушел от меня, не сказав ни слова. | He walked away from me without saying a word |
| Мне нужно отойти от всего этого. | I need to walk away from all this. |
| Пожалуйста, отойди от рельсов. | Please, walk away from the railways. |
переходить / перейти - to go across, to turn
| Он перешел улицу. | He went across the street. |
| Железная дорога пересекает Сибирь. | The railway goes across Siberia. |
| Когда я вошел, они тут же перешли на другую тему. | When I came in they turned to other things quickly. |
| Все страны должны перейти на метрическую систему. | All countries must turn to the metric system (of measurement). |
| Мы переходим океан всего через три часа. | We went across the ocean in just three hours. |
| За сколько ты перешел дорогу. | How long did it take you to go across the street? |
| Давайте перейдем на другую тему. | Let's turn to other things. |
подходить / подойти - to approach
| Мальчик подошел ко мне на улице. | A boy approached me in the street. | |
| Поезд подошел к станции. | The train approached the station. | |
| Я не знал, как к нему подступиться (подойти). | I didn't know how to approach him. | |
| С этим вопросом лучше обратиться (подойти) к менеджеру. | It's better to approach the manager about that. | |
| Необходимо осторожно подходить к решению этого вопроса. | You need to approach this question with caution. | |
| Он подошел к эстраде, чтобы вручит актеру цветы. | He approached the podium to give flowers to the actor. | |
| Приближается рассвет. | Dawn approaches. | |
| Его математика граничит с мистикой. | Its mathematics approaches mysticism. |
приходить / прийти - to arrive, to come
| Мы рано пришли к ним. | We arrived at their flat early. |
| Поезд опоздал на два часа (пришел на два часа позже). | The train arrived half an hour late. |
| Наступило (пришло) лето. | Summer has arrived. |
| Мы пришли к решению помочь вам закончить проект. | We arrived at a decision to help you finish the project. |
| Следственная комиссия пришла к заключению, что это был несчастный случай. | The committee of investigation arrived at a conclusion that it was an accident. |
| Мы должны достигнуть взаимопонимания (прийти к взаимопониманию). | We must arrive at an understanding. |
| Кто сегодня придет? | Who's coming today? |
| Машина с продуктами уже пришла. | The car with provisions has come. |
| Почта уже пришла. | The post has come. |
| Одни приходят, другие уходят — и так целый день. | People were coming and going all day. |
| Пришли маляры покрасить дверь. | The men have come to paint the door. |
| Он пришел забрать свою книгу. | He came to take his book back. |
| На юге весна приходит рано. | Spring comes early in the South. |
| Приходи посмотреть на ее картины. | Come and look at her paintings. |
| После долгих переговоров они наконец пришли к согласию. | After long negotiations they at last came to an agreement. |
| Они пришли к заключению, что нужно снять новый рекламный ролик их товаров. | They came to a conclusion that they need a new advertisement of their goods. |
| Ему пришло в голову, что он может зайти к бабушке в гости. | It came into his head that he could drop in on his grandmother. |
проходить / пройти - to go by, to go past
| Они прошли мимо нашего дома. | They went by our house. |
| Лето прошло. | The summer went by. |
| Мы проехали мимо театра. | We went past the theater. |
cходить / сойти - to go down, descend
| Солнце зашло. | The sun went down. |
| Челнок спускался вниз по течению. | The canoe was going down stream. |
| Он осторожно спустился (сошел) с лестницы. | He descended the stairs carefully. |
| Они сошли с холма и пошли по дороге на юг. | They descended the hill and went along the road to the south. |
| Дорога круто сбегала (сходила) к берегу. | The road descended steeply to the shore. |
уходить / уйти - to go from, to leave, depart
| Мы сегодня уезжаем в Москву. | We leave for Moscow today. |
| Мой секретарь уходит с работы. | Me secretary is leaving. |
| Поезд в Санкт Петербург отходит в 12 часов. | The train to St. Petersburg departs at 12. |
| Делегация уезжает сегодня утром. | The delegation departs this morning. |
Conclusion
Verbs of motion is quite a challenging topic in Russian grammar so don't worry if you don't understand everything yet. This is also the first lesson where we have started introducing advanced examples. Don't worry if you find them difficult. Just come back to this lesson after you have completed some more advanced lessons. The examples will be more understandable then and provide a good learning tool. Our future lessons will all use such advanced examples to help you start observing Russian words and grammar in a realistic context.