Duo Russian Grammar

58) Prefixed Verbs of Motion

Back in Motion

Having covered the basic verbs of motion earlier, it's time to go a bit deeper.

While English often uses additional words and/or a completely different verb to convey different nuances of movement somewhere, Russian typically takes one of the basic verbs of motion and modifies it with a prefix.

They often come in pairs, so we have:

при- expresses approaching in a general way. Иван приехал в Россию = Ivan arrived in/came to Russia. у- conveys going away or leaving. Дженни уехала из Москвы = Jenny left Moscow.

в-/во- for movement into an enclosed space. Он вошёл в комнату. = He entered the room. вы- for movement out of an enclosed space. Я выйду из дома = I will leave the house.

под-/подо- movement towards. Он подошёл ко мне = He walked up to me. от-/ото- movement away from. Она отошла от него = She walked away from him.

Also:

про- through or past. Мы проехали туннель = we drove through the tunnel. Они прошли мимо церкви = They walked past a church.

пере- across Я перешла/перешёл мост = I crossed the bridge.

A tricky aspect

You may have spotted so far that the examples have all been the one-directional versions of 'go' and that they are all past or future. Well, here's where it may get confusing. When they have a prefix attached, the one- and two- directional versions of 'go' convey aspect rather than 'directionality'. This probably makes more sense with an example:

Я перехожу мост - I am crossing the bridge/I cross the bridge

Я перейду мост - I will cross the bridge.

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