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Verbs of Motion

Verbs of motion (also referred to as VoM) are a distinct class of verbs found in several Slavic languages. Due to the extensive semantic information they contain, Russian verbs of motion pose difficulties for non-native learners at all levels of study . Unprefixed verbs of motion, which are all imperfective, divide into pairs based on the direction of the movement (uni- or multidirectional—sometimes called determinate/indeterminate or definite/indefinite). As opposed to a verb-framed language, in which path is encoded in the verb, but manner of motion typically is expressed with complements, Russian is a satellite language, meaning that these concepts are encoded in both the root of the verb and the particles associated with it, satellites . Thus, the roots of motion verbs convey the lexical information of manner of movement, e.g. walking, crawling, running, whereas prefixes denote path, e.g. motion in and out of space. The roots also distinguish between means of conveyance, e.g. by transport or by one’s own power, and, in transitive verbs, the object or person being transported. The information below provides an outline of the formation and basic usage of unprefixed and prefixed verbs of motion.

Unprefixed Verbs of Motion:

This table contains 14 commonly-accepted pairs of Russian verbs of motion, adapted from Muravyova.

English	Unidirectional	Multidirectional
'to run'	бежа́ть	бе́гать
'to wander'	брести́	броди́ть
'to convey, transport'	везти́	вози́ть
'to lead'	вести́	води́ть
'to drive, chase'	гна́ть	гоня́ть
'to go by vehicle, ride'	е́хать	е́здить
'to go, walk'	идти́	ходи́ть
'to roll'	кати́ть	ката́ть
'to climb'	ле́зть	ла́зить (ла́зать)
'to fly'	лете́ть	лета́ть
'to carry'	нести́	носи́ть
'to swim, float'	плы́ть	пла́вать
'to crawl'	ползти́	по́лзать
'to drag'	тащи́ть	таска́ть

Directionality

1. Unidirectional verbs of motion describe motion in progress in one direction, e.g:
   1. We are headed to the library.

      Мы идём в библиотеку.

   2. I was on my way to work.

      Я шла на работу.

   3. Birds fly south in autumn.

      Птицы летят на юг осенью.

2. Multidirectional verbs of motion describe:
   1. General motion, referring to ability or habitual motion, without reference to direction or destination, e.g.:
      1. The child has been walking for six months.

         Ребёнка ходит шесть месяцев.

      2. Birds fly, fish swim, and dogs walk.

         Птицы летают, рыбы плавают, и собаки ходят.

   2. Movement in various directions, e.g.:
      1. We walked around the city all day.

         Мы ходили по городу весь день.

   3. Repetition of completed trips, e.g.:
      1. She goes the supermarket every week.

         Она ходит в супермаркет каждую неделю.

   4. In the past tense, a single completed round trip, e.g.:
      1. I went to Russia (and returned) last year.

         В прошлом году я ездил в Россию.

Unidirectional Perfectives with ПО-:

The addition of the prefix по- to a unidirectional verb of motion makes the verb perfective, denoting the beginning of a movement, i.e. 'setting out'. These perfectives imply that the agent has not yet returned at the moment of speech, e.g.,

1. He went to a friend's place (and has not returned).

   Он пошёл к другу.

   Compare with:
2. He went to a friend's place (and has returned).

   Он ходил к другу.

3. He was on his way to a friend’s place.

   Он шёл к другу.

Going vs. Taking: Three pairs of motion verbs generally refer to ‘taking’, ‘leading’ with additional lexical information on manner of motion and object of transport encoded in the verb stem. These are нести/носить, вести/водить, and везти/возить. See below for the specific information on manner and object of transport:

1. нести/носить – ‘to take (on foot), carry’
   1. He carries a briefcase.

      Он носит портфель.

   2. She is taking her assignment to class.

      Она несёт домашние задание на занятия.

2. вести/водить – ‘to take, lead (people or animals)’; ‘to drive (a vehicle)’
   1. The teacher was taking the children to a field trip.

      Учитель вёл школьников на экскурсию

   2. She took her friend to the theatre.

      Она водила свою подругу в театр.

   3. She knows how to drive a car.

      Она умеет водить машину.

3. везти/возить – ‘to take, drive, convey by vehicle’
   1. She is wheeling her grandmother in a wheelchair.

      Она везёт бабушку в инвалидном кресле.

   2. Поезд возил пассажиров в Англию.

      The train took the passengers to England (and back).

Prefixed Verbs of Motion:

Verbs of motion combine with prefixes to form new aspectual pairs, which lose the distinction of directionality, but gain spatial or temporal meanings. The unidirectional verb serves as the base for the perfective, and the multidirectional as the base for the imperfective. In addition to the meanings conveyed by the prefix and the simplex motion verb, prepositional phrases also contribute to the expression of path in Russian. Thus, it is important to consider the whole verb phrase when examining verbs of motion.

In some verbs of motion, adding a prefix requires a different stem shape:

1. идти → -йти ‘go (on foot)’
   1. For prefixes ending in a consonant, an -o- is added in all forms, e.g.: войти.
   2. Й is lost in the non-past conjugated forms of прийти, e.g.: приду ‘I come’.
2. ездить → -езжать ‘go (by conveyance)’ For prefixes ending in a consonant, a hard sign (ъ) is added before –ехать and –езжать, e.g.: въезжать ‘enter (by conveyance)’.
3. бéгать → бегáть ‘run’ The formation of the verb remains the same, but stress shifts from the stem to the endings, e.g.: отбегáть ‘run away’.
4. плáвать → плывáть ‘swim’ The vowel in the root changes to -ы- and the stress shifts to the endings.
5. In perfective verbs with the prefix вы-, the prefix is stressed in all forms, e.g. вы́йдешь ‘go out’.

See below for a table the prefixes, their primary meanings, and the prepositions that accompany them, adapted from Muravyova. Several examples are taken directly or modified from Muravyova.

Prefixed Verbs of Motion

Prefix / Primary Meanings	Examples / Additional Meanings	Prepositional Phrases
Spatial
В- (ВО-) Movement inwards across a threshold, entering Antonym: вы-	The tram stopped and the girl entered. Трамвай остановился и девушка вошла.	в / на + acc.
ВЫ- Movement out of something across a threshold, exiting Antonym: в-	She exited the office. Она вышла из кабинета. Other: Step out for a short period of time, e.g.: The secretary left for ten minutes. Секретарь вышел на десять минут. Leave at a specific time, e.g.:The train is leaving at 10:30. Поезд выехал с вокзала в 10:30.	из / с / от + gen. в / на + acc. к + dat.
ПРИ- Intended arrival, signals presence of the agent at a location as a result of motion Antonym: у-	He arrived in Moscow a week ago. Он приехал в Москву неделю назад.	в / на + acc. к + dat. из / с / от + gen.
У- Intended departure, signals absence Antonym: при-	They will leave Vladivostok in a month. Они улетят из Владивостока через месяц. Where is Igor? He already left. Где Игорь? Он уже ушёл.	в / на + acc. к + dat. из / с / от + gen.
ПОД- (ПОДО-) Approach Antonym: от-	He approached the girl to ask for her number. Он подошёл к девушке чтобы попросить номер у неё. Other: Подвезти – give someone a lift, e.g.: He took me (as far as) downtown. Он подвёз меня до центра.	к + dat. до + gen.
ОТ- (ОТО-) Withdrawal a short distance away Antonym: под-	The boy stepped back from the stranger who had offered him candy. Мальчик отошёл от незнакомого, который предложил ему конфеты. Other: With transitive verbs, delivering or dropping something off (agent does not remain), e.g.: I'll drop the book off at the library, then come. Я отнесу книги в библиотеку, потом приду.	от + gen.
ДО- Reaching a limit or destination	The passengers reached the last station and exited the bus. Пассажиры доехали до последней остановки и вышли из автобуса. Other: Characterizing the duration of a journey, especially when it is long, e.g.: We finally reached the dacha. Мы наконец доехали до дачи.	до + gen.
ЗА- Movement behind an object; stopping off on the way<	The old woman walked behind the corner and disappeared. Бабушка зашла за угол и исчезла. Other: Action performed on the way to a destination, e.g.: On the way home I stopped at the store for bread. По дороге домой я зашла в продукты за хлебом A short visit, e.g.: The young man often stops by his mother’s place. Молодой человек часто заходит к маме. Movement deep into something, at a great distance (inside, upwards or downwards), e.g.: The ball flew onto the roof of the house. Мяч залетел за крышу дома.	в / на / за + acc. к + dat. за + inst.
ПРО- Movement across, through, or past something	We drove through the city. Мы проехали через город. We passed the metro station. Мы прошли мимо станции метро. Other: Movement beyond one’s destination (possibly unintentional), e.g.: I’m afraid we already passed the store. Я боюсь, что мы уже прошли магазин. Movement forward with the distance covered specified, e.g.: You'll go three stops and get off the tram. Вы проедете три остановки и выйдете из трамвая.	сквозь / через / в + acc. мимо + gen. without preposition
ПЕРЕ- Movement across, from one point to another; through	The ducks swam across the river. Утки переплыли через реку. Other: Changing residence, e.g.: I moved to another city. Я переехала в другой город.	через + acc without preposition + acc.
ВЗ- (ВС-, ВЗО-) Movement upwards Antonym: с-	The mountain climber walked up the mountain. Алпинист взошёл на гору.	в / на + acc.
С- Movement downwards Antonym: вз-	After the performance, the actor got off the stage. После представления, актёр сойдёт с сцены.	c + gen. на + acc. к + dat. за + inst.
О- (ОБ-, ОБО-) Movement around an object or involving a consecutive number of objects, circling, covering a whole place	The little girl walked around the puddle. Девочка обошла лужки. I'm going around to all the stores in the mall. Я обхожу по всем магазинам в центре.	вокруг + gen. without preposition + acc.