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Russian motion verbs come in pairs

Going by foot, going by vehicle, and the surprising one-trip / many-trips distinction.

Russian doesn't have one verb for 'to go'. It has multiple, depending on (1) how you're going — foot or vehicle, and (2) whether the action is unidirectional/now or multidirectional/repeated. This is the part of Russian English speakers find most foreign — but the system is small once you see it.

On foot: идти / ходить

идти — going right now, in one direction. Я иду домой = I'm going home (right now, one trip). ходить — going regularly, multiple times, or generally. Я хожу в школу = I go to school (regularly). The pair: идти is the unidirectional ('I'm-going-now'), ходить is the multidirectional ('I-go-routinely').

By vehicle: ехать / ездить

Same pattern, for trips by car, bus, train, anything that's not your own legs: - ехать — going by vehicle, in progress, one direction. Я еду в Москву = I'm going to Moscow (now). - ездить — going by vehicle regularly. Я езжу на работу = I commute to work.

Conjugations to memorize

идти: иду, идёшь, идёт, идём, идёте, идут. Past: шёл, шла, шло, шли (irregular!). ходить: хожу, ходишь, ходит, ходим, ходите, ходят. Past: regular ходил, ходила. ехать: еду, едешь, едет, едем, едете, едут. ездить: езжу, ездишь, ездит, ездим, ездите, ездят.

When to pick which

If you're answering 'where are you going?' right now → unidirectional (иду / еду). If you're describing a routine or a there-and-back trip → multidirectional (хожу / езжу). Куда ты идёшь? (Where are you going [now]?) — иду. Каждое утро я хожу в школу (Every morning I go to school) — хожу.

Going TO somewhere: в/на + accusative

When the destination is ahead: в школу (to school), на работу (to work), в Москву (to Moscow). The destination takes the accusative — same forms you've already met in lesson 10.

Examples

Я иду в школу.
I'm going to school (now).
Unidirectional, on foot.
Я хожу в школу каждый день.
I go to school every day.
Multidirectional, on foot.
Куда ты идёшь?
Where are you going?
Right-now question.
Я еду в Москву.
I'm going to Moscow.
Unidirectional, by vehicle.
Иван часто ездит в Россию.
Ivan often travels to Russia.
Multidirectional, by vehicle.
Вчера мы шли домой долго.
Yesterday we walked home for a long time.
Past of идти — irregular.

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