Russian Verbs of Motion I: An Introduction

An UPDATED VERSION of this video is now available at • Russian Verbs of Motio... - with better sound, tightened script, and English captions.
Learn Russian verbs of motion by getting comfortable with a fundamental idea: moving in one direction is very different from moving in more than one direction... as different as hedgehogs are from space stations. When you know the difference between ходить and идти, you can apply the same idea to all the other Russian motion verbs.
For over 200 videos like this one, and over 400 embedded comprehension checks, exercises, quizzes, and example sentences, visit my Russian Grammar Library Project at www.tips4russian.com.
For free sample lessons on verbs of motion, start at www.tips4russian.com/courses/...
Free sample lessons on participles: www.tips4russian.com/courses/...
If you find these videos helpful as you explore this rich, complex language, please consider supporting the channel by buying me a coffee. Спасибо!
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[@RussianLanguagePodcast]

Great explanation, thank you. I especially like that there is a hedgehog in it!

[@russiangrammar]

А как же без ёжика? :)

[@howel080]

wow, this is by far the best explenation of verbs of motion in russian I have ever seen and I am so thankful I found this.

[@angelosenlob1557]

I agree completely

[@Axctal]

I have found another way to explain directional vs un-directional verbs of motion. English speakers are familiar with articles "a" vs "the". Like in "the table" vs. "a table". Now, imagine applying same concept to verbs in Russian : Мы идём - we are "the" going - i.e. going with specific direction or goal Мы ходим - we are "a" going - i.e. going with no specific direction/goal OR repetitive

[@raymondadams579]

That's really interesting.And easy to remember.

[@gunnara.7860]

Maybe this could be taught in reverse so Russians could better understand definite/indefinite article?

[@unbearable9770]

@@gunnara.7860 I just passed this on to a Russian penpal studying English.

[@gunnara.7860]

@@unbearable9770 I wish him or her success in that undertaking.

[@DaveTomasetti]

I was very very confused on this topic, motion verbs were difficult to me. I watched all your videos on this topic and all became absolutely CLEAR and easy. Thank you so much for your work! really great videos!

[@Raymondvf]

This was executed in a clear way. Molodjets!

[@jamesallan8240]

I agree with Angelos, easily the best videos to explain verbs of motion.

[@deborahshechter2930]

Chapeau! Your analogies are wonderful! A pleasure to watch your lessons!

[@sbapungi1506]

Just beautiful . i'm really starting to love Russian language . thank you sir

[@katb.78]

Best explanation I had on this subject. Understandable and entertaining. Thank you!

[@aussiesurfer7236]

This is unreal. Great work. Thanks for your help.

[@KamenosTypas]

Excellent work! This was really helpful! I'm a big fan of all your videos!

[@aditisingh707]

One of the best explanations i have ever seen. Hats off.

[@isthatyougary]

This is an excellent piece of language teaching. Thanks you!

[@fndTenorio]

This is gold, thanks!

[@hinos72]

Thank you Sir, you are truly a Master. I hope you'll soon be able to upload some more quality content like this. I'm one of your biggest fans!

[@snejanaliapi6478]

Очень доступно объяснили!

[@JOHN----DOE]

VERY helpful, especially the idea that the unidirectional can usually be translated as "headed to," the closest thing to unidirectional in English.

[@d.e.sibghatullahshahi6825]

thanks so much, it was very helpful and clear for me to improve my russian language

[@YamenKhaddour]

thank you... so great

[@lorinsoraii3598]

Thanks for your explaining ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Lunaleodrune]

So helpful!

[@metalboxalbatros]

beautiful explenation!

[@AbdullahAlMamun-fn8uo]

precise and helpful.

[@kenyalmb]

This is literally the best way to learn

[@MahmoudElmougy]

you are the best

[@WW2SolitaireBoardGameChannel]

Spasibo!

[@LiveRussian]

Thank you so much!!! Your explanation is so nice) with all these examples. I give it to my students when we get to the verbs of motion.

[@russiangrammar]

Thanks Katya, I'm really glad you find them helpful!

[@unbearable9770]

Katya should make a song about this for her videos!

[@LiveRussian]

@@unbearable9770 Don’t we have one already? «Я еду. Я иду». Or «Ходить». But it’s a good idea to compare all those in one song)

[@perceptronsaber4479]

very useful

[@isjawu]

Great work - your videos definitely deserve more clicks than a few thousand. That’s what I call making full - yet not overdone, but dosed and sparing - use of the visual medium to learn a language and have fun with it. May I ask what your native language is? Both your Russian and English sound just perfect. You speak fast but clearly and not overemphasized like speakers in many other courses. I have no problem to understand each word though my English is certainly not perfect (native: German) and I am just beginning with A2 level in Russian.

[@russiangrammar]

Thanks! My native language is English, but I've been working on Russian for a long time.

[@Dake1989]

@@russiangrammar Very methodical explanation, I can really tell you have a PhD in Slavic Linguistics and probably studied Russian very deeply. Your pronunciation is indeed awesome, so much so that after listening to a few of your videos and trying to find any points to improve I as a native can only say, don't forget to double consonants. One thing I found out not so long ago is that in English you don't double consonants regardless of spelling, e.g. immersion is pronounced with a normal single m. In Russian, however, (and in many other languages) if you see two of the same consonants back-to-back you're supposed to make that consonant longer. So, идти sounds like итти, and the т should be dwelled on longer than usual. As a fellow language enthusiast, thought you might enjoy this little piece of feedback!

[@alirezajafari9850]

very good

[@ussrwrestling]

I usually explain my students, that Russian Unidirectional verbs are equivalent to English Present Continious, and Miltidirectional verbs are equivalent to English Present Simple! :))))

[@russiangrammar]

Yes, that's a very helpful approach. It may not always work - I'm thinking of situations like 'Every morning when I go to work..' = Каждое утро, когда еду на работу... but that's a less frequent context (repeated motion with focus on just the one direction) that I don't usually burden beginners with anyway. :))

[@ilialvov8142]

It is worth mentioning that while one physically can't be coming and going at the same time, it is possible to be moving aimlessly at any given moment of time. So "ходить" may occasionally be equivalent to Present Continuous. E.g., "Что ты делаешь? - Я просто хожу по саду". For "running", a valid example would be "Извини, перезвоню потом - я сейчас бегаю".

[@russiangrammar]

Yes, thanks for the comment. This video was originally done for users of a book that hadn't yet introduced the context of aimless motion, or the ability to go around in general, so I didn't include it here. I'm working on a follow-up lesson that does include nuances like these: Мы ходим по городу 'We're walking around town,' or Их дочка уже ходит 'Their daughter is already walking/can already walk.'

[@ilialvov8142]

Very nice to hear that! I think you do a great job with this channel. Russian grammar is by no means easy, so I commend you on being able to structure it into relatively small comprehensible junks.

[@lubondochilekwa]

Thank you

[@russiangrammar]

Пожалуйста!

[@tovincentchia]

Thanks. Another beautiful and wonderful things about Russian verbs of motion are : raining and (идти) is used, for example : идёт дождь

[@mEDIUMGap]

I'll tell you more - there can be such construction like "Ходи сюда"

[@VladimirsSilins]

And even more to it - it's not an invite to go сюда time to time, but the request or even order for an immediate approach :))

[@donatellau]

ypu speak both russian and english very good. Impressed by your explication. Thank you!! Susribed

[@lucasm4299]

Наталья Румянцева * explanation :)

[@chungchung2683]

tq

[@russiangrammar]

If motion verbs make your brain hurt, consider my complete online course on Russian verbs of motion! www.tips4russian.com/mastering-verbs-of-motion/ It goes beyond KZbin with quizzes, links to songs and poems, and challenging audio review exercises to download to your phone and practice anywhere, anytime. The complete course includes 34 video lessons and 25 audio review exercises. Try the first three lessons for free, or take a free, 5-minute placement quiz at www.tips4russian.com/placement/ .

[@samrachkem2801]

0:13 topology student: they're the same

[@Marduk135]

At 3:57, using your example: Мы каждый день ходим в кафе. = We go to the cafe every day. What if you use идтй?: Мы каждый день идёшь в кафе. = We are going to the cafe every day?

[@russiangrammar]

Using идти in this context wouldn’t work because if you go there every day, you’re no doubt returning, too - otherwise you couldn’t go again! That’s motion in more than one direction, so we need to use ходить. It’s a good rule of thumb to use ходить for repeated trips in the present. A note for intermediate/advanced learners: you might use идти for repeated actions in the present if you’re talking about motion *in one direction* specifically. An example: Каждый раз, когда я иду за покупками в супермаркет, моя 80-летняя бабушка кричит мне… = ‘Every time I go grocery shopping, my 80-year old grandma yells to me… ‘ Here grandma yells something only when he’s going there, not returning. Another example with ехать (going by vehicle): Когда я еду домой, ночью, после долгого рабочего дня, все о чем я могу думать, это мой ребенок. = ‘When I’m going home at night after a long day at work, all I can think about is my child.’ Here we’re talking specifically about one direction (the trip home), so ехать makes sense.

[@gregoriysharapov1936]

Curious question: what if someone went to school once and then never went to school ever again? How would you say that? On idyot v shkolu odin raz?

[@russiangrammar]

I'm trying to imagine the context you mean. Идёт is present & would mean he's "on the way" to the school now. Он ходит в школу would definitely mean he goes habitually. What kind of situation do you have in mind? :)

[@shukrimahmood]

@@russiangrammar I hope I won't be considered presumptuous if I say that he is, mischievously, imaging a hypothetical situation when someone "had been to school for just one day in his whole life". Please Doctor, feel free not to reply to this comment... I really don't want to encroach upon your time. Many thanks for the excellent lectures you are giving.

[@languagelover9170]

W-O-W FUCKING HELL YOU"RE SO SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSO AWESOME! Like wtf yo hva elike the BEST LESSONS OF RUSSIAN GRAMMAR! I LOVE RUSSIAN AND YOU MAN! ♥!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Awesome sexyyy langugae

[@russiangrammar]

[blushing] Seriously it is a very cool language. And the more you learn, the more interesting it gets! :)

[@languagelover9170]

Russian grammar Yyes wow I love it! :)

[@bonbonpony]

How about the difference between "Я иду поиграть в шахматы" and "Я иду играть в шахматы"?

[@russiangrammar]

по- with играть gives the sense of 'doing something for a while,' like почитать 'read for a while,' поспать 'take a nap,' подумать 'think for a moment/a little while;' the imperfective играть is more open-ended. I can't say иду поиграть is wrong, but I think it's more common to use an imperfective after иду.. for the sense of 'going somewhere to engage in some activity.'

[@DeadnWoon]

Too much is spoken on the difference between a space station and a hedgehog.

[@tinpot1978]

DnWn fully agree.

[@TranslatorTuber]

It's an important difference to emphasise. All those tragic times astronauts have attempted to live in a hedgehog at 400 kilometres above the earth's surface could so easily have been avoided if only they had watched this video first.

[@projectunreflected4539]

English? bla, bla, bla.