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All
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Welcome to Ep 19.Today’s episode will focus on one of the most intimidating aspects of the Russian language: The notorious Verbs of Motion. It’s a topic worthy of it own podcast, and in my Accelerator course there are ten in-depth lessons—two full weeks of material—dedicated to mastering them. So what, you might be wondering, can we possibly hope to cover in one little podcast? Well, let’s just see.

For
now, repeat after the speaker…Я еду

Without
any setup, I still wonder if you can get the meaning. Can you
translate these phrases?

В
мае я еду в Лондон.

В
августе я еду в Москву.

He
said: In May, ya yedu to London.

And
she said: In August, ya yedu to Moscow.

So
what’s your best guess on я еду? It
translates as I’m going, I’m heading to, I’m traveling to

Like:
In May, I’m going to London…or…In August, I’m
traveling to Moscow

Let’s
turn those into questions. Just for fun—again, making your best
guess—How would you ask a friend: You’re traveling to London?

Ты
едешь в Лондон?

You’re
traveling to Moscow?

Ты
едешь в Москву?

Your
brother is traveling to Rome?

Твой
брат едет в Рим?

Your
sister is traveling to Paris?

Твоя
сестра едет в Париж?

I’m
traveling, you’re traveling, he’s traveling.

Я
еду, ты едешь, он едет

You
know the drill. File it away and let’s do some review. Imagine your
daughter comes out of her grandparents home carrying a balloon and
some gifts, and it wasn’t even her birthday. Ask:

“They
made a surprise for you?” Lit: They made for you a surprise?

Они
сделали тебе сюрприз?

Tell
your friend: Your drums are in the podval.

Твои
барабаны в подвале.

Ask:
Where are my guitars?

Где
мои гитары?

…did
you get that “ee” sound at the end of guitars…to make it
plural?

Try
to say: They didn’t want to wait.

Они
не хотели ждать.

They
said that you worked in a bank.

Они
сказали, что ты работал в банке.

You
get those? Good job. Ok..back to our main topic…

Imagine
Vlad is on a business trip. A friend calls and asks about his travel
plans. So Vlad tells him…

Я
сейчас в Бостоне, но завтра я еду в
Питсбург.

What
do you think he said? I’m now in Boston but zaftra I’m heading to
Pittsburgh.

You
probably got that…it translates as tomorrow.

Try
to say the opposite. I’m now in Pittsburgh, but tomorrow I’m heading
to Boston.

Я
сейчас в Питсбурге, но завтра я еду в
Бостон.

Let’s
run through some common constructions with these. In this first
round, imagine you’re stepping to the door with a suitcase in hand.
You roommate asks where you’re going. Say…

I’m
traveling to Minsk….to Portland…to Berlin.

Я
еду…в Минск. / …в Портленд. / …в Берлин.
/

Anton
is traveling to Sydney….to San Diego…to Sevastopol

Антон
едет …в Сидней….в Сан Диего…в Севастополь

Quick
question..In English, is there any real difference between saying,
I’m going to Las Vegas?

vs…I’m
traveling to Las Vegas? Well, for one, the word ‘going’ is way more
common. But is there a difference in meaning? Imagine you step
to the door, your roommate asks where you’re going, and you say: “I
am traveling to the grocery store.” — “Oh? Fare thee
well, young explorer. Godspeed on your journey.” Right?
“traveling” is a pretty dramatic word just for some trip
across town.

Well,
in Russian, я еду means I’m traveling
**in some vehicle**.

As
soon as someone hears it, they envision a long trip. Depending on how
far you’re going, they will envision you either inside a car, a
train, a plane…maybe a bus. And that comes to them in an instant as
soon as they hear еду. It comes to them
before you even say your destination.

English
doesn’t work like that. If I open the door and I tell my roommate,
I’m going to ******

Whoops…
he didn’t catch my last word. He has no idea, now, if I’m going just
around the corner, or if I’m flying across the country. Because in
English, the word ‘going’ doesn’t tell us much.

But
in Russian, the verb of motion that you use conveys TONS of
information. It’s incredible.

(music)

Let
me really test your memory. This is from Episode #4. Can you
translate these two phrases?

Я
сейчас в парке.

Я
иду в парк.

Since
we didn’t hear a ‘yeh’ at the end, we assume that second one means:
I’m going to the park.

Which
it does. But, being a verb of motion, it means a lot more than just
“going.” It means, in fact, ‘going on foot.’ It’s the
walking version of я еду

Let’s
practice spotting them. Just say whether the person is going on foot
or by vehicle. Ready?

–
– –

So,
as you open the door, if you tell your Russian roommate: Я
иду
в Москву.

He
might joke with you…”Seriously? You’re going there on foot?”

Серьёзно?
Ты идёшь туда пешком?!

So,
again: я иду means I’m going on foot

…but
it also means you’re on your way there…that you’re en
route

English
makes this difference, too. A kid says…I go to school. He means,
He’s old enough, now, and he goes to school. vs a kid hefting his
school bag…Mom, I’m going to school. He means he’s on his way
there right now. I go…vs I’m going…

In
Russian, you’d need a totally different verb. Think of it this way.
You’re on the phone with a Russian friend, and at some point you
mention: Я иду в спортзал.

You
think you’re telling them…I go to the gym.

But
what does your Russian friend think? They’ll say something like,
“Shoot, I didn’t realize. I’ll let you go.” Because what
you actually said is, “I’m going to the gym..” or “I’m
heading to the gym.”

If
you want to convey that you go to the gym in general, like the kid
who “goes to school”…you need a totally different verb in
Russian. Я хожу в спортзал.

No
need to learn that right now. Like I said, there are ten video
lessons in Russian Accelerator that will lead you through all these
versions. And really, video is the only way to explain it anyway,
because we’re describing motion…It’s so much easier to grasp when
you can see it.

But
for now, just know: Russian conveys much more information with its
verbs than English does.

Earlier,
you listened to phrases and had to say whether the person was going
by foot or by vehicle. Let’s see if you can say similar
phrases now. First, say just the word ‘library’:

библиотека

Now
say: I’m heading to the library…implying, on foot. Heading there
counts as doing something to the library, so its ending changes to an
”u” sound. Listen again.

Я
иду в библиотеку.

Do
you recall the word for pharmacy?

аптека

Now
say: I’m heading to the pharmacy.

Я
иду в аптеку.

And
discotheque is a cognate. Like the other two, it’s feminine. Listen.
дискотека

Я
иду на дискотеку.

Ask
your friend: Are you going to Starbucks?

Ты
идёшь в Старбакс?

Are
you going to the store?

Ты
идёшь в магазин?

Are
you going to the concert?

Ты
идёшь на концерт?

We
used the ‘on foot’ versions, because those are places about town. But
now say…

I’m
going to Kiev…I’m going to St. Petersburg…I’m going to Odessa

Я
еду в Киев…в Санкт Петербург…в Одессу

We
had to use the ‘by vehicle’ forms for those. And with these next
ones, too. Try to ask…

Are
you going to the seminar? Are you going to a conference?

Ты
едешь…на семинар?…на конференцию?

Why
are some of these getting ‘V’ (в) and
others get ‘Na’ (на) ?

Like,
why is it: Я иду в магазин.

but

Я
иду на концерт.

I
could give you the textbook explanation about ‘enclosed spaces’
versus ‘open air’ locations, but there are just too many exceptions.
The way I learned them was to assume I needed to use ‘V’–because
it’s the more common one–and then compile a list in my head of
locations that actually require Na. It’s such a small thing, please
don’t let it keep you from using your Russian.

Alright….Russian
Immersion time….

<<
TIP OF THE DAY >>

Despite
my dire warning at the start of today’s episode—that the Russian
Verbs of Motion are notoriously intimidating—you probably don’t
feel that yet. But let me lead you a bit deeper in. Imagine you’re
traveling with friends and someone calls asking you what everyone’s
up to. In English, we can use the verb “went” for almost
everything…

Jim
went to the pharmacy.