Motion verbs I: идти́ / ходи́ть and е́хать / е́здить
Two pairs — on foot and by vehicle, one-way and return — and the present of a one-way verb can only mean 'is going now'.
Russian splits 'to go' along two axes at once, and English has nothing that matches it. The first axis is how you travel: идти́ and ходи́ть are on foot, е́хать and е́здить are by vehicle — bus, car, train, tram, bicycle. The second axis is whether the journey is one-way: идти́ and е́хать are unidirectional, a single trip in a single direction; ходи́ть and е́здить are multidirectional, covering a round trip, wandering about, or a habit repeated over time.
In practice the four verbs divide up like this. Я иду́ в магази́н means I am on my way to the shop right now, on foot. Я хожу́ в магази́н ка́ждый день means I go to the shop every day. Я е́ду на рабо́ту means I am travelling to work, by vehicle. Я е́зжу на рабо́ту на авто́бусе means I go to work by bus, as a habit. A round trip also takes the multidirectional verb even if it happened once: Вчера́ я ходи́л в кино́ — I went to the cinema yesterday, and by implication I came back.
The unidirectional present is a progressive, and this is a large idea delivered for free. Я иду́ can only mean 'I am going now' — never 'I go' as a habit. Russian has no continuous tense and does not need one, because the verb pair supplies it. This is the first time you meet aspect in disguise, and it makes the formal treatment much easier later. Note the two irregular conjugations: иду́, идёшь, идёт, идём, идёте, иду́т; е́ду, е́дешь, е́дет, е́дем, е́дете, е́дут. The past of идти́ is suppletive — шёл, шла́, шло, шли — while е́хать is regular: е́хал, е́хала, е́хали.
Transport is expressed as a fixed chunk with на plus the Prepositional: на метро́, на авто́бусе, на по́езде, на маши́не, на трамва́е, на велосипе́де, на самолёте, на кора́бле. The one exception is пешко́м, 'on foot', which is a plain adverb. At this level only two prefixed motion verbs belong to A1: пойти́, to set off, and прийти́, to arrive on foot. Everything else — уйти́, войти́, вы́йти, дойти́, зайти́ — is A2 material and is dealt with under motion-prefixes, where the whole prefix grid is set out.
Examples
- Я иду́ в магази́н. I am walking to the shop, right now. Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Я иду́ в магази́н.
- Я хожу́ в магази́н ка́ждый день. I go to the shop every day. Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Я хожу́ в магази́н ка́ждый день.
- Мы е́дем в Москву́ на по́езде. We are travelling to Moscow by train. Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Мы е́дем в Москву́ на по́езде.
- Она́ е́здит на рабо́ту на авто́бусе. She goes to work by bus, habitually. Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Она́ е́здит на рабо́ту на авто́бусе.
- Вчера́ он шёл домо́й пешко́м. Yesterday he walked home. Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Вчера́ он шёл домо́й пешко́м.
- Мы реши́ли пойти́ в парк ве́чером. We decided to go to the park in the evening. — пойти́ is one of only two prefixed forms at this level Listen in Russian: Slow in Russian: Мы реши́ли пойти́ в парк ве́чером.