In Russian, verbs are divided into two time-categories, called "aspects:"
1. Imperfect, or "ongoing" verbs
2. Perfect, or "completed" verbs
"Ongoing" Imperfective verbs imply that the action is happening, or was happening, while "completed" Perfective verbs mean the action happened, or will happen and finish.
Almost every verb in Russian is actually made up of a pair of verbs, one of which is imperfect, while the other is perfect.
For example, the "present tense" of an imperfect verb means something like the English "-ing" form.
Я говорю ро-русски. I speaking Russian. (translated "I speak Russian.")
The "present tense" of a perfect verb means a completed action in the future:
Я скажу ро-русски "я люблю тебя." I will say "I love you" in Russian.
In the past, the imperfect describes an ongoing action:
Я говорил ро-русски. I was speaking Russian.
The past tense of the perfect means a completed action that happened in the past:
Я сказал ро-русски "я люблю тебя." I said "I love you" in Russian.
Verbs of motion, on the other hand, usually have three basic forms, instead of just two. They divide the Imperfect time into two further categories:
1. Imperfect. ("Ongoing") Directional verbs
2. Imperfect. ("Ongoing") General verbs
3. Perfect. ("Completed")
For example, the verb triplet идти/ ходить / пойти means "to go on foot."
1. идти is a Directional verb, meaning "to be headed...on foot."
2. ходить is a General verb, meaning "to go...on foot."
3. пойти is a Perfective verb, meaning "went...on foot."
Human Language is psychological in nature. In psychology, the concept of salience means "what stands out as important." For example, sex is generally very salient to the human mind, which is why advertisers use it to draw our attention to their products. Bright colors are also salient, while boring elevator music is usually not salient- meaning, our brain hears it, but doesn't usually think it's important for us to focus on.
The three-tiered Russian Verb of Motion is comprised of three categories of salience. The first category, comprising Directional verbs such as идти, places a heavy salience on the motion itself. When a speaker uses a Directional Verb, they are subconsciously drawing the listener's attention to the vehicle and direction of the motion itself. A good translation of any Directional Verb (called "determinate" verbs in Grammarspeak,) is "to be headed toward___ by_____(foot, car, plane, ship etc)" or "to be on your way to ____ by____(foot, car, plane, ship, etc)"
In the second category, General Verbs such as ходить place more of an emphasis on the destination, rather than on the direction of motion. The vehicle by which the motion is accomplished is included- in case the listener is interested. However, most of the time, a General Verb is used as a kind of "wind up" to the listener, preparing him or her for an important destination. Many of the dozen or so Russian General Verbs of Motion can be simply translated with the English verb "go." e.g. ("go to school" "go to work" "go to the store" "go to Germany")
The third category, Perfective Verbs of Motion such as пойти, has a very low level of salience to the listener. The emphasis is on the destination. The unimportance of the vehicle or direction is seen in the way Russians frequently use the "wrong" verb of motion in this tense, such as using пойти ("to go (pf) on foot") and поехать ("to go (pf.) by car or train") interchangeably. Theses verbs are used for past and future "completed" trips, and can be translated with "go."
The following English sentences illustrate the various levels of salience.
Destination: Store. Vehicle: Foot.
1. идти Hi! Nice to see you. I'm just on my way to the store.
2. ходить Hey honey- I'll be right back. I gotta go to the store.
3. пойти I went to the store.
Destination: Work. Vehicle: Car
1. ехать On the phone: "I'm headed to work right now. Can I call you back?"
2. ездить He goes to work at 7am every morning.
3. поехать I went to work today.
1. Imperfect, or "ongoing" verbs
2. Perfect, or "completed" verbs
"Ongoing" Imperfective verbs imply that the action is happening, or was happening, while "completed" Perfective verbs mean the action happened, or will happen and finish.
Almost every verb in Russian is actually made up of a pair of verbs, one of which is imperfect, while the other is perfect.
For example, the "present tense" of an imperfect verb means something like the English "-ing" form.
Я говорю ро-русски. I speaking Russian. (translated "I speak Russian.")
The "present tense" of a perfect verb means a completed action in the future:
Я скажу ро-русски "я люблю тебя." I will say "I love you" in Russian.
In the past, the imperfect describes an ongoing action:
Я говорил ро-русски. I was speaking Russian.
The past tense of the perfect means a completed action that happened in the past:
Я сказал ро-русски "я люблю тебя." I said "I love you" in Russian.
Verbs of motion, on the other hand, usually have three basic forms, instead of just two. They divide the Imperfect time into two further categories:
1. Imperfect. ("Ongoing") Directional verbs
2. Imperfect. ("Ongoing") General verbs
3. Perfect. ("Completed")
For example, the verb triplet идти/ ходить / пойти means "to go on foot."
1. идти is a Directional verb, meaning "to be headed...on foot."
2. ходить is a General verb, meaning "to go...on foot."
3. пойти is a Perfective verb, meaning "went...on foot."
Human Language is psychological in nature. In psychology, the concept of salience means "what stands out as important." For example, sex is generally very salient to the human mind, which is why advertisers use it to draw our attention to their products. Bright colors are also salient, while boring elevator music is usually not salient- meaning, our brain hears it, but doesn't usually think it's important for us to focus on.
The three-tiered Russian Verb of Motion is comprised of three categories of salience. The first category, comprising Directional verbs such as идти, places a heavy salience on the motion itself. When a speaker uses a Directional Verb, they are subconsciously drawing the listener's attention to the vehicle and direction of the motion itself. A good translation of any Directional Verb (called "determinate" verbs in Grammarspeak,) is "to be headed toward___ by_____(foot, car, plane, ship etc)" or "to be on your way to ____ by____(foot, car, plane, ship, etc)"
In the second category, General Verbs such as ходить place more of an emphasis on the destination, rather than on the direction of motion. The vehicle by which the motion is accomplished is included- in case the listener is interested. However, most of the time, a General Verb is used as a kind of "wind up" to the listener, preparing him or her for an important destination. Many of the dozen or so Russian General Verbs of Motion can be simply translated with the English verb "go." e.g. ("go to school" "go to work" "go to the store" "go to Germany")
The third category, Perfective Verbs of Motion such as пойти, has a very low level of salience to the listener. The emphasis is on the destination. The unimportance of the vehicle or direction is seen in the way Russians frequently use the "wrong" verb of motion in this tense, such as using пойти ("to go (pf) on foot") and поехать ("to go (pf.) by car or train") interchangeably. Theses verbs are used for past and future "completed" trips, and can be translated with "go."
The following English sentences illustrate the various levels of salience.
Destination: Store. Vehicle: Foot.
1. идти Hi! Nice to see you. I'm just on my way to the store.
2. ходить Hey honey- I'll be right back. I gotta go to the store.
3. пойти I went to the store.
Destination: Work. Vehicle: Car
1. ехать On the phone: "I'm headed to work right now. Can I call you back?"
2. ездить He goes to work at 7am every morning.
3. поехать I went to work today.
