Lesson 15
Discussing Your Recent Past, Vacations and Verbs of Motion in Russian
You will learn
- to talk about what you have done in the recent past
- to discuss previous vacations and trips abroad
- about a well-known newspaper and about changes in Russian society
Study guide
Dialogues: Spending the Day
1. How did Tanya spend her day?
оставлять надписи leave inscriptions, graffiti
писать (я пишу, ты пишешь) to write
дальше further; (here) next
приблизительно roughly, approximately
роман novel
действие как раз начинается... the action begins precisely...
правда truth; (here) it’s true
ты же знаешь,... you know (of course)... The particle же simply adds emphasis to the words it accompanies.
как я люблю Булгакова how I love Bulgakov. If the object of a sentence (the word in the accusative case) is a masculine noun referring to a person, the ending does change. Like the genitive, such nouns normally end in -a or -я: Я люблю Пушкина, Гоголя. Again, names which look like adjectives have adjectival endings, e.g.:
Я люблю Достоевского, Чайковского.
в том доме, где он жил in the house where he lived
раньше музея не было, люди туда приходили before, there was no museum, people used to come there. The imperfective past (приходили, оставляли, писали) here describes repeated, habitual actions in the past – ‘used to come/leave/write’. The verb приходить (я прихожу, ты приходишь) means ‘to come’, thus:
я прихожу в университет I arrive at the university
я прихожу на работу I arrive at work
писали цитаты из его книг they used to write out quotations from his books
я решила побродить по местам, где жили и бродили герои Булгакова I decided to wander around the places where Bulgakov’s characters lived and wandered. Побродить is the perfective form of бродить. По- is often used to indicate that the action lasted a short time, e.g.:
почитать to read a little
поспать to have a nap
Many Russian verbs come in such aspect pairs (imperfective / perfective), e.g. открывать → открыть (я открою, ты откроешь) ‘to open’. E.g. Когда откроют музей? – When will the museum be opened?
где ты была ещё? where else were you? The word ещё can be used to mean ‘else’, but in a negative sentence ещё не/нет means ‘not yet’.
на Патриарших прудах,... сейчас они Чистые называются at the ‘Patriarch’s Ponds’,... now they’re called ‘Clean Ponds’. Tanya is mistaken here: the Patriarch’s Ponds (Патриаршие пруды) and the Clean Ponds (Чистые пруды) are two different places in Moscow. In Soviet times the Patriarch’s Ponds were officially called Пионерские пруды; since 1992 they bear their original name again.
откуда улетала Маргарита from where Margarita flew away (yes, literally!). The prefix y- is often used to indicate (going, taking...) away. The opposite (coming, bringing...) is при, e.g.:
прилетать to arrive by air
улетать to leave by air
приходить to arrive (on foot)
уходить to leave (on foot)
Practice what you have learned
1. Masha has had a very full day visiting places connected with literary or music figures. Listen to her account and mark out her route on the map below.
New words:
Церковь Вознесения Church of the Ascension
венчаться to marry (in a church)
оттуда from there
оперный певец Шаляпин the opera singer Chaliapin
2. Below are the places Masha mentions, and the reasons each is of interest. The two lists have been jumbled up. Can you match them correctly?
3. You will play the role of Seryozha, a lover of literature and music. You will be asked which writers you like: каких писателей вы любите?, and which composers: каких композиторов вы любите?
Dialogues: Reading Bulgakov and Newspapers
2. Tanya can now read Bulgakov with her students.
о нём не говорили he wasn’t talked about. The endings of pronouns after о (about) are:
не говорили..., не упоминали he wasn’t spoken about..., he wasn’t mentioned. Russian uses the third person plural (the они form but without the pronoun) in both the present and past to express this passive meaning.
стали выходить... have begun to be published
говорить о вечных проблемах, о человечности to talk about eternal problems, about humanity. Any word following о (about) takes prepositional endings (the endings introduced in lesson 2).
3. Yuri Bandura, deputy editor of Московские новости, talks about his newspaper.
общественно-политический socio-political
еженедельник a weekly
главным образом in the main
экономические проблемы economic problems
положение в области культуры the situation in the cultural sphere
Note: Московские новости is no longer a printed newspaper: since 2020 it has been an online news portal about the life of the capital (Сейчас «Московские новости» – это интернет-портал о жизни столицы).
он выходит раз в неделю it comes out once a week. Many papers come out every day каждый день, or twice a week два раза в неделю.
по средам on Wednesdays. Similarly, по понедельникам on Mondays, по вторникам on Tuesdays etc.
продаётся в киосках, во всех it is sold in all kiosks. Many verbs in Russian can be given a passive meaning by adding -ся. Other examples: газета издаётся the paper is published, дом строится the house is being built.
которые стоят перед нашей страной which face our country
издаётся на пяти языках is published in five languages. In two (three or four) languages would be на двух (трёх, четырёх) языках.
Practice what you have learned
4. Below are the titles of several Russian papers. Listen to your recording, and decide which paper is referred to in each snatch of conversation.
New word: милосердие charity, compassion
Note: the printed press in Russia (and worldwide) has changed a great deal since this course was recorded. Many newspapers and magazines have moved online or closed down altogether, and today most Russians read the news on the internet. Treat this exercise purely as listening practice – the paper titles here matter only as part of the audio, not as a current guide to the press.
5. You have to be sharp to find a copy of many popular newspapers nowadays in Russian kiosks. To be ready, Kolya has found out when each of his favorite papers comes out, intending to make a note in his diary. Since he has forgotten, can you fill in the details?
а) понедельник
b) вторник
c) среда
d) четверг
e) пятница
f) суббота
g) воскресенье
Dialogues: Vacations
4. Natasha spent her vacation last year in Sochi.
в прошлом году last year
Сочи a popular resort town on the Black Sea
к сожалению unfortunately
поэтому therefore
отдых vacation, rest
неорганизованный not officially organized
всё-таки all the same
столовая cafeteria
овощи vegetables
рынок market
на рынке at the market
персики peaches
виноград grapes
вы ездили по путёвке? did you travel on a putyovka (package deal)? Путёвка is a prepaid package (accommodation, meals and sometimes travel or medical treatment) at a holiday resort, hotel or sanatorium. It used to be the usual way to go on holiday, and the word is still used today, mainly for prepaid tour packages, though it is much less common now.
мы ездили дикарями we traveled rough, i.e. without any accommodation organized. A family may simply rent a small room or part of one with no facilities or food provided. A single person would say я ездил(а) дикарём.
ездить to travel by vehicle. Ездить means to travel frequently or in more than one direction. In the past it can be just one journey there and back.
Ходить ‘to go on foot’ is used in exactly the same way.
путёвку очень трудно достать it’s very hard to obtain a pass
я учила своего сына плавать I taught my son to swim. The endings of свой сын are accusative.
как вы устраивались с питанием? what did you do about food?
на следующий год is another way of saying в следующем году next year
ещё раз once again
Practice what you have learned
6. Victor asks some of his colleagues where they went on their vacation. Listen to the recording, then fill in their replies under the pictures below.
I
II
III
Вы ездили по путёвке?
Вы ездили по путёвке?
Ты ездила по путёвке?
7. Your name is Dima and you spent your vacation in Sochi with your wife and son. Andrei as always will prompt you.
Dialogues: Travelling Abroad
5. Lyena asks Dima if he’s ever been abroad.
когда-нибудь ever, at any time
за границей abroad
расскажите tell me (about it)
экономика economics
общежитие hostel
в общежитии in a hostel
сначала at first
постепенно gradually
довольно-таки/довольно fairly
я недавно приехал из Германии I recently arrived (back) from Germany. Из ‘from’ is always followed by genitive endings. ‘From Marburg’ would be из Марбурга.
как турист as a tourist
никогда не была... I’ve never been... Никогда не ‘never’ can be used in front of any verb.
учил экономику studied economics. Учить if used with a subject means ‘to learn, study’. If it’s followed by a person it means ‘to teach’.
я путешествовал по всей стране I traveled around the whole country. Other useful phrases:
путешествовать по России to travel around Russia
путешествовать по всему миру to travel around the whole world
мне очень понравилось I liked it very much
вам было легко разговаривать с людьми? was it easy to converse with people? The opposite, i.e. ‘difficult’, is тяжело or, more commonly, трудно.
я привык I’ve got used to it. A woman would say я привыкла.
я свободно говорю по-немецки I speak German fluently
есть небольшие проблемы с практикой there are some small problems with practice
Practice what you have learned
8. Aleksei chatted with some people at a party. Later he described his new acquaintances to a friend. Or thought he did... He has mixed the people and their accounts up. Listen to your recording, and read just the order of the sentences below.
9. Dasha is talking to Lyudmila Nikolaevna, a professor of foreign languages. She doesn’t even attempt to remember how many languages Lyudmila Nikolaevna reads with ease, how many she speaks fluently. Can you?
Key words and phrases
To use
трудно / тяжело
разговаривать с людьми
свободно говорить по-немецки
проблемы с практикой
(it is) difficult
to converse with people
to speak fluently in German
problems with practice
To understand
Useful today
Первый номер ежедневной газеты “Московские новости” вышел 28 марта 2011г.
A word of caution
There are a large number of verbs of motion in Russian, and it is easy to become bogged down in choice and not move at all! The following should give you some useful information and hints. You may well, however, want to concentrate on certain common usages and make sure you are quite confident with them.
The verb ‘to go’
Since there are four verbs in Russian which can be translated as ‘to go’, it is necessary to be clear about the differences between them. They fall easily into two categories:
ехать / ездить to go by vehicle
How to choose between идти and ходить?
Идти is normally used when you are talking about movement on a specific occasion in a single direction, e.g.:
Where are you going this evening?
- Я иду на концерт/домой.
I am going to a concert/home.
Ходить is used for frequent movement, and for more than one direction. You will often use this when talking about the past (since you have been in at least two directions - there and back!), e.g.:
I often go to the theatre.
Вчера я ходила на Дядю Ваню.
Yesterday I went to Uncle Vanya (and came back again).
The same principle applies to ехать (like идти) and ездить (like ходить). Here are some examples:
She normally goes to work by subway,
но сегодня она едет на автобусе.
but today she is going by bus.
Он обычно ходит в магазин утром,
He normally goes to the shop in the morning,
но сегодня он идёт в магазин вечером.
but today he is going to the shop in the evening.
The future tense
Only the single-direction verbs идти and ехать have perfective forms which are used in the future:
ехать —› поехать (я поеду I will go by vehicle, ты поедешь you will go by vehicle)
After work I’ll go to a café.
Летом мы поедем на юг.
In summer we’ll go south.
Very often, however, the present tense (идти and ехать only) is used even when you are talking about the future, e.g.:
I’m going to a concert tomorrow.
The past tense
Both пойти and поехать can be used in the past also, but they imply that the action is still in effect.
He’s gone to England.
The past of пойти is rather irregular: он пошёл, она пошла, они пошли:
She’s gone to work.
Compare:
Volodya isn’t here. He’s gone to work.
Таня, где ты была? - Я ходила на рынок.
Tanya, where were you? - I went to the market (but obviously I’ve come back!).
Здравствуй, Сева! Я думал, что ты поехал в Клин.
Hello, Syeva! I thought you’d gone to Klin (i.e. I didn’t expect to see you here).
Здравствуй. Нет, я ездил в Клин в понедельник.
Hello. No, I went to Klin (and returned) on Monday.
| Meaning | One direction (imperf.) | Multi-directional (imperf.) | Perfective (one way) |
|---|---|---|---|
| to go on foot | идти | ходить | пойти |
| to go by vehicle | ехать | ездить | поехать |
| to fly | лететь | летать | полететь |
| to run | бежать | бегать | побежать |
10. Fill in the missing verbs in the following sentences.
New words:
мамы нет дома mother’s not at home
озеро Байкал Lake Baikal
Не очень часто. Но сегодня мы с женой на новый фильм. (идём, ходим)
В прошлом году я в Минск. (поехал, ездил)
Думаю, что нет. Скорее всего, мы на озеро Байкал. (поедем, ездим)
Read and understand
Read the following letters, written by some Russians who have recently returned from vacation. Find out how they like to spend their vacation, what they are interested in. Imagine the sort of vacation you would pick and the letter you would write to them.
больше всего на свете more than anything
самое главное most important
здорово amazing
обязательно поезжайте! definitely go there!
догадаться to guess
Михайловское family estate of Alexander Pushkin
леса и поля forests and fields
могила grave
Did you know?
‘Рукописи не горят’ – ‘Manuscripts don’t burn’
These words, from Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita (spoken by the Devil as he restores the master’s apparently destroyed novel), took on a particular resonance in the late Soviet period.
It is easy to understand why, if one looks back a little. From the days of the Russian tsars, the state tried to control its writers and artists. In the Russian empire the most ‘dangerous’ were those who called for political change or asserted nationalist claims. After the revolution, the net was widened. Particularly under Stalin thousands of writers and artists shared the fate of millions: arrest, torture, summary execution or the labour camp. Writers had to be very careful, and often memorized works or entrusted them to friends.
After Stalin’s death, most of those who had survived the camps were released. However, until well into the 1980s there were cases of writers being sent to labour camps or psychiatric hospitals.
From about 1986 the situation changed dramatically. Under the policy of гласность (openness), works that had been suppressed for many years were finally published, and some of the greatest writers of the Soviet period were ‘returned’ to the reading public: Mandelstam, Bulgakov, Platonov, Grossman, Solzhenitsyn, Pasternak and many, many others.
For decades the mistakes of the past, social and economic problems and national conflicts had simply been denied; now, for a time, it became possible to read truthful accounts, listen to hard-hitting speeches and form one’s own opinion. This turbulent chapter of гласность and перестройка (restructuring) remains a key to understanding modern Russian history – and Bulgakov’s phrase is still quoted today whenever people speak about the survival of the written word under censorship.
Your turn to speak
11. You have just returned from Russia. You’ll want to tell your friends where you have been, what you did and generally share your impressions. You may want to look over the notes about the past tense in lesson 11. The following words and phrases will help you to begin, but there will be a lot of other things you will want to say!
я ездил(а) в...
мне очень понравилось
I went to...
I liked it very much
Once you have tried it yourself, turn on your recording and hear how Sasha talks about his trip.
FAQ
What is the difference between идти and ходить in Russian?
Идти is used for movement in a single direction on a specific occasion (e.g., "I am going home now"). Ходить is used for frequent or habitual movement, or movement in multiple directions (e.g., "I often go to the theater" or "I went to the store and came back").
How do you say "I went" or "I travelled" by vehicle in Russian?
Use the verb ездить (habitual/return trips) or поехать (completed one-way action). For example, "В прошлом году я ездил в Минск" means "Last year I traveled to Minsk" (and returned).
How do you ask someone where they spent their vacation in Russian?
You can ask: "Где вы отдыхали в прошлом году?" which translates to "Where did you vacation last year?" (Отдыхать literally means "to rest").
What does "мы ездили дикарями" mean?
It is a colloquial Russian phrase meaning "we travelled rough" or "we travelled independently". It was commonly used in Soviet times when people went to a resort without an official sanatorium pass (путёвка) and rented a room from locals.