Lesson 9
Making Travel Arrangements in Russian: Trains, Planes & Cars
You will learn
- to ask how to get to places outside the city
- to buy train and plane tickets
- to ask for information about departure times, where to go, etc.
- to rent a car
and you will read about travel within the Russian Federation.
Study guide
Dialogues: How to Get to Places
1. Tamara wants to know how to get to Zagorsk.
Загорск or, since 1991, Сергиев Посад, a small city outside Moscow, containing a monastery which many consider the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church
лучше всего best of all
как доехать до Загорска? how do I get to Zagorsk? Yes, the verb has changed! Как доехать до...? isn’t much different from как проехать в / на...?, but it’s better when talking about places further away. Since the preposition до is used, the endings are those discussed in the previous lesson.
на электричке on a suburban train. If Zagorsk were further away, she would have heard на поезде on a train.
С какого вокзала? from which station? A railway station is вокзал. The preposition с means ‘from’ when followed by this genitive ending.
с Ярославского from Yaroslavsky station; the word for station has been left out since it is understood.
A station
Practice what you have learned
1. Below is a diagram showing five of Moscow’s railway stations and the directions in which they face. Underneath is a jumbled list of cities which one can reach from these stations. After reading it, listen carefully to the dialogues and fill in the city which each arrow is pointing towards.
| a) | Киевский вокзал > | ||
| e) | Курский вокзал > | ||
| b) | < Белорусский вокзал | ||
| d) | < Ярославский вокзал | ||
| c) | Казанский вокзал > |
2. You will be trying to get to one of the above places. Listen to Andrei’s prompts.
A departure and arrivals board of a fast train Moscow - Prague
Dialogues: Buying Train Tickets
2. At the station Tamara buys a ticket to Zagorsk.
будьте любезны please, be so kind
только only
один билет до Загорска one ticket to Zagorsk. If you wanted a ticket to Moscow you would ask for:
один билет до Москвы
вам туда и обратно? do you want a round-trip ticket?
в один конец a one-way ticket
3. She asks a young woman when the next train will be.
когда ближайшая электричка до Загорска? when is the next train to Zagorsk? A more common way of saying ‘the next train’ is следующая электричка.
Электричка is a feminine noun. A long-distance train is поезд. Since this noun is masculine, the question would become:
когда ближайший (or следующий) поезд до Киева? when is the next train to Kiev?
Some other useful questions:
Когда первая электричка до Загорска? when is the first train to Zagorsk?
Когда последняя электричка до Москвы? when is the last train to Moscow?
через пятнадцать минут in 15 minutes. Not too long to wait - she might have been told через полчаса in half an hour, or через час in an hour.
с какой платформы? from which track? The word платформа is feminine.
со второй from the second (this is the same preposition ‘from’ - it is simply impossible to pronounce without the o!)
точно не помню I don’t remember exactly
кажется I think, it seems (to me)
Beware of such words - if you hear too many in one response, you may want to ask someone else!
посмотрите на табло look at the board. In a smaller station, you might be told: посмотрите на расписание look at the timetable.
Practice what you have learned
3. Three friends went on daytrips out of Moscow. Well, they were supposed to be daytrips... However, only one bought a round-trip ticket, and the others were stranded. Listen to your recording, then write down what each asked for.
I. Дайте, пожалуйста, один билет
Вам туда и обратно или только в один конец?
II. Дайте, пожалуйста, один билет
Вам туда и обратно или только в один конец?
III. Дайте, пожалуйста, один билет
Вам туда и обратно или только в один конец?
4. Below are signs above tracks in a Moscow railway station. Only the destination is shown. If you listen carefully to the following snatches of conversation, you should be able to add the time of departure and the track.
плат.
время отправления
плат.
время отправления
плат.
время отправления
5. You are a tourist wanting to go to Vladimir. As usual, Andrei will guide you.
Dialogues: Booking a Flight
4. Ira is booking a flight with Aeroflot by phone.
к сожалению [ksazhalyen'yu / ksazhalyeniyu] unfortunately
сколько вам мест нужно? how many seats do you need?
сейчас посмотрю I’ll just have a look
мест нет there aren’t any seats. Мест is the genitive plural of место, a neuter noun.
5. Maybe there are seats for the day after tomorrow?
один момент one moment
касса рядом the cashier is at the next desk
уплатите, пожалуйста, за билет pay (there) please for the ticket
всего наилучшего all the best
счастливого полёта! have a good flight!
а на послезавтра? what about the day after tomorrow? If Ira needed to travel on a specific day of the week she would ask for билет на понедельник, на вторник, на среду etc.
на рейсы в 7:35, в 14:25, в 18:35 места есть there are seats on flights at 7:35, at 14:25 and at 18:35
два билета на 14:25 2 tickets for the 14:25
самолёт airplane
Practice what you have learned
6. The Aeroflot assistant has a list of flights still available, with a note of how many tickets are available on each. Listen to your recording. Cross out any flights on your list which are now fully booked. Read just the number of seats available after all three customers have been served.
7. You will be buying tickets for flights to Moscow. Listen to Andrei for full details.
Dialogues: Renting a Car
6. At her hotel Tanya asks about renting a car.
я рекомендую вам... I recommend...
плюс три доллара страховка плюс бензин plus 3 dollars insurance, plus gasoline
у вас можно взять напрокат машину? can I rent a car here?
какую машину вы предпочитаете? which car would you prefer? In her response Tanya could have said я предпочитаю I prefer, or simply я хочу I want.
среднюю medium-sized. A big car would be большую and a small one маленькую. By the way, do always listen carefully to the ending of какой? which? since any adjective you use in response will probably have the same ending.
Сколько это будет стоить в день? how much will that cost per day? She might have asked how much it will cost per week сколько это будет стоить в неделю?
без страховки without insurance. Без ‘without’ is another preposition which is followed by the genitive case.
всего сколько? how much all together?
Note: the car model (Nissan Bluebird) and all prices do not represent current models or rates.
7. Tanya will take it.
это меня устраивает that suits me
права driver’s licence (plural in Russian)
в нашем гараже in our garage
приходите ещё come again
на какой срок? for what period of time?
на неделю for a week. Or you might want it for two weeks на две недели.
дайте мне свою кредитную карточку и права give me your credit card and driving licence
свою / вашу - both forms are possible here. There is more about свой, своя, своё in lesson 11.
возьмите, пожалуйста take (it) please. The two other forms of the verb взять ‘to take’ you will need are:
я возьму I will take
вы возьмёте you will take
триста three hundred. Four hundred is четыреста and five hundred пятьсот.
Practice what you have learned
8. In the dialogue below Oleg is looking for a small car. Certain key words have been left out and are jumbled up in the box below. Listen to your recording, then fill in the gaps.
9. You are a visitor to Moscow on a fairly limited budget. You will be practicing asking for different sizes of car, saying how long you need the car for and asking the crucial question about cost.
Key words and phrases
To use
To understand
Useful today
Russian verbs have six different endings depending on who is performing the action. There are patterns which you can follow in order to work out the ending for a verb you have never seen before. The first type of verb ‘conjugates’ (changes its endings) like the verb знать (to know):
| знать — to know | |
|---|---|
| я знаю | I know |
| ты знаешь | you know (sing., to a child or a friend) |
| он/она знает | he/she knows |
| мы знаем | we know |
| вы знаете | you know (pl. or more formal) |
| они знают | they know |
The verbs завтракать (to have breakfast), обедать (to have lunch), ужинать (to have dinner) conjugate in this way, as does the important verb понимать (to understand).
There are also many verbs whose infinitives end in -еть or -ить. Most of these will conjugate like говорить (to speak):
| говорить — to speak | |
|---|---|
| я говорю | I speak |
| ты говоришь | you speak (sing., to a child or a friend) |
| он/она говорит | he/she speaks |
| мы говорим | we speak |
| вы говорите | you speak (pl. or more formal) |
| они говорят | they speak |
Here are three important verbs that follow the same pattern:
| Verbs of the same type | |
|---|---|
| смотреть | to look, to watch |
| стоить | to cost |
| помнить | to remember |
A word of warning: You can’t be sure that a verb will follow the above patterns. There are quite a lot of irregular verbs which unfortunately just have to be learned.
10. Write in the correct forms of the verbs in parentheses.
I. Что вы ? — Я журнал. (читать - to read)
II. Сколько эта марка для авиаконверта в Англию? (стоить)
III. Они дома, а в ресторане. (завтракать, обедать)
IV. Вы по-русски? — Да, я немного. (говорить)
V. Мы не , где это кафе. (знать)
VI. Она хорошо по-французски. (понимать)
VII. Вечером мы музыку. (слушать - to listen to)
VIII. Ты по-немецки? — Нет, но я по-немецки. (говорить, читать)
IX. Он не , где находится музей. (помнить)
X. Помидоры 4 рубля килограмм. (стоить)
New words:
дома at home
вечером in the evening
Read and understand
11. Nina has come to the Russian Federation determined to see places with which her favorite writers were connected. So she tells the Intourist guide, whose itinerary goes nowhere near those places! Undeterred, Nina finds the necessary timetables and proves to her guide that her plans are quite feasible. What will her revised program look like?
| Город | прибытие | отправление |
|---|---|---|
| Санкт-Петербург | 1/7 | 2/7 (утром) |
| Новгород | 2/7 | 5/7 (вечером) |
| Санкт-Петербург | 6/7 (утром) | 7/7 |
| Ростов Великий | 7/7 | 9/7 |
| Москва | 9/7 (вечером) | 12/7 |
| Новосибирск | 13/7 (утром) | 14/7 |
| Иркутск | 15/7 (утром) | 18/7 |
| Москва | 19/7 | 20/7 |
New words:
прибытие arrival
отправление departure
утром in the morning
Here are the various possibilities Nina noted from the timetables, before she’d seen the Intourist program.
| Дата | Туда (Отпр.) | Обратно (Отпр.) |
|---|---|---|
| 2/7 | 9 ч. утра | 11 ч. вечера |
| 4/7 | 8 ч. утра | 9 ч. вечера |
| 5/7 | 9 ч. утра | 7 ч. вечера |
| Туда | Обратно | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/7 | 9 ч. вечера | 2/7 | 10 ч. утра |
| 6/7 | 11 ч. утра | 7/7 | 9 ч. вечера |
| 9/7 | 10 ч. утра | 9/7 | 7 ч. вечера |
| Туда | Обратно | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/7 | 7 ч. утра | 9/7 | 9 ч. вечера |
| 11/7 | 7 ч. утра | 11/7 | 9 ч. вечера |
| 11/7 | 5 ч. вечера | 12/7 | 9 ч. вечера |
Михайловское - the estate of the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin.
Царское Село - home of the famous Lycee at which Pushkin and some other poets of the time studied.
Ясная Поляна - estate of Leo Tolstoy.
Did you know?
How Russian people travel
The number of private car owners in the Russian Federation is relatively high nowadays. It is the preferred way to travel short distances.
Most people use trains and airplanes when traveling long distances. A train journey over one or two days can be a very enjoyable way of meeting Russian people in a relaxed environment. Travelers generally change into comfortable casual clothing and bring bagloads of provisions, as well as cards or chess to while away the time.
Particularly over the summer months it can be difficult to get tickets for both trains and planes — prices go up and seats sell out fast, so it is best to buy in advance.
Russian people have necessarily become hardened to such difficulties, and are seldom deterred from travelling.
Travel abroad
Until recently this was merely a dream for all but a privileged few. People quite simply did not have international passports. To obtain one required a ‘good’ reason for traveling and political ‘reliability’. There would also be a stream of bureaucratic demands. The authorities could — and did — refuse people without providing any reason.
The end of the 1980s saw an increase in the number of people granted visas, and a new law which came into effect in January 1993 affirms the right of all citizens to an international passport.
Today international travel from Russia is commonplace, and tickets for trains and flights are usually booked online. Suburban trains (электрички) and long-distance trains remain a popular and affordable way to travel across the country.
Sheremetyevo, Moscow’s international airport
Your turn to speak
12. Below is a map of the Russian Federation. We have marked certain famous places, though you may of course be interested in visiting others. The itinerary this time is in your hands! Before turning on the recording, work out where you wish to go, then try organizing your trip. You will need to ask how to get to places, buy tickets, find out about the next train, flight etc. You may also want to rent a car. And of course you will have to convince Intourist that you know what you are doing!
Here are some useful phrases:
как доехать до...? how does one get to...?
у вас есть билеты до...? do you have tickets to...?
на завтра? / на послезавтра? for tomorrow? / for the day after tomorrow?
один билет до..., пожалуйста one ticket to..., please
туда и обратно there and back
у вас можно взять напрокат машину? can I rent a car here?
я хочу маленькую машину I want a small car
я хочу доехать до... I’d like to get to...
надо купить... / взять напрокат... I have to buy... /rent...
FAQ
How do you buy a train ticket in Russian?
You can ask: "Дайте, пожалуйста, один билет до..." (Please give me one ticket to...). The clerk will likely ask if you want it "туда и обратно" (round-trip/there and back) or "в один конец" (one-way).
How do you ask for the next train in Russian?
To ask when the next train departs, use: "Когда следующая электричка/поезд до...?" (When is the next suburban train/train to...?). You can also ask "С какой платформы?" to find out which track it leaves from.
How do you rent a car in Russian?
You can start by asking "У вас можно взять напрокат машину?" (Can I rent a car here?). You can specify the size by asking for "маленькую" (small), "среднюю" (medium), or "большую" (big) car.
How do Russian verb endings work?
Russian verbs change their endings based on who is doing the action (I, you, he/she, we, they). For example, the verb "to know" (знать) becomes я знаю (I know), ты знаешь (you know), and so on. There are two main conjugation patterns to learn.