Useful phrase in Ukrainian
Listen and repeat the following sentence:
За́раз я йду додо́му. Я завжди́ хо́джу додо́му пíшки.
Now I’m going home. I always go home on foot.
The verbs of motion in Ukrainian: As you have seen in previous lessons, the Ukrainian verbs give more information than the verbs in English. That’s why to express the meaning of a single verb in Ukrainian, we need many words in English.
As in other Slavonic languages, the verbs of motion in Ukrainian are special as you have to differentiate between a general, multidirectional or specific, unidirectional movement – in addition to whether it’s perfective or imperfective (aspects).
Ukrainian vocabulary
Read, listen and repeat the basic vocabulary of this lesson.
басе́йн / санато́рій
swimming pool / spa
спорт / спортсме́н
sport / athlete
спра́вжній/ -я/ -є (singular), спра́вжні (plural)
real, authentic
літа́к / літако́м
plane / by plane
пога́но / йому́ пога́но
bad, unwell / he feels unwell
Різдво́
Christmas
Рим
Rome
Єги́пет
Egypt
Майда́н Незале́жності
Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti)
рік / роки́
year / years
годи́на
hour
чудо́во!
great!
по́руч з
near
зупи́нка
stop
ранíше
before
пíшки, ходи́ти пíшки
on foot, to go on foot
кори́сно
healthy
Specific vocabulary: Verbs
Imperfective and perfective verbs of motion
In this lesson you will see both perfective and imperfective Ukrainian verbs of motion.
As you can see, the perfective verbs are usually formed by adding the prefix “по-“ to the imperfective verb.
Ukrainian imperfective verbs of motion
English
ходи́ти (regularly) / йти (in a specific direction)
to walk, to go on foot
ї́здити (regularly) / ї́хати (in a specific direction)
to go (in a vehicle)
літа́ти (regularly) / летíти (in a specific direction)
to fly
бíгати (regularly) / бíгти (in a specific direction)
to run
In the grammar section you will see the whole conjugation of each verb.
Ukrainian perfective verbs of motion
English
піти́ (“пі-” as exception)
to go (on foot)
пої́хати
to go (in a vehicle)
полетíти
to fly
Dialogues
With extra help for verbs!
Now you are going to see three dialogues with Ukrainian verbs of motion.
Imperfective verbs of motion
- verbs that express a repeated multidirectional motion (to go to a place regularly) will be highlighted in blue.
- verbs that express one-time motion in a single direction will be highlighted in black.
(unidirectional movemment)
Perfective verbs of motion
- verbs that express a multidirectional, one-time motion will be highlighted in red.
Dialogue 1
Привíт, Оíля, кудиí ти йдеш?
Hi Olia, where are you going?
До́брий ра́нок, Анто́н. Я йду в басе́йн. Я хо́джу в басе́йн ко́жен ра́нок. А ти?
Good morning, Anton. I’m going to the swimming pool. I (usually) go to the swimming pool every morning. And you?
Я теж люблю́ спорт. За́раз я йду в парк. Я бíгаю там ко́жен день.
I also love sports. Now I’m going to the park. I (usually) run there every day.
Диви́сь, Майкл біжи́ть!
Look, Michael is running!
Так, він теж бíгає ко́жен день. Майкл, йди сюди́! Він ка́же, що не мо́же розмовля́ти за́раз. Він біжи́ть.
Yes, he (usually) runs every day too. Michael, come here! He says that he can’t talk now. He is running.
Ви спра́вжні спортсме́ни. За́раз я теж хо́чу бíгати!
You are real athletes. Now I also want to run!
Dialogue 2
В метро́.
At the underground.
Привíт, Марíя! Куди́ ви пої́дете на Різдво́?
Hi Masha. Where are you travelling for Christmas?
Ми пої́демо в санато́рій. Зазвича́й ми ї́демо у Єги́пет, але Майкл не хо́че летíти літако́м.
We are going to a spa. Usually we travel to Egypt, but Michael doesn’t want to fly (=to fly there) on a plane.
Він не хо́че летíти? Але чому́? Я люблю́ літа́ти літако́м.
He doesn’t want to fly (=to fly there)? But, why? I love flying (regularly) by plane.
Йому́ завжди́ пога́но коли́ він літа́є літако́м.
He always feels unwell when he flies (regularly) by plane.
А ми полетимо́ у Рим на Різдво́! Ми літа́ємо у Рим ко́жний рік.
And we will fly to Rome for Christmas! We (usually) fly to Rome every year!
Чудо́во! А куди́ ти за́раз ї́деш? Я ду́мала, що ти ніко́ли не ї́здиш на метро́.
Great! And where are you going now? I thought that you never (usually) travel on the underground.
Ти ма́єш ра́цію. Зазвича́й я не ї́жджу на метро́. Але́ за́раз я ї́ду в теа́тр й він по́руч з метро́.
You are right. Usually I don’t travel on the underground. But now I’m going to the theatre and it’s close to the underground.
А я люблю́ ї́здити у метро́. Ой, це моя́ зупи́нка! Прощава́й! До ре́чі, за́втра я піду́ у кіно́. Хо́чеш піти́ зі мно́ю?
I love travelling (regularly) on the underground. Oops, this is my stop. Bye! By the way, tomorrow I’m going to the cinema. Do you want to come (lit. to go)?
Га́рна іде́я! За́втра ми піде́мо у кіно́. До зу́стрічі!
Good idea! Tomorrow we will go to the cinema. See you!
Dialogue 3
Привíт, Марíя та Майкл, куди́ ви йдете́?
Hi, Masha and Michael, where are you going?
Ми йдемо́ в теа́тр. А ти?
we are going to the theatre. And you?
А я йду на Майда́н Незале́жності. Гада́ю, що там ду́же ціка́во.
I am going to the Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti). I think it’s interesting there.
Ти ма́єш ра́цію. Ми ходи́ли туди́ вчо́ра. Там ду́же ціка́во!
You are right. We went there yesterday. Very interesting!
А куди́ ви йшли вчо́ра вве́чері, коли́ я вас ба́чив? Я йшов до па́рку.
And where were you going yesterday evening, when I saw you? I was going to the park.
Ми йшли у кіно́. Ми хо́димо у кіно щонедíлі.
We were going to the cinema. We (usually) go to the cinema every Sunday.
Ранíше я теж ходи́в у кіно́ щонедíлі. А за́раз я ходжу́ в парк. Зазвича́й я там бíгаю годи́ну.
Before, I also used to go to the cinema every Sunday. But now I (usually) go to the park. Usually I run there one hour.
Ранíше ми бíгали ко́жен день, але́ за́раз ні…Ми ба́чимо, що ти полюбля́єш бíгати та ходи́ти пíшки.
Before, we used to run every day, but not now… We see that you love running (regularly) and walking (regularly).
Ви ма́єте ра́цію, я за́вжди ходжу́ пíшки. Це ду́же кори́сно.
You are right, I always walk. It’s very healthy.
Ukrainian grammar
Read the following grammar explanations for this lesson:
Ukrainian verbs of motion
We are going to have a look at the Ukrainian verbs that mean “to go”, “to run”, “to fly”,… that is, Ukrainian verbs of motion.
For each English verb of motion, we have two verbs in Ukrainian. Look here at these two meanings of the verb “to go” =>
| I usually go to the cinema with Pedro | Here we express a routine, a movement that we usually/frequently do. We make a “multidirectional motion” (return trip), which is going from home to the cinema and back home. |
| I’m going to the cinema with Pedro | Here we express that we are “on our way” to the cinema. We make a “unidirectional motion” (one-way trip), which is going from home to the cinema. |
As you can see in both cases we use the same English verb (to go), but in Ukrainian we use two different verbs:
| I usually go to the cinema | Я ходжу́ у кіно́ (verb ходи́ти) | ходи́ти: means “to go regularly, to go there and return”. It’s a multidireccional verb of motion. |
| I’m going to the cinema | Я йду у кіно́ (verb йти) | йти: means “to be going there, to go on a single direction”. It’s a unidireccional verb of movement. |
Multidirectional and unidirectional verbs of motion
As you can see, we have two kind of verbs of motion:
- Multidirectional verbs of motion, which mean “to go often/regularly/frequently AND to go and return”.
- Unidirectional verbs of motion, which mean “to be going somewhere”.
We take another example: “Mark flies to Madrid”. If we want to say…
| Mark usually/regularly flies to Madrid | we would use the multidirectional verb “літа́ти” | Марк літа́є в Мадри́д |
| Mark is flying to Madrid (right now) |
we would use the unidireccional verb “летíти” | Марк лети́ть в Мадри́д |
Ukrainian verbs of motion in the past
Have a look at these two sentences and how we translate them into Ukrainian:
| We used to go to the cinema | Many times we did the trip home–>cinema–>home. | That’s a multidirectional motion. |
In this case we use the multidirectional verb of motion ходи́ти and we say in Ukrainian “Ми ходи́ли в кіно́”.
| We were going to the cinema. (implies: when something else happened) |
We were doing the trip home–>cinema, we were on our way to the cinema. | That’s a unidirectional motion. |
We use the unidirectional verb of motion “йти” and we say in Ukrainian “Ми йшли в кіно́”.
Remember that the verb “йти” has irregular past forms: “йшов” (masculine), “йшла” (feminine), “йшли” (plural).
Important: One-time multidirectional movement
If we want to say a very common phrase like “We went to the cinema (only once)”, we will use the same verb as in “we used to go to the cinema (regularly) because we went to the cinema and back home. We only have to add context to the phrase:
| Ми ходи́ли в кіно́ вчо́ра | We went to the cinema yesterday / We were in the cinema yesterday. |
| Ми ходи́ли в кіно́, коли́ ми жи́ли в Ки́єві | We used to go to the cinema when we were living in Kiev. |
This “Ми ходи́ли в кіно́” means always that we did the trip home–>cinema–>home.
The rest of the sentences (вчо́ра / коли́ ми жи́ли в Ки́єві) will let us know if the trip was done once or many times.
On the other hand, a sentence like “Ми йшли в кіно́” means always that we were doing the trip home–>cinema.
As you can see, it is easy to understand why they call them multidirectional and unidirectional verbs of motion.
Summary
As you have seen, for each English verb of motion (to go, to run, to fly,…) there are two Ukrainian verbs:
Multidirectional verb of motion: This verb means “to make a movement regularly” OR simply to go to a place and back.
- If the verb is in the present, we talk about a movement that we usually do.
- If the verb is in the past, we talk about a movement that we used to do.
- If the verb is in the past, it also means that we have been to a place once, we went there and came back.
Unidirectional verb of motion: This verb means “to be moving in a single direction”
- If the verb is in the present, we talk about the movement that we are doing right now.
- If the verb is in the past, we talk about that movement that we were doing in that moment (eg. when somethnig else happend)
Ukrainian verbs of motion conjugated
Multidirectional verbs of motion
The following verbs express motion in different directions (usually “go there and back” / “return trip” / “round-trip”).
- In the present: they express that you usually go (and come back) regularly to a place.
- In the past: they express that you used to go (and come back) regularly to a place.
| Ходи́ти (to go on foot) |
|---|
| Ї́здити (to travel / to go using a vehicle) |
|---|
| Present | |
| Я ходжу́ | I usually go |
| Ти хо́диш | You usually go |
| Він хо́дить | He usually goes |
| Ми хо́димо | We usually go |
| Ви хо́дите | You usually go |
| Вони́ хо́дять | They usually go |
| Present | |
| Я ї́жджу | I usually go |
| Ти ї́здиш | You usually go |
| Він ї́здить | He usually goes |
| Ми ї́здимо | We usually go |
| Ви ї́здите | You usually go |
| Вони ї́здять | They usually go |
| Past | |
| ходи́в (masc.) | I/you/he used to go |
| ходи́ла (fem.) | I/you/she used to go |
| ходи́ло (neuter) | I/you/she used to go |
| ходи́ли (plural) | You/we/they used to go |
| Past | |
| ї́здив (masc.) | I/you/he used to go |
| ї́здила (fem.) | I/you/she used to go |
| ї́здилo (neuter) | I/you/she used to go |
| ї́здили (plural) | You/we/they used to go |
| Літа́ти (to fly) |
|---|
| Бíгати (to run) |
|---|
| Present | |
| Я літа́ю | I usually fly |
| Ти літа́єш | You usually fly |
| Він літа́є | He usually flies |
| Ми літа́ємо | We usually fly |
| Ви літа́єте | You usually fly |
| Вони́ літа́ють | They usually fly |
| Present | |
| Я бíгаю | I usually run |
| Ти бíгаєш | You usually run |
| Він бíгає | He usually runs |
| Ми бíгаємо | We usually run |
| Ви бігаєте | You usually run |
| Вони́ бігають | They usually run |
| Past | |
| літа́в (masc.) | I/you/he used to fly |
| літа́ла (fem.) | I/you/she used to fly |
| літа́ло (neuter) | I/you/she used to fly |
| літа́ли (plural) | You/we/they used to fly |
| Past | |
| бíгав (masc.) | I/you/he used to run |
| бíгала (fem.) | I/you/she used to run |
| бігалo (neuter) | I/you/she used to run |
| бíгали (plural) | You/we/they used to run |
Unidirectional verbs of motion
The following verbs express motion in a single direction (that is, the direction you are moving towards).
- In the present: they express that you are moving (going to a place) now.
- In the past: they express that you were moving (going to a place) in the past.
| Йти (to go) |
|---|
| Ї́хати (to travel / to go using a vehicle) |
|---|
| Present | |
| Я йду | I am going |
| Ти йдеш | You are going |
| Він йде | He is going |
| Ми йдемо́ | We are going |
| Ви йдете́ | You are going |
| Вони́ йдуть | They are going |
| Present | |
| Я ї́ду | I am going |
| Ти ї́деш | You are going |
| Він ї́де | He is going |
| Ми ї́демо | We are going |
| Ви ї́дете | You are going |
| Вони́ ї́дуть | They are going |
| Past | |
| йшов (masc.) | I/you/he was going |
| йшла (fem.) | I/you/she was going |
| йшлo (neuter) | I/you/she was going |
| йшли (plural) | You/we/they were going |
| Past | |
| ї́хав (masc.) | I/you/he was going |
| ї́хала (fem.) | I/you/she was going |
| ї́халo (meuter) | I/you/she was going |
| ї́хали (plural) | You/we/they were going |
| Летíти (to fly) |
|---|
| Бíгти (to run) |
|---|
| Present | |
| Я лечу́ | I am flying |
| Ти лети́ш | You are flying |
| Він лети́ть | He is flying |
| Ми летимо́ | We are flying |
| Ви летите́ | You are flying |
| Вони́ летя́ть | They are flying |
| Present | |
| Я біжу́ | I am running |
| Ти біжи́ш | are running |
| Він біжи́ть | He is running |
| Ми біжимо́ | We are running |
| Ви біжите́ | You are running |
| Вони́ біжа́ть | They are running |
| Past | |
| летíв (masc.) | I/you/he was flying |
| летíла (fem.) | I/you/she was flying |
| летíло (neuter) | I/you/she was flying |
| летíли (plural) | You/we/they were flying |
| Past | |
| біг (masc.) | I/you/he was running |
| бíгла (fem.) | I/you/she was running |
| бíглo (neuter) | I/you/she was running |
| бíгли (plural) | You/we/they were running |
Perfective verbs of motion
Every verb of motion that you have seen in the tables above are imperfective (no matter if they are multidirectional or unidirectional). If we take a unidirectional verb and we add the prefix по-, we get a perfective verb. But, the same will not happen with a multidirectional verb: if we add по-, the verb is still imperfective.
In the dialogues section we have seen some examples of these perfective verbs highlighted.
The perfective verbs of motion that you have seen in the lesson are:
- піти́ (to go on foot)
- пої́хати (to travel / to move using a vehicle)
- полетíти (to fly)
to conjugate these verbs, you one have to take the verb from the table above and add по-.
What happens when there is not a final destination?
In all the examples we have studied we talk about “to go to the cinema” o “to fly to Madrid”. That is, we talked about going to a certain destination.
But we could also talk about movements as in “I’m walking around in the park” or “I’m running on the beach”. That is, we would talk about moving without any particular destination. In these cases we use multidirectional verbs:
| multidirectional | Я ходжу́ по па́рку | I’m walking in the park |
| Я бíгаю на стадіо́ні | I’m running in the stadium | |
| unidirectional | Я йду в парк | I’m going to the park |
| Я біжу́ на стадіо́н | I’m running to the stadium |
Test
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