Пое́здки и путеше́ствия
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Recognize and use a small set of prefixed motion verbs, including пое́хать, прие́хать, уе́хать, and верну́ться, to describe departure, arrival, and return.
- Distinguish source, route, and destination in a travel narrative, using genitive forms after из and с for source, and accusative forms after в and на for destination.
- Describe a trip in the past, choosing aspect according to whether you are narrating the journey as a completed event or describing what happened along the way.
- Talk about tickets, lodging, and simple travel problems using vocabulary and case patterns already active from earlier chapters.
- Ask and answer basic questions about where someone went, where they came from, and when they returned.
- Narrate a short connected account of a trip, combining prefixed motion verbs with the past-tense sequencing skills from Chapter 16.
This chapter continues Unit IV. It introduces prefixed motion verbs and source, route, and destination language as productive systems for the first time, and it further develops the aspect awareness introduced in Chapter 16. All vocabulary, cases, and other grammar from Chapters 1 through 16 remain active and continue to appear throughout this chapter.
Communication Scenario
Ната́ша has just returned from her trip, and she meets Ири́на at the station before catching a connecting train. They talk about where Ната́ша went, how she got there, what happened on the way, and when she is coming back. Later, Серге́й writes a short message to a friend about a weekend trip that did not go entirely as planned.
- You will learn how to talk about leaving, arriving, and returning using a small set of prefixed motion verbs.
- You will practice marking where a trip started, how it went, and where it ended, using the case patterns you already know.
- You will practice narrating a trip as a connected past-tense story, choosing aspect for each stage of the journey.
Core Vocabulary
The tables below present new vocabulary for travel, lodging, tickets, and route problems. All vocabulary from Chapters 1 through 16 remains productive and may appear in this chapter's tasks.
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| пое́здка, путеше́ствие | a trip, a journey |
| биле́т туда́ и обра́тно, биле́т в оди́н коне́ц | round-trip ticket, one-way ticket |
| вокза́л, платфо́рма, посадка | train station, platform, boarding |
| гости́ница, забронирова́ть но́мер | hotel, to book a room |
| чемода́н, багаж | suitcase, luggage |
| Russian | English |
|---|---|
| опозда́ть на по́езд, пропусти́ть рейс | to be late for the train, to miss a flight |
| заде́рживаться, заде́ржка | to be delayed, a delay |
| потеря́ть чемода́н, найти́ чемода́н | to lose a suitcase, to find a suitcase |
| пересе́сть на друго́й по́езд | to change to another train |
| останови́ться в гости́нице, останови́ться у друзе́й | to stay at a hotel, to stay with friends |
Several new verbs above are prefixed forms of motion verbs already active from Chapter 11, such as е́хать. Their unprefixed forms and the идти́/ходи́ть, е́хать/е́здить contrast remain active and continue to appear throughout this chapter.
Pronunciation Focus
When a prefix is added to a motion verb, stress can behave differently in different forms. In the past tense of прие́хать and уе́хать, stress generally stays on the syllable already familiar to you from е́хать, as in прие́хал, прие́хала, прие́хали. Compare this with пое́хать, where stress shifts onto the prefix in most past-tense forms: пое́хал, пое́хала, пое́хали.
- пое́хал, пое́хала, пое́хали — stress on the prefix throughout.
- прие́хал, прие́хала, прие́хали — stress stays on the root, as in е́хал.
- верну́лся, верну́лась, верну́лись — stress on the ending, with a shift to the final syllable in the feminine form, as you saw with был/была́ in Chapter 16.
Continue reducing unstressed о and а, and continue distinguishing hard and soft consonants in the reflexive ending -ся, which is pronounced with a hard с in most conversational speech.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
Prefixed Motion Verbs New
In Chapter 11 you learned идти́/ходи́ть for going on foot and е́хать/е́здить for going by transportation. This chapter adds a small set of perfective prefixed verbs, built on е́хать, that mark departure, arrival, and return as completed events with a clear beginning, endpoint, or result.
- Она́ уе́хала из Москвы́ в понеде́льник.She left Moscow on Monday.уе́хать, perfective, departure from a place
- Когда́ вы прие́хали в го́род?When did you arrive in the city?прие́хать, perfective, arrival at a destination
This chapter treats пое́хать, прие́хать, уе́хать, and верну́ться as a productive travel-stage set. Other prefixed motion verbs, such as those built on идти́, remain receptive for now and will be developed further in later volumes.
Source, Route, and Destination New
A travel narrative usually names where a trip started, where it went, and where it ended. Russian marks these three roles with case, using patterns you have already practiced with individual prepositions.
- Он прие́хал из Каза́ни.He came from Kazan.из + genitive; source, a city
- Мы пое́хали с ю́га страны́.We set off from the south of the country.с + genitive; source, a region
- По доро́ге мы останови́лись в ма́леньком го́роде.Along the way we stopped in a small town.route stop; в + prepositional, location
- Она́ пое́хала в Ирку́тск на по́езде.She set off for Irkutsk by train.в + accusative; destination, plus на + prepositional for means of transport
Just as в and на split location and destination between two prepositions, из and с split source between two prepositions in a related pattern. A place normally reached with в uses из for source, and a place normally reached with на uses с for source: from Chapter 11, в Москву́ corresponds to из Москвы́, while на по́чту corresponds to с по́чты. This pairing is not random, and it is worth learning place names together with their correct source preposition.
Aspect in Travel Narration New
The imperfective/perfective contrast from Chapter 16 continues to guide travel narration. Use a perfective travel-stage verb to move the story forward from one stage to the next, and use an imperfective verb to describe what was happening during a stage of the trip.
- Мы е́хали в по́езде и разгова́ривали всю ночь.We were riding on the train and talking all night.imperfective, process, duration during a stage of the trip
- Мы прие́хали у́тром и сра́зу пошли́ в гости́ницу.We arrived in the morning and went straight to the hotel.perfective; two completed events moving the story forward
Talking About Route Problems New
Describe a travel problem as a completed event, then explain what happened as a result, connecting the two with sequencing words already active from Chapter 16.
- Мы опозда́ли на по́езд, и нам пришло́сь пересе́сть на друго́й.We were late for the train, and we had to change to another one.опозда́ть, perfective; result explained with пришло́сь, receptive for now
- Рейс заде́рживался, и мы до́лго жда́ли в аэропорту́.The flight was delayed, and we waited at the airport for a long time.imperfective заде́рживался for an ongoing delay; жда́ли for duration
Model Dialogue: На вокза́ле
Context: Ната́ша has just arrived back in town after her trip, and she meets Ири́на at the station before catching a connecting train home.
Notice how the dialogue marks each stage of the trip with a perfective verb, such as пое́хала, прие́хала, and верну́лась, while imperfective forms such as заде́рживался describe what was happening along the way.
Listening Practice
If no audio recording is available, ask a partner, instructor, or text to speech tool to read the passage below aloud, or read it aloud to yourself slowly.
- Which day did the speaker set off, and which day did the speaker arrive?
- What went wrong on the way home, and what did the speaker have to do as a result?
- How does the speaker describe feeling at the end of the trip?
Speaking Practice
Управля́емая пра́ктика — Controlled practice: three stages of a trip
With a partner, take turns describing a real or imagined trip using exactly three sentences, one with пое́хать, one with прие́хать, and one with верну́ться. Include a destination and a source.
Коммуникати́вное зада́ние — Communicative task: How was your trip?
With a partner, role-play a conversation like the Model Dialogue. Ask each other Отку́да ты прие́хал(а)? and Как прошла́ пое́здка?, and include at least one route problem in your answer.
Самостоя́тельная пра́ктика — Solo alternative
Record yourself narrating a trip you have taken, real or imagined, from departure to return, using at least three prefixed motion verbs and one imperfective verb describing a stage along the way.
Reading Practice
Сообще́ние в чат дру́гу — A chat message to a friend
Приве́т! Как дела́? У меня́ была́ дово́льно прикольная пое́здка на выходны́х. Мы с колле́гами пое́хали в небольшо́й го́род на бе́регу реки́, что́бы отдохну́ть от рабо́ты. Мы прие́хали в суббо́ту днём и сра́зу останови́лись в небольшо́й гости́нице у ре́чки. По доро́ге туда́ у нас была́ дли́нная остано́вка, потому́ что на́ша маши́на слома́лась, и нам пришло́сь ждать по́мощь почти́ два часа́. Но как то́лько мы прие́хали, всё ста́ло намно́го лу́чше: мы гуля́ли, у́жинали в ма́леньком кафе́ и хорошо́ отдохну́ли. В воскресе́нье ве́чером мы верну́лись домо́й уста́лые, но дово́льные.
Зада́ние по чте́нию — Reading task:
- Where did the group go, and what was the purpose of the trip?
- What went wrong on the way there, and how long did the delay last?
- How does the writer describe the group's feelings at the end of the trip, and does that description use a perfective or imperfective verb?
Writing Workshop
Complete the following linked writing tasks in order. This workshop develops prefixed motion verbs, source, route, and destination language, and aspect in travel narration, introduced in this chapter.
Зада́ние 1 — Complete the sentence: Choose the correct form to complete each sentence.
Зада́ние 2 — A connected narrative: Write eight to ten sentences describing a trip, real or imagined, from departure to return. Use пое́хать, прие́хать, and верну́ться to mark the three stages, name a source and a destination, and include at least one route problem.
- Review the Core Vocabulary tables above. Confirm the meaning of any new word you intend to use.
- Choose a simple trip. For example, a weekend visit, a work trip, or a family journey.
- Draft your narrative. Decide where the trip started, what route it followed, and where it ended.
- Read your narrative aloud once. Listen for correct case endings after из, с, в, and на.
- Check each motion verb against the Grammar section. Confirm that пое́хать, прие́хать, and верну́ться appear in the right places in your story.
Спи́сок прове́рки — Editing checklist:
- Пое́хать, прие́хать, and верну́ться each appear at least once and mark the correct stage of the trip.
- Source is marked with из or с plus the genitive, and destination is marked with в or на plus the accusative.
- At least one imperfective verb describes what was happening during a stage of the trip.
- At least one route problem or delay is described using a completed, perfective verb.
- Vocabulary and grammar from Chapters 1 through 16 are used correctly where they appear.
Culture and Communication
Long-distance train travel is a familiar part of daily life for many people across Russian-speaking regions, given the geographic scale of the Russian Federation and neighboring countries. Overnight trains, sleeper cars, and multi-hour journeys between cities are common, though air travel, bus travel, and shorter regional trips are equally normal depending on the distance and the traveler's situation. Do not assume that every trip described in this chapter reflects a single fixed national travel pattern.
It can be tempting to treat пое́хать, прие́хать, and уе́хать as three interchangeable ways to say "go" in the past. Each prefix marks a distinct stage of the journey: по- marks the beginning of a trip, при- marks arrival at a destination, and у- marks departure away from a place, often with the implication that the person is now absent from that place. Choosing the correct prefix depends on which stage of the journey you want to highlight, not on stylistic preference.
Common Mistakes
Error: Saying Мы е́хали в Каза́нь в пя́тницу to report that a trip was completed, when the intended meaning is that the group set off and arrived.
Correction: Use the perfective префixed verb to report a completed stage of a journey: Мы пое́хали в Каза́нь в пя́тницу. Save the unprefixed imperfective е́хали for describing what was happening during the ride itself, as in Мы е́хали в Каза́нь и разгова́ривали всю доро́гу.
Error: Saying Она́ прие́хала в Москвы́ instead of Она́ прие́хала из Москвы́ when describing where someone came from.
Correction: Source uses из or с plus the genitive, not в or на: Она́ прие́хала из Москвы́. Remember that a place normally reached with в pairs with из for source, and a place normally reached with на pairs with с for source, following the pattern from Chapter 11.
Error: A woman saying Я верну́лся домо́й instead of Я верну́лась домо́й.
Correction: Верну́ться is a reflexive verb, and its past-tense forms agree with the gender of the subject just like any other past-tense verb: a woman says Я верну́лась домо́й, and a man says Я верну́лся домо́й.
Chapter Review
Prefixed motion verbs
Uses пое́хать, прие́хать, уе́хать, and верну́ться to mark departure, arrival, and return.
Source, route, and destination
Marks source with из or с plus the genitive, and destination with в or на plus the accusative.
Aspect in travel narration
Chooses perfective travel-stage verbs to move a story forward, and imperfective verbs to describe a stage in progress.
Route problems
Describes delays, missed connections, and lost luggage using vocabulary and case patterns from this chapter and earlier chapters.
Часть A — Понима́ние (Comprehension)
1. Return to the Model Dialogue, and answer these short questions.
- Where did Ната́ша go, and how did she describe getting there?
- What almost went wrong on Ната́ша's way home?
Часть B — Пи́сьменная речь (Writing)
1. Write four sentences about a trip, using пое́хать, прие́хать, and верну́ться, and naming a source and a destination.
2. Write one sentence describing a route problem using a perfective verb.
Часть C — Чте́ние (Reading)
1. Return to the chat message to a friend, and list, in order, the events of the trip.
Часть D — Говоре́ние (Speaking)
1. With a partner, narrate a trip, real or imagined, in order, marking departure, arrival, and return.
Practical Performance Task
Chapter 17 Practical Task
Расскажи́те о пое́здке: Tell About a Trip
Complete the following connected tasks, in order, drawing on the prefixed motion verbs, source and destination language, and aspect contrast from this chapter, together with material from Chapters 1 through 16.
- Read the Model Dialogue and the chat message to a friend. Answer the comprehension questions above before continuing.
- Say where you set off from and where you were going. Use пое́хать with a destination, and name your source with из or с.
- Say when you arrived. Use прие́хать, and mention how you traveled.
- Describe one thing that happened along the way. Use an imperfective verb for something in progress, or a route problem with a perfective verb.
- Say when you returned. Use верну́ться, with correct gender agreement.
- Write your eight to ten sentence narrative from the Writing Workshop. Apply the editing checklist.
| Criterion | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Prefixed motion verb accuracy | The learner correctly uses пое́хать, прие́хать, уе́хать, or верну́ться to mark the correct stage of a journey. |
| Source and destination accuracy | The learner correctly marks source with из or с, and destination with в or на, and applies the correct case. |
| Aspect accuracy | The learner correctly chooses imperfective or perfective verbs in the travel narrative. |
| Route detail | The learner includes at least one plausible detail about the journey, such as a delay or a stop. |
| Connected narration | The learner produces a coherent multi-sentence account of a trip, drawing on Chapters 1 through 16. |
This task assesses the new productive systems of Chapter 17 together with recycled material from Chapters 1 through 16.
Answer Key
Listening — Comprehension
- The speaker set off on Thursday evening and arrived on Friday morning.
- The speaker missed the flight home because the bus to the airport was late, and as a result had to buy a new ticket and fly on the next flight.
- The speaker describes feeling very tired but still satisfied with the trip, using the adjectives уста́лый and дово́льный.
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Ната́ша went to Kazan for a week, traveling there by train, with a two-hour delay along the way.
- On the way home, she left her friend's place too late and almost missed her train, arriving with only two minutes to spare.
Writing
- 1. пое́хали, прие́хали. 2. из. 3. е́хал. 4. верну́лись. 5. в.
- Sample answer: В про́шлом ме́сяце я пое́хал(а) в Каза́нь на рабо́ту. Я вы́ехал(а) из до́ма у́тром и е́хал(а) на по́езде весь день. Прие́хал(а) я то́лько ве́чером, потому́ что по́езд заде́рживался почти́ час. Снача́ла я останови́лся/останови́лась в гости́нице недалеко́ от вокза́ла. Мы с колле́гами рабо́тали три дня, а пото́м гуля́ли по го́роду. В пя́тницу я верну́лся/верну́лась домо́й, уста́лый/уста́лая, но дово́льный/дово́льная пое́здкой. Other combinations using material from Chapters 1 through 17 are also correct.
Reading
- The group went to a small town on a riverbank, with the purpose of resting from work.
- Their car broke down on the way there, and they had to wait for help for almost two hours.
- The writer describes the group as tired but satisfied, using the perfective verb верну́лись to report the completed return, and the adjectives уста́лые and дово́льные to describe the feeling.
Looking Ahead
Что вы уже уме́ете — What you can do now
You can describe a trip using пое́хать, прие́хать, and верну́ться, mark source and destination with the correct prepositions and cases, choose aspect appropriately while narrating a journey, and describe a simple route problem or delay along the way.