Як пройти?: Asking Directions

A tourist stops a passer-by to ask the way to the train station. Directions are a grammar workout disguised as small talk: the destination rides on до + genitive (до вокза́лу), the instructions come as polite imperatives (поверні́ть), location is pinned with на ро́зі ("on the corner") and че́рез доро́гу ("across the road," through + accusative), and the whole thing turns on the motion verb іти́/йти. Watch how the answer stacks these pieces into one smooth set of instructions.

The dialogue

Тури́ст: Ви́бачте, як пройти́ до вокза́лу? Excuse me, how do I get to the train station?

Місце́вий: До вокза́лу? Іді́ть пря́мо по цій ву́лиці до сві́тлофора. To the station? Go straight along this street up to the traffic light.

Тури́ст: А по́тім? And then?

Місце́вий: По́тім поверні́ть право́руч і йдіть до кінця́. Then turn right and walk to the end.

Тури́ст: Право́руч біля апте́ки? Right by the pharmacy?

Місце́вий: Так. На ро́зі поба́чите ве́лику буді́влю — це і є вокза́л. Yes. On the corner you'll see a big building — that's the station.

Тури́ст: А пере́хід там є? Тре́ба перейти́ че́рез доро́гу? Is there a crossing there? Do I need to cross the road?

Місце́вий: Так, перейді́ть че́рез доро́гу по перехо́ду. Yes, cross the road at the crosswalk.

Тури́ст: Це дале́ко? Is it far?

Місце́вий: Ні, хвили́н п’ять пі́шки. Не заблу́дитеся. No, about five minutes on foot. You won't get lost.

Тури́ст: Ду́же дя́кую! Thank you very much!

Line-by-line grammar

Opening politely — Ви́бачте + the destination

The tourist softens the interruption with Ви́бачте ("excuse me," polite imperative of ви́бачити) before the question. The core question is Як пройти́ до вокза́лу? ("how to get to the station?"). The verb пройти́ is perfective — the speaker wants the route as one completed achievement, "how to get there," not "how to be walking around."

до + genitive — the destination case

Every "to [a place]" in this dialogue runs through до + genitive: до вокза́лу, до сві́тлофора, до кінця́. The preposition до is the default for reaching a goal, and it never takes anything but the genitive. Note вокза́лу (genitive in -у, typical of many masculine place-nouns).

See до and від.

The motion verbs — Іді́ть, йдіть

The instructions use the imperative of іти́/йти ("to go on foot," a determinate motion verb for one specific trip in one direction). The polite imperative is іді́ть / йдіть ("go!"). Ukrainian picks іти́ here, not the indeterminate ходи́ти, precisely because this is a single directed journey to the station, not aimless or repeated walking.

See іти́ vs ходи́ти.

Left, right, straight — the direction adverbs

The pure direction words are adverbs, so they never change: пря́мо ("straight"), право́руч ("to the right"), ліво́руч ("to the left"). They attach directly to the motion verb with no preposition. Standard Ukrainian prefers право́руч/ліво́руч for "to the right/left" in directions.

The verb поверні́ть ("turn!") is perfective — a turn is a single, complete action, so the perfective imperative is the natural choice. See the imperative and place and direction adverbs.

"On the corner" — на ро́зі

Location at a point uses на + locative: на ро́зі ("on the corner," ріг → ро́зі, with the і → о and г → з changes in the locative). Then поба́чите ("you'll see") is a perfective future — the seeing is a single moment of arrival, "you'll catch sight of it."

"Across the road" — че́рез + accusative

Crossing is че́рез + accusative: че́рез доро́гу ("across / through the road," доро́га → доро́гу). The preposition че́рез always takes the accusative. The verb перейти́ ("to cross over") is perfective — crossing is a completed act — and its imperative is перейді́ть.

See через with the accusative.

"Is it far?" and reassurance

Це дале́ко? ("Is it far?") is a bare predicative-adverb question — дале́ко is an adverb, and again no verb "to be." The answer хвили́н п’ять пі́шки is idiomatic: putting the noun before the number (хвили́н п’ять, not п’ять хвили́н) signals approximation — "about five minutes." пі́шки means "on foot."

The closing Не заблу́дитеся ("you won't get lost") is a perfective future of the reflexive заблуди́тися. See the genitive after numbers for the related counting forms.

How this differs from English

English gives directions almost entirely with one preposition — "to": go to the light, turn to the right, walk to the end. Ukrainian splits that single English "to" across several prepositions, each demanding its own case, and the choice carries real meaning. Destination is до + genitive (до вокза́лу). Crossing is че́рез + accusative (че́рез доро́гу). Movement along a path is по + locative (по ву́лиці). Pure direction — left, right, straight — needs no preposition at all, just the bare adverbs право́руч, ліво́руч, пря́мо. The English habit of reaching for a preposition where Ukrainian wants a plain adverb produces the classic ❌ на право error.

There is also an aspect contrast English cannot express. English "go" and "turn" are aspect-neutral, but Ukrainian forces a choice on every instruction. The directions here use perfective imperatives — поверні́ть, перейді́ть — because each is a single, bounded action: one turn, one crossing. The verb of continued walking, іди́/йди, stays imperfective because it is an ongoing process. English speakers, having no grammatical aspect, tend to ignore this and pick forms at random; getting the perfective/imperfective split right is what makes Ukrainian directions sound native rather than translated.

Common Mistakes

Phrases to reuse

• Як пройти́ до…? — "How do I get to…?" (до + genitive)
• Іді́ть пря́мо. — "Go straight."
• Поверні́ть право́руч / ліво́руч. — "Turn right / left."
• На ро́зі… — "On the corner…"
• Перейді́ть че́рез доро́гу. — "Cross the road."
• Це дале́ко? — Хвили́н п’ять пі́шки. — "Is it far? — About five minutes on foot."