This is the consolidation page for the entire motion system — the one to reread when a sentence stalls you on "which verb for go?" Everything from the overview through prefixed motion reduces to a short decision tree plus three memorable special rules. Once you can run the tree in your head, the choice becomes mechanical: ask the questions in order, and the verb falls out. Use this page as a checklist, drill the ten mixed cases at the end, and the agonising stops.
The decision tree
Answer in order. Each question narrows the field until one verb remains.
- On foot or by vehicle? (or are you carrying / leading something?)
- on foot → іти́ / ходи́ти
- by vehicle → ї́хати / ї́здити
- carrying in hand → нести́ / носи́ти; by vehicle → ве́зти / вози́ти; leading a person → вести́ / води́ти
- One trip, in progress or planned now? → unidirectional: іду́, ї́ду, несу́, веду́ (and a settled future plan: За́втра ї́ду).
- Habit, repetition, round-trip, or general ability? → multidirectional: хо́джу, ї́жджу, ношу́, воджу́.
- A single completed motion with direction / result (arrive, leave, go out, set off)? → prefixed perfective: прийшо́в, ви́йшов, пої́хав, пішо́в.
- Habitual / repeated prefixed motion (comes every day, leaves at seven)? → prefixed imperfective: прихо́дить, вихо́дить, виїжджа́є.
| Situation | Verb type | Foot example | Vehicle example |
|---|---|---|---|
| one trip now / planned | unidirectional | іду́ | ї́ду |
| habit / round-trip / ability | multidirectional | хо́джу | ї́жджу |
| single arrival / departure | prefixed perfective | прийшо́в, ви́йшов, пішо́в | приї́хав, пої́хав |
| habitual prefixed motion | prefixed imperfective | прихо́дить, вихо́дить | приїжджа́є, виїжджа́є |
За́раз я йду́ на зустрі́ч, а взагалі́ хо́джу туди́ щоти́жня.
Right now I'm going to a meeting, but generally I go there every week. (Uni йду́ = this trip; multi хо́джу = habit.)
Він щодня́ вихо́дить о сьо́мій, а сього́дні ви́йшов о шо́стій.
Every morning he leaves at seven, but today he left at six. (Prefixed impf вихо́дить = habit; prefixed perf ви́йшов = single event.)
The three special rules that resolve the hard cases
The tree handles most sentences. Three extra rules clear up the ones learners agonise over:
Rule 1 — General ability or generic fact → multidirectional. "I can swim," "birds fly," "she drives" are properties, not single trips. Use the multi verb: вмі́ю пла́вати, пта́хи літа́ють, вона́ во́дить маши́ну.
Rule 2 — "Set off / left / went off" → perfective по-. The default everyday "went (off)" is пішо́в / пої́хав, focused on the departure, not the round-trip ходи́в.
Rule 3 — Past round-trip ("went and came back") → multidirectional; past "was on the way" → unidirectional. ходи́в / ї́здив = went there and back (now home); ішо́в / ї́хав = caught mid-journey (scene-setting).
Я вмі́ю пла́вати, але́ сього́дні пливу́ ду́же пові́льно.
I can swim, but today I'm swimming very slowly. (Rule 1: ability → пла́вати; this swim now → пливу́.)
Ма́ма пої́хала по ліки́ — бу́де за пів годи́ни.
Mum's gone for the medicine — she'll be back in half an hour. (Rule 2: departure, still away → пої́хала.)
Учо́ра я ходи́в до сто́матолога, а коли́ йшов наза́д, поча́вся дощ.
Yesterday I went to the dentist, and as I was walking back, it started to rain. (Rule 3: round trip ходи́в; mid-journey йшов.)
Ten mixed cases — decide, then check
Cover the translations, run the tree, then check yourself. The deciding logic is noted in each answer.
Куди́ ти йде́ш так пі́зно?
Where are you going so late? — one trip now, on foot → unidirectional іти́ (йде́ш).
Я ї́жджу до Ки́єва раз на мі́сяць у спра́вах.
I go to Kyiv once a month on business — habit, by vehicle → multidirectional ї́здити (ї́жджу).
Літа́к щойно́ ви́летів — спізни́лися на п’ять хвили́н.
The plane has just taken off — we missed it by five minutes. — single completed departure → prefixed perfective ви́летіти.
Ді́ти бі́гають подві́р’ям уже́ годи́ну.
The kids have been running around the yard for an hour — aimless, repeated → multidirectional бі́гати.
Він пішо́в по хліб, бу́де за хвили́ну.
He's gone for bread, he'll be back in a minute — departure, still away → perfective пішо́в (Rule 2).
Ти вмі́єш води́ти маши́ну?
Can you drive a car? — general ability/skill → multidirectional води́ти (Rule 1).
Мину́лого лі́та ми ї́здили в Карпа́ти й верну́лися засма́глі.
Last summer we went to the Carpathians and came back tanned — round trip, by vehicle → multidirectional ї́здити (Rule 3).
Я ї́хав у метро́, коли́ мені́ зателефонува́ли.
I was on the metro when they called me — caught mid-journey → unidirectional ї́хати (Rule 3).
Лі́кар прихо́дить до ньо́го додо́му щоп’я́тниці.
The doctor comes to his home every Friday — habitual prefixed motion → prefixed imperfective прихо́дити.
За́втра ми ї́демо до Льво́ва — квитки́ вже куплені.
Tomorrow we're going to Lviv — the tickets are already bought — settled future plan as present → unidirectional ї́хати.
Quick self-check questions
Before any "go," run this micro-checklist:
- Foot or wheels? (or carrying / leading?) — fixes the verb family.
- This trip now, or a habit? — unidirectional vs multidirectional.
- Is there a destination-result? — if "arrive / leave / set off," reach for a prefixed form, then ask single event (perfective) or habit (imperfective)?
- Past tense? — where is the person now: gone (пішо́в), back (ходи́в), or in transit (ішо́в)?
Я хо́джу в басе́йн дві́чі на ти́ждень, а сього́дні якра́з іду́ туди́.
I go to the pool twice a week, and today I'm actually on my way there. (Habit хо́джу + this trip іду́ in one breath.)
Гості́ вже приї́хали, захо́дьте — стіл накри́тий.
The guests have already arrived, come in — the table's set. (Single arrival by vehicle → приї́хати; imperative захо́дьте.)
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the whole point of this page is to replace the single English "go" with a two-or-three-step reflex. English makes all these distinctions too — "I go" vs "I'm going," "I went (off)" vs "I went (and came back)" vs "I was going" — but it carries them in tense, aspect, and adverbs, scattered across the sentence. Ukrainian gathers them into the choice of verb, decided first. So you already think these distinctions; the work is front-loading them onto the verb. Run the tree until it's automatic and "which verb for go?" stops being a question.
For a Russian speaker, the decision logic is identical to the Russian system, so the tree needs no relearning — the entire job is the Ukrainian forms: іти́/ходи́ти, ї́хати/ї́здити (with ї́жджу), the vehicle imperfective in -їжджа́ти (приїжджа́ти), and піти́/пішо́в / пої́хати/пої́хав. Run the tree, then reach for the Ukrainian word.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я іду́ до Ки́єва раз на мі́сяць.
Wrong — a monthly habit is multidirectional: Я ї́жджу до Ки́єва раз на мі́сяць. (And it's by vehicle, so ї́здити, not іти́.)
✅ Я ї́жджу до Ки́єва раз на мі́сяць.
I go to Kyiv once a month — habit, by vehicle → ї́здити.
❌ Він ходи́в по хліб, бу́де за хвили́ну.
Wrong — if he's still away, the departure is perfective: Він пішо́в по хліб, бу́де за хвили́ну. (ходи́в = went and is back.)
✅ Він пішо́в по хліб, бу́де за хвили́ну.
He's gone for bread, he'll be back in a minute — departure → пішо́в.
❌ Ти вмі́єш ї́здити маши́ну?
Wrong — the driving skill is води́ти маши́ну: Ти вмі́єш води́ти маши́ну? (general ability → multidirectional, Rule 1.)
✅ Ти вмі́єш води́ти маши́ну?
Can you drive a car? — skill → води́ти маши́ну.
❌ Лі́кар прийшо́в до ньо́го щоп’я́тниці.
Wrong aspect — a habit needs the prefixed imperfective: Лі́кар прихо́дить до ньо́го щоп’я́тниці. (прийшо́в = one single arrival.)
✅ Лі́кар прихо́дить до ньо́го щоп’я́тниці.
The doctor comes to him every Friday — habitual → прихо́дити.
❌ Я ходи́в у метро́, коли́ мені́ зателефонува́ли.
Wrong — caught mid-journey is unidirectional, and it's by vehicle: Я ї́хав у метро́, коли́ мені́ зателефонува́ли. (ходи́в = on foot, round trip.)
✅ Я ї́хав у метро́, коли́ мені́ зателефонува́ли.
I was on the metro when they called me — mid-journey, vehicle → ї́хати (ї́хав).
Key Takeaways
- The choice reduces to a tree: (1) foot or wheels (or carry/lead)? (2) one trip now → unidirectional; (3) habit/round-trip/ability → multidirectional; (4) single directed result → prefixed perfective; (5) habitual prefixed → prefixed imperfective.
- Three special rules: general ability → multidirectional (вмі́ю пла́вати); "set off/left" → perfective по- (пішо́в, пої́хав); past round-trip → multidirectional (ходи́в, ї́здив) vs past mid-journey → unidirectional (ішо́в, ї́хав).
- The settling question for past tense: where is the person now — gone (пішо́в), back (ходи́в), or in transit (ішо́в)?
- A settled future trip uses the present: За́втра ї́демо до Льво́ва.
- Run the tree until it's automatic — then "which verb for go?" stops being a question.
Now practice Ukrainian
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Start learning Ukrainian→Related Topics
- Verbs of Motion: OverviewA2 — A single English 'go' splits into FOUR base verbs by mode (on foot іти́/ходи́ти vs by vehicle ї́хати/ї́здити) AND directionality — unidirectional (one trip, one way, in progress: іду́) vs multidirectional (habitual, round-trip, general: ходжу́). This base two-by-two of mode × direction is the foundation of the whole motion system, before prefixes (прийти́, піти́, ви́йти) add direction and aspect on top.
- Іти vs Ходити (Go on Foot)A2 — The foot-motion pair. ІТИ́ (іду́, іде́ш; past ішо́в/йшов, ішла́) = ONE trip in one direction, now or planned: Я йду́ в шко́лу. ХОДИ́ТИ (хо́джу, хо́диш; past ходи́в, ходи́ла) = habitual/repeated, round-trip, or 'be able to walk': Я хо́джу до шко́ли щодня́; Дити́на вже хо́дить. Past subtlety: ходи́в = went and came back; ішо́в/йшов = was on the way.
- Їхати vs Їздити (Go by Vehicle)A2 — The vehicle-motion pair. ЇХАТИ (їду, їдеш; past їхав) = ONE trip by vehicle, now or planned: Я їду до Києва; Завтра їду до Львова. ЇЗДИТИ (їжджу [note дж], їздиш; past їздив) = habitual/repeated, commute, or round-trip: Я їжджу на роботу автобусом; Учора я їздив до бабусі. The means of transport is INSTRUMENTAL (потягом, автобусом, машиною), not a 'by'-phrase.
- Prefixed Verbs of Motion: OverviewB1 — A directional prefix transforms a motion verb on two levels at once. On the UNIDIRECTIONAL stem it makes a PERFECTIVE (прийти́ 'arrive', ви́йти 'go out'); the SAME prefix on the MULTIDIRECTIONAL stem makes the matching IMPERFECTIVE (прихо́дити, вихо́дити). Each prefix has a consistent meaning across all motion verbs — при- arrive/toward, ви- out, за- drop by/behind, пере- across/relocate, до- reach, від- away, про- through/past, об- around, в-/у- in, з-/ді- down/off — so learning ~10 prefixes once unlocks all prefixed motion.
- Піти, Поїхати and the Inceptive По-B1 — The high-frequency inceptive по- verbs that mean 'set off / head off'. ПІТИ́ (perfective, по+іти́): set out on foot — Він пішо́в додо́му 'he went/left home', Я піду́ за́втра 'I'll go tomorrow', and the idiomatic Ході́мо! / Пішли́! 'let's go!'. ПОЇ́ХАТИ (perfective): set off by vehicle — Вони́ пої́хали до Льво́ва 'they went/left for Lviv'. These are the DEFAULT way to say someone 'went (off)' as a single completed departure — distinct from round-trip ходи́в and on-the-way ішо́в.
- Aspect and Verbs of MotionB2 — Motion verbs add a second axis to aspect. Unprefixed, they split into unidirectional (іти́, ї́хати) and multidirectional (ходи́ти, ї́здити) — and BOTH are imperfective. But a directional prefix reshuffles everything: that prefix on the unidirectional stem yields a PERFECTIVE (прийти́ 'arrive', піти́ 'set off'), while the SAME prefix on the multidirectional stem yields its IMPERFECTIVE partner (прихо́дити). So прийти́ (perf) / прихо́дити (impf) are an aspect pair — 'he arrives every day' is прихо́дить, 'he arrived' is прийшо́в. This two-layer system (direction + aspect) is the hardest thing in the motion system.