Я должен идти в магазин.

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Breakdown of Я должен идти в магазин.

• в: to
• магазин: the store
• идти: to go

Questions & Answers about Я должен идти в магазин.

What does должен mean, and how does it function in this sentence?

должен is the short‑form masculine adjective meaning “must” or “have to.” In Russian, these short‑form adjectives often act like modal verbs: they’re followed by an infinitive (here идти) to show obligation. So я должен идти literally is “I am obligated to go.”

Why is it я должен, and what if the speaker is female or talking about a group?

Short‑form adjectives agree with the subject in gender and number:

• A male speaker says я должен.
• A female says я должна.
• A mixed or plural group says мы/они должны.

Why is the infinitive идти used here? How is it different from ходить or from the perfective пойти?

1. Modal + infinitive: after должен you always use an infinitive form of the verb.
2. Идти vs ходить:
   • идти = unidirectional, “to go (right now, one‑way).”
   • ходить = multidirectional or habitual, “to go (repeatedly or back‑and‑forth).”
3. идти vs пойти:
   • идти (imperfective) focuses on the process—“I must be going/to go.”
   • пойти (perfective) focuses on the single completed action—“I must set out (and complete the trip).”