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Questions & Answers about Иван идёт в школу.
What does идёт mean in this sentence?
идти is the imperfective verb “to go (on foot)” in one direction. идёт is its 3rd-person singular present‐tense form, so here it means “he goes” or “he is going.”
Why is в школу in the accusative case instead of the prepositional?
In Russian, the preposition в with the accusative case expresses movement into or toward something. Since Ivan is going into the school, в школу takes the accusative ending -у.
Why aren’t there any articles (like “the” or “a”) in Иван идёт в школу?
Russian has no definite or indefinite articles. Nouns stand alone without “a,” “an,” or “the.” Context (word order, case endings) conveys specificity.
What is the difference between идти and ходить?
Both mean “to go,” but:
- идти: unidirectional, one‐way movement (right now, in progress).
- ходить: multidirectional, habitual or round-trip movement (I go there regularly, I go back and forth).
How do you pronounce идёт, and where is the stress?
Pronounced [i-ˈdot], with stress on the second syllable: i-DYOT.
Why is Иван in the nominative case?
Иван is the subject of the sentence (the one performing the action). Subjects in Russian are in the nominative case.
Is идёт perfective or imperfective, and why does it matter?
идти is imperfective. It describes an ongoing process or action in progress (“is going,” not “has gone”). Perfective verbs would instead refer to completed actions.
Why is the verb singular here?
Because Иван is one person. The verb agrees with its subject in number (singular) and gender (masculine, but Russian present‐tense verbs don’t mark gender for 3rd person).
Could you replace в школу with another case or preposition?
Yes, for location rather than motion you’d use в школе (prepositional):
Иван в школе (Ivan is at school).
But for direction you must use accusative в школу.