Breakdown of На углу поверните направо и идите прямо до ресторана.
на
at
и
and
идти
to go
ресторан
the restaurant
угол
the corner
до
to
повернуть
to turn
направо
right
прямо
straight
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Questions & Answers about На углу поверните направо и идите прямо до ресторана.
Why is На used before углу, and why is углу in that form?
The preposition На can express location (“at” or “on” something). When на denotes location (not movement onto), it requires the Prepositional case. The noun угол (“corner”) in the Prepositional case becomes углу, so на углу means “at the corner.”
What exactly does поверните mean, and why this form?
Поверните is the imperative (command) of the perfective verb повернуть (“to turn”). It’s second person plural, used for either addressing multiple people or politely addressing one person. As a perfective imperative, it stresses a single, completed action: “(please) turn.”
Could we have said поворачивайте направо instead of поверните направо? What’s the difference?
Yes, поворачивайте is the imperfective imperative of поворачивать.
• Поверните направо (perfective) tells you to complete the turn once.
• Поворачивайте направо (imperfective) would sound like repetitive or ongoing turning, or more like general instructions. In giving a one-off direction, Russian prefers the perfective imperative.
Why is it поверните направо and not поверните на право?
Направо is an adverb meaning “to the right.” Adverbs don’t take additional prepositions. Saying на право would treat “right” as a noun (“onto the right”), which isn’t how direction adverbs work in Russian. So you say поверните направо.
Why is the next verb идите (imperfective) and not пойдите (perfective)?
Идите is the imperfective imperative of идти (“to go on foot”), focusing on the ongoing action of walking. Пойдите (perfective) would emphasize the start of walking or a single, bounded walk. For directions that cover some distance (“walk straight until…”), the imperfective идите is more natural.
What role does прямо play in идите прямо?
Прямо is an adverb meaning “straight.” It modifies идите, specifying the path you should follow: “go straight.”
Why is до used with ресторана, and why is ресторана in that case?
The preposition до means “up to” or “as far as” and always governs the Genitive case. The noun ресторан in Genitive becomes ресторана, so до ресторана means “until you reach the restaurant.”
Why do both verbs, поверните and идите, end in -те?
In Russian, the second person plural imperative (used for addressing multiple people or politely one person) ends in -те. This ending marks the command form: “turn” becomes поверните, “go” becomes идите.