Подойди к столу и возьми карандаш.

the table

Breakdown of Подойди к столу и возьми карандаш.

• и: and
• к: to
• карандаш: the pencil

Questions & Answers about Подойди к столу и возьми карандаш.

What’s the difference between подойди and подходи, and why is the perfective used here?

подойди is the perfective imperative of подойти (“to approach”). It tells someone to perform the action once and bring it to completion: “go up/come over.”
подходи is the imperfective imperative of подходить, suggesting a repeated or ongoing action (“keep coming over” or “approach habitually”). In this instruction you want the learner to approach the table one time, so the perfective подойди is appropriate.

Why is к столу in the dative case?

The preposition к (“towards” or “to”) always governs the dative case in Russian. It indicates movement in the direction of something. That’s why стол (nominative) becomes столу (dative).

What exactly does the preposition к convey in подойди к столу?

Here к means “to” or “towards” in the sense of moving closer. So подойди к столу literally means “move up to the table” or “come over to the table.”

Why is возьми used instead of бери?