Мой друг ездит на север зимой.

the friend

Breakdown of Мой друг ездит на север зимой.

• мой: my
• на: to
• ездить: to go

Questions & Answers about Мой друг ездит на север зимой.

Why is it ездит and not едет or ходит?

Russian has different verbs for going / traveling, depending on how and how often:

• ехать (едет) – to go by vehicle, one time, in one direction
  
  • Мой друг едет на север. = My friend is going north (now / this time).
• ездить (ездит) – to go by vehicle, habitually or repeatedly, or in general
  
  • Мой друг ездит на север зимой. = My friend goes (regularly) to the north in winter.
• ходить (ходит) – to go on foot, habitually or repeatedly.

In this sentence, the meaning is regular, repeated trips by some sort of transport, so ездит is the natural choice.

Why is it на север and not в север?

With cardinal directions (north, south, east, west), Russian normally uses на when talking about movement towards that direction:

• ехать на север – to go north
• лететь на юг – to fly south
• повернуть на восток – to turn east

В север is not used for this meaning. Think of на here as “to(wards)” rather than “on”.

What case is север in, and why doesn’t it change?