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Когда поезд остановится, подойди к выходу.

Когда поезд остановится, подойди к выходу.
When the train stops, go to the exit.

Breakdown of Когда поезд остановится, подойди к выходу.

когда
when
поезд
the train
выход
the exit
остановиться
to stop
подойти к
to go with
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Questions & Answers about Когда поезд остановится, подойди к выходу.

Why is остановится in the future tense? In English we often say When the train stops, not When the train will stop.

Russian works differently here. After когда referring to the future, Russian normally uses the future tense, not the present.

So Russian says:

  • Когда поезд остановится... = When the train stops / has stopped...

Even though English usually uses a present form after when, Russian still uses future because the stopping has not happened yet.

What exactly is остановится grammatically?

Остановится is:

  • 3rd person singular
  • future tense
  • from the verb остановиться
  • aspect: perfective

So it means it will come to a stop or it will stop.

Here the subject is поезд, so literally: the train will stop.

Why is the verb остановиться, with -ся, instead of остановить?

The -ся form often means that something does the action itself or ends up in a state.

Compare:

  • остановить поезд = to stop the train
    Someone stops it.
  • поезд остановится = the train will stop
    The train comes to a stop.

So in this sentence, the train is not being presented as an object that someone stops; it is simply stopping.

Why is подойди used instead of a more basic verb like иди?

Подойди comes from подойти, which means to go up to, to approach, or to come up to.

That fits this situation well: once the train stops, the person should move over to the exit.

Compare:

  • иди к выходу = go toward the exit / be going to the exit
  • подойди к выходу = come up to the exit / move over to the exit

Подойди sounds more like make your way to the exit at that point. It suggests a single completed action, which is natural here.

Why is подойди an imperative, and what form is it?

Подойди is the singular informal imperative of подойти.

It is used when speaking to:

  • one person
  • in an informal way

If you were speaking formally to one person, or to several people, you would say:

  • подойдите к выходу

So this sentence is addressing one person in an informal way.

Why is it к выходу and not к выход?

Because the preposition к requires the dative case.

The noun is:

  • выход = nominative singular

After к, it becomes:

  • к выходу = to/toward the exit

So this is a case change caused by the preposition.

Does к выходу mean into the exit, toward the exit, or up to the exit?

It means something like to the exit, toward the exit, or up to the exit, depending on context.

In this sentence, the idea is probably:

  • move over to the exit
  • come up to the exit

It does not necessarily mean passing through the exit. It means getting to that location.

Why is there a comma after остановится?

Because Когда поезд остановится is a subordinate clause, and Russian normally separates subordinate clauses with a comma.

So the structure is:

  • Когда поезд остановится, = When the train stops,
  • подойди к выходу. = come up to the exit.

This comma is required in standard Russian spelling.

Can the word order be changed?

Yes. Russian word order is flexible.

For example, you could also say:

  • Подойди к выходу, когда поезд остановится.

This means basically the same thing.

The version with Когда поезд остановится first puts the time condition up front, which sounds very natural for an instruction like this.

Why are both verbs perfective: остановится and подойди?

Because both actions are viewed as single, completed events:

  • остановится = the train will come to a stop
  • подойди = go over to the exit

Russian aspect is very important here. The speaker is not describing an ongoing process, but a sequence:

  1. the train stops
  2. then you move to the exit

Perfective verbs are very common in instructions when the speaker wants to focus on a concrete result.

Would Когда поезд останавливается, подойди к выходу work?

Usually no, not for this meaning.

Останавливается is imperfective present, and with когда it would normally suggest:

  • a habitual action
  • a repeated situation
  • or an ongoing process

So it could sound more like Whenever the train is stopping..., which is not what is meant here.

For a one-time future event, Russian normally uses:

  • Когда поезд остановится...
Is поезд just the subject here, and why does it stay in its basic form?

Yes, поезд is the subject of остановится, so it is in the nominative case, its basic dictionary form.

  • поезд = train
  • поезд остановится = the train will stop

There is no reason for it to change case here, because it is the doer of the action.

Could this sentence be translated more literally as When the train will have stopped, come up to the exit?

A very literal grammatical explanation might sound like that, but it is not the best natural English translation.

The Russian perfective future often corresponds to natural English phrases like:

  • when the train stops
  • once the train has stopped

So while the Russian does emphasize a completed future event, normal English usually does not need will have here.