The Preposition К (Towards / Up To)
The preposition к takes the Dative case and means "towards" or "up to." Use it to describe approaching a destination, especially when heading towards a person or walking right up to an object.
| The patient is walking to the specialist. | Пациент идёт к специалисту. |
We often pair к with verbs meaning "to approach": подходить (imperfective) and подойти (perfective). These combine standard verbs of motion with the prefix под- (up to/close to).
| I want to go up to the window. | Я хочу подойти к окну. |
| The students often go up to the teacher after the lesson. | Студенты часто подходят к учителю после урока. |
| Nobody approached the director. | Никто не подошёл к директору. |
The Preposition ПО (Along / Around)
The preposition по also takes the Dative case. It describes movement along a path, on a surface, or around an area.
| Yesterday we walked around the city for a long time. | Вчера мы долго гуляли по городу. |
Use по to describe physical routes like a bridge (мост), a corridor (коридор), or stairs (лестница). Remember the standard Dative noun endings: masculine nouns add -у (мосту), while feminine nouns change -а to -е (лестнице).
| Then they walked along the old bridge. | Потом они пошли по старому мосту. |
| The doctor is walking quickly along the corridor. | Врач быстро идёт по коридору. |
| The dog is running on the stairs. | Собака бегает по лестнице. |
Exploring Nature with ПО
In English, we usually walk "in" the forest or "on" the shore. In Russian, if the movement follows an open path along or through these areas, use по.
| We are walking along the riverbank. | Мы гуляем по берегу реки. |
| Do you like walking in the forest? | Вы любите гулять по лесу? |
