"Where to?" (куда)
English uses "where" for both location ("Where are you?") and destination ("Where are you going?"). Russian uses a different word for moving toward a destination: куда (where to).
In English, you can "go" anywhere. Russian uses different verbs depending on how you travel. If you are walking or moving under your own power, use идти.
Here is the present tense conjugation for moving in a single direction (unidirectional):
| Subject | идти (to go on foot) |
|---|
| я | иду |
| ты | идёшь |
| он / она | идёт |
| мы | идём |
| вы | идёте |
| они | идут |
Going by Vehicle (ехать)
If you are taking any kind of transport (a car, bus, train, or bike), use ехать.
| Subject | ехать (to go by vehicle) |
|---|
| я | еду |
| ты | едешь |
| он / она | едет |
| мы | едем |
| вы | едете |
| они | едут |
Modes of Transport and Destinations
To specify how you are traveling by vehicle, use the preposition на followed by the transport noun. The endings change to -е for words like автобус (bus) and поезд (train). A foreign borrowing like метро (subway) never changes its ending.
- на автобусе (by bus)
- на поезде (by train)
- на метро (by subway)
Russian also has a specific word for moving "to home" or "homeward": домой. Unlike дома (which means resting at home), домой strictly means moving toward home.
To emphasize that you are walking rather than driving, use the word пешком (on foot) alongside the verb идти.
