Breakdown of Я хочу пойти домой.
я
I
хотеть
to want
домой
home
пойти
to go (perfective, on foot) / to start (of rain, snow)
Questions & Answers about Я хочу пойти домой.
Why do we use пойти instead of иду here?
Just like in English, when you use a verb like хочу (I want), the second verb stays in its dictionary form (the infinitive). So it is 'I want to go' (хочу пойти), not 'I want I go' (хочу иду).
We have been learning идти for 'to go'. Where does пойти come from?
пойти is just идти with the prefix по- added to the front. While идти focuses on the process of walking, adding по- changes the focus to the start of the trip or completing a single action (like 'to set off'). When talking about a single trip you want to make, Russians usually use пойти instead of идти.
I learned that 'home' is дом or дома. Why does this sentence use домой?
Russian uses different words for 'home' depending on whether it is a location or a destination. дома means you are already at home (location). домой means you are going to home or homewards (destination). Because you are traveling in that direction, you must use домой.
Since пойти is related to идти (going on foot), does this mean I am definitely walking home?
Usually, yes. However, пойти домой is also used as a general 'I am going home' or 'I am leaving' when you step out of work or a party, even if you might catch a bus later. If you want to strongly emphasize that you are driving or taking transport all the way home, you would use поехать (from ехать) instead.
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