Word
Я хочу подойти к окну.
Meaning
I want to go up to the window.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Я хочу подойти к окну.
Why use к for "to" here, instead of в or на?
In Russian, в and на generally mean going inside or onto a place. The preposition к means approaching or going up to something (or someone) without entering it. Since you are just walking up to the window, not into it, you use к.
Why does the word окно change to окну?
The preposition к always forces the noun that follows it into the Dative case. For neuter nouns ending in -о like окно (window), the Dative ending is -у, resulting in окну.
How does the verb подойти relate to the basic verb идти (to go)?
подойти is built from the basic verb of motion идти (to go on foot). The prefix под- adds the meaning of "approaching" or "coming up close to". Notice how an -о- is added after the prefix and the spelling changes slightly to make подойти easier to pronounce. Verbs with the под- prefix pair perfectly with the preposition к!
Why use the perfective verb подойти instead of an imperfective one here?