Breakdown of Птица летит на юг.
птица
bird
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
юг
south
лететь
to fly (one direction)
Questions & Answers about Птица летит на юг.
Why does this sentence use летит instead of a multidirectional verb?
Летит is a unidirectional verb, which means it describes a single trip happening right now in one specific direction. The bird is currently in the air, on its way south.
If I wanted to say 'The bird flies south every winter,' would I still use летит?
No, you would need the multidirectional verb летает. Since you are learning about multidirectional contrast, remember that летит is for an action happening right now in one direction, while летает is for a repeated habit or round trip.
Why do we use the preposition на instead of в for 'to the south'?
In Russian, compass directions like юг (south), север (north), запад (west), and восток (east) always take the preposition на to express 'to' or 'in' that direction.
What grammatical case is юг in here?
It is in the accusative case because it shows the destination of the bird's motion (answering 'where to?'). Since юг is a masculine, inanimate noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary form.
Learn Птица летит на юг and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free