Breakdown of Автобус едет прямо.
ехать
to go (by vehicle)
автобус
bus
прямо
straight ahead / right; directly
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Questions & Answers about Автобус едет прямо.
Why do we use едет instead of идёт for "goes"?
In Russian, verbs of motion distinguish between moving on foot and moving by transport. You use идёт (from идти) when someone or something is moving on foot. Because a bus is a vehicle, you must use a form of ехать (to go by transport), which gives us едет.
I've also learned the word ездит for going by transport. Why use едет instead?
This comes down to one-way vs. multi-way motion. Ехать (the dictionary form of едет) is a unidirectional verb, meaning the motion is happening right now in one specific direction. Ездить (where ездит comes from) is multidirectional, used for round trips, wandering, or regular habits. Since this bus is currently moving straight ahead in a single direction, we need едет.
Is прямо related to the Russian words for "right" (like left and right)?
They do share a historical root, which is why they sound similar, but don't mix them up! Прямо means "straight" or "straight ahead." If you wanted to say the bus goes to the right, you would use the word направо.