Breakdown of Мой друг обошёл высокий барьер и пошёл прямо.
и
and
друг
friend
мой
my (мой, моя, моё) / mine
высокий
tall / high (of a level or amount)
пойти
to go (perfective, on foot) / to start (of rain, snow)
прямо
straight ahead / right; directly
обойти
to go around (pf)
барьер
the barrier
Questions & Answers about Мой друг обошёл высокий барьер и пошёл прямо.
Why is the prefix here обо- instead of just об-?
When the prefix об- is added to certain roots, especially those starting with complex consonant clusters or the irregular past tense forms of идти (like шёл), an extra -о- is added for easier pronunciation. That is why it is обошёл instead of the hard-to-say обшёл.
Why does обошёл take the Accusative case without a preposition?
When you add the prefix об- or обо- to a verb of motion to mean "going around" or "bypassing" an obstacle, the verb becomes transitive. This means it takes a direct object in the Accusative case (высокий барьер) without needing a preposition like вокруг (around).
Since высокий барьер is the object of the verb, why don't its endings change?
It actually is in the Accusative case here! However, because барьер is an inanimate masculine noun, its Accusative form is identical to its Nominative (dictionary) form. If the friend had walked around a feminine noun like стена (wall), you would see the Accusative ending change: обошёл высокую стену.
Both обошёл and пошёл translate to "went" in the English sentence. What is the difference between these prefixes?
Russian uses prefixes to describe the specific path of motion. The prefix обо- means the friend "went around" the barrier. After that action was finished, the prefix по- in пошёл shows that he "set off" or "started walking" in a new direction, straight ahead. Both verbs are perfective, showing consecutive completed actions.
Learn Мой друг обошёл высокий барьер и пошёл прямо 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