Breakdown of Идите рядом и смотрите, не споткнитесь друг о друга в темноте!
и
and
не
not
в
in / to (direction)
смотреть
to watch / to look at / make sure (in a warning)
идти
to go (on foot) / to proceed, go (of a process)
друг друга
each other
темнота
darkness (f)
рядом
nearby, close by
споткнуться
to trip
о
against (contact)
Questions & Answers about Идите рядом и смотрите, не споткнитесь друг о друга в темноте!
Why is не споткнитесь in the perfective aspect? I thought negative imperatives usually take the imperfective.
You are right that direct negative commands (when telling someone not to do something intentionally) use the imperfective. However, this sentence is a warning to prevent an accident. When warning someone not to do something accidentally, like tripping, falling, or forgetting, Russian uses не plus the perfective imperative.
Why is the preposition о placed in the middle of друг друга?
Whenever the phrase друг друга (each other) is used with a preposition, that preposition must physically separate the two words. The verb споткнуться (to trip over) requires the preposition о, so it becomes друг о друга instead of putting the preposition at the very beginning.
Is the phrase смотрите, не a fixed expression here?
Yes! Using the imperative смотри or смотрите followed by не and a perfective imperative is a very common formula for warnings. It translates naturally to phrases like watch out that you do not or make sure you do not.
Why are the first two verbs (идите and смотрите) imperfective?
Идите and смотрите describe ongoing, continuous actions the speaker wants the listeners to actively do as they walk. Contrast this with the warning не споткнитесь, which focuses on avoiding a sudden, accidental one-time event.
Learn Идите рядом и смотрите, не споткнитесь друг о друга в темноте 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