My biggest headache when it comes to Russian language

[aleckii.livejournal.com]

подехать, поехать, приехать and all the remaining prefixes etc, Until now I still haven't grasped an inkling of an idea where should I use which word...

Сan you guys help me with these following example?

'Wow, I didn't know you would be coming to me today'

'How often do you go to your grand-mother?'

'I will be going to you soon.'

And maybe if you can include some clear-cut examples to differentiate them, it would be great.

How about the word посетить? It can be used to replace go to right? 

Comments

[pigmeich.livejournal.com]

> 'Wow, I didn't know you would be coming to me today'

О! Я и не думал, что ты приедешь сегодня.

> 'How often do you go to your grand-mother?'

Как часто ты навещаешь свою бабушку?

> 'I will be going to you soon.'

Я скоро к тебе поеду (or заеду).

> How about the word посетить? It can be used to replace go to right?

No, it can't. Such a common phrase as 'go to' cannot has a generalized translation.

[pigmeich.livejournal.com]

You can look up Russian prefixes definition on gramota.ru (http://gramota.ru/slovari/dic/?efr=x&word=%E7%E0).

[zespri.livejournal.com]

Эта тема действительно очень непростая. На мой взгляд, лучше всего посмотреть слова с различными приставками в русско-английском словаре. Каждый из подобных глаголов имеет отдельную статью в словаре, а также примеры употребления.

Я было хотел объяснить разницу и употребление между тремя глаголами выше, но потом решил что это довольно таки бесполезно, потому что это будет именно что информация по трём конкретным глаголам. Никаких общих правил из неё будет не вывести. Так что лучше обратиться к словарям.

Теперь о примерах.
'Wow, I didn't know you would be coming to me today'
'А я и не ожидал, что ты сегодня ко мне приедешь/придёшь/подъедешь'

'How often do you go to your grand-mother?'
'Как часто Вы навещаете Вашу бабушку?'

'I will be going to you soon.'
Здесь мне немного сложно без контекста но я думаю выйдет так:
'Я к тебе скоро выхожу/выезжаю.'
Тут акцент на том что говорящий скоро покидает то место, где он находится и отправляется к тому, к кому он обращается.

Что касается примеров, то боюсь, с каждым глаголом они будут разные, и простых правил не существует.

'Посетить' (visit) очень к месту может использоваться в официальных текстах. Например, 'В ходе своего визита в город Х, президент Y посетил недавно открытую больницу.'

Мало кто скажет 'Я посетил свою бабушку'. С другой стороны 'Я посетил таки музей' звучит нормально.

This is indeed a difficult topic. In my opinion, the best approach would be looking up each of the words in question in a Russian-English dictionary. Each verb like this has a separate dictionary entry in many cases with good examples.

I nearly started to write out the difference between the three verbs you mentioned, but then I figured out that it wouldn't be of much use to you. That would be only about these particular three verbs and no general rule would be to infer. So the dictionary would be the best avenue.

Now let's look at your sentences.

'Wow, I didn't know you would be coming to me today'
'А я и не ожидал, что ты сегодня ко мне приедешь/придёшь/подъедешь'

'How often do you go to your grand-mother?'
'Как часто Вы навещаете Вашу бабушку?'

'I will be going to you soon.'
I'm struggling a little bit here in the absence of a context:
'Я к тебе скоро выхожу/выезжаю.'
Here is the stress on that the person is leaving the place they are at soon and heading to whoever they are talking to.

As for the clear-cut examples, I'm afraid they don't exist as they will be different for each particular verb. There is no clear-cut rule.

'Посетить' (visit) sounds good in official texts. For example 'В ходе своего визита в город Х, президент Y посетил недавно откртую больницу.'
'Я посетил свою бабушку' sounds weird, nobody (well not many people anyway) speaks like this, on the other hand 'Я посетил таки музей' sounds ok.

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

Per the rules of the community your post should be in English or contain an English translation.

[zespri.livejournal.com]

Sorry, what's your point?

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I totally missed the translation as it wasn't anyhow marked and the text began in Russian.

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

You need to look up the words' translation in a dictionary and memorize them more or less as if they were completely different verbs.

We have the following verb prefixes:
В/ВО-
ВЗ/ВОЗ-
ВЫ-
ДО-
ЗА-
ИЗ-
НА-
О/ОБ-
ОТ-
ПЕРЕ-
ПО-
ПРИ-
ПРО-
РАЗ/РАС-
С/СО-
У-

Sometimes they have more or less defined meanings (e.g. when used with verbs of motion they describe spacial aspect of the action/movement), but at other times Russian verbs with prefixes are pretty much like English phrasal verbs (verb + preposition particle) where the meaning isn't a simple sum of meanings of the two parts. In those cases you can only memorize verbs in their entirety.

See some examples here:
http://www.alphadictionary.com/rusgrammar/wfverb0.html
http://www.alphadictionary.com/rusgrammar/wfverb1.html
http://www.alphadictionary.com/rusgrammar/wfverb2.html
http://www.russianlessons.net/grammar/verbs_motion.php

[windy-corner.livejournal.com]

In my opinion the best thing to do is to divide all the stuff about verbs of motion into sections and try to grasp them one by one.

посещать - посетить is a bit like 'pay a visit'. 'I visited the cinema', like. This isn't a 'verb of motion' as such.

'I will be going to you soon.' It's more about the intention than actual movement but when it goes about intentions and plans to move, prefix по- is normally used. It's got the meaning of willing to go: I want to and I shall go. Classical example is when two people meet -
A. Привет! Ты куда идешь?

В. Я иду в кино.
А. О! А можно я тоже с тобой ПОЙДУ?

'Wow, I didn't know you would be coming to me today'
Generally, the idea of arrival is prefix ПРИ-


'How often do you go to your grand-mother?'
Regular visits is ходить-ездить, as opposed to идти-ехать if it's one way.
I.e., Ты часто ездишь/ходишь к бабушке? is the idea, although навещаешь is perhaps a better translatioin.

As for advice to use the dictionary, I think pictures help better to get the gist. ))))

[pinky-the-cow.livejournal.com]

On a sidenote: "подъехать" would be correct, "подехать" is wrong.

[belacane.livejournal.com]

in general the prefix под indicates approaching or going up to something.

при indicates arrival at a destination

and for verbs of motion по generally indicates leaving to somewhere but no mention of return.

[windy-corner.livejournal.com]

подходить/подойти, подъезжать/подъехать is walk/move up to some object or person, but could aso be for arriving or approaching by certain time or to certain destination, usually is followed by preposition 'к'

Подойди ко мне,
ты мне нравишься,
поцелуй меня,
не отравишься (Очи черные: Russian gypsy song)

Не подходи ко мне! Я сердита на тебя.

Мы подъезжаем к Москве.

Дрожжевое тесто быстро подходит. (Increases its volume up to a desirable one)

Figuratively, подходить/подойти can also mean to fit or to match, to go well together

Вы друг другу не подходите. Вы слишком разные люди.
Этот шарф идеально подходит к тону твоего берета.

Again, I think studying the meanings of prefixes in lists or dictionaries is not very helpful in forming the skill of using them correctly. Facing actual usage in emotional context is more efficient. ))) But that's what I think. )))

[aleckii.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your help. I tried the dictionary method? Even by using pictorial help it didn't help to answer my questions. But thanks to some of your examples, I think I can more or less differentiate them.

In general I guess if I wanted to say, in a conversational sense,

'I'm going to you tomorrow.'
я завтра поеду/заеду/приеду/подъеду к тебе.

'Are you coming to me tomorrow?'
ты завтва поедешь/заедешь/приедешь/подъедешь ко мне?

isn't wrong right? It just more of less give a different meaning? I think windy_corner is right, to see these words in an emotional context would be most helpful.

Thanks for your help.

Does someone know of a good website that can give multiple examples on the usage of these words? I'm like a sponge now, trying to absorb anything I can.

[windy-corner.livejournal.com]

Я завтра поеду к тебе. I'll go to you tomorrow (implies: and on my way.../I won't be able to do anything else)
Я завтра заеду к тебе. I'll drop by/ come round/ pop in tomorrow.
(implies: not for long, as if on my way elsewhere)
Я завтра приеду к тебе. I'll come to you tomorrow. (I'll see you tomorrow at your place)
Я завтра к тебе подъеду. I'll come to you tomorrow. (implies: ...and we can do what we've planned/by certain time and with a certain purpose