What does the Ukrainian trident represent?

Do you sometimes confuse the verbs йти – ходи́ти, ї́хати – ї́здити while talking Ukrainian? Misusing the verbs of motion is one of the most common mistakes for foreigners learning Ukrainian. Today we will cover this topic.

Verbs of motion, unlike other verbs, are divided into uni- and multidirectional subsets. 

Unidirectional verbs indicate one trip in one direction in progress at the time of speech (in the past, present, or future tense).

Я йду в магази́н за́раз. – I’m going to the store now.

Коли́ я йшла в магази́н вчо́ра, я говори́ла по телефо́ну. – When I went to the store yesterday, I was talking on the phone.

Коли́ я йти́му в магази́н за́втра, я тобі́ зателефону́ю. – When I go to the store tomorrow, I will call you.

Multidirectional verbs are used for a single round trip, repeated round trips, repeated visits, a single trip in multiple directions, without indicating a specific direction, or to indicate movement itself.

Вчо́ра я ходи́ла в магази́н. – Yesterday I went to the store.

Я щодня́ ходжу́ в магази́н. – I go to the store every day.

Він лю́бить ї́здити на ску́тері мі́стом. – He likes to ride a scooter around the city.

Вчо́ра ми ці́лий день ходи́ли й ї́здили мі́стом. – Yesterday we walked and drove around the city the whole day.

In this chart, you see the most common verbs, which have two forms – uni- and multidirectional.