Thread: Поехали!

Can someone explain to me why "поехали!" means "let's go!" although the literal translation is "(we/you/they) went" (if I'm not mistaken).
Why does one use "поехали!" and not "поедем!"?

There are many idiomatic phrases in Russian, just as in English. Compare «я хотел(а) бы» - "I would like", which also uses the past tense (even though the desire it expresses is in the present).

In the case of «поехали», I would guess it adds a sense of urgency (let's be gone from here sooner rather than later), but I could be wrong about this.

Originally Posted by Demonic_Duck

There are many idiomatic phrases in Russian, just as in English. Compare «я хотел(а) бы» - "I would like", which also uses the past tense (even though the desire it expresses is in the present).

I think, it is a way to say rather than idiomatic phrase, because any verb can be used instead of "поехали" with the same sense "let's do it right now".

Originally Posted by Demonic_Duck

In the case of «поехали», I would guess it adds a sense of urgency (let's be gone from here sooner rather than later), but I could be wrong about this.

Yes, something like that. It is like an imperative cooperative ("let us do it") with the idea of immediateness ("right now").

- Едемте в лес! (imperative cooperative)
- Едемте.
- Ну так поехали!

- Let's go to the forest!
- Let's go.
- So, let's go right now!

Originally Posted by puigh

Can someone explain to me why "поехали!" means "let's go!" although the literal translation is "(we/you/they) went" (if I'm not mistaken).
Why does one use "поехали!" and not "поедем!"?

When you say in English 'here goes!' it literally means 'здесь едет', but the meaning is close to 'поехали'. Such words express modality rather than literally mean something. 'Поехали' is something like 'let's go, let's start, let it roll' , but the Russian past tense is used here to express inducement, wish.

Originally Posted by it-ogo

I think, it is a way to say rather than idiomatic phrase, because any verb can be used instead of "поехали" with the same sense "let's do it right now".

Really any verb (within reason, i.e. verbs signifying an activity several people may perform together)? Not just certain verbs of movement? Almost all examples I have seen so far seem to be based of forms of ехать or идти. These are the example phrases I found, which I have jotted down:

Пошли домой = Let's go home.
Пошёл работать = пойду работать = I should return to work now.
Перешли мне, пожалуйста, его ещё раз. = Please send it to me once more.

And the single example so far with a different verb:
Начали = Let's begin!

To me it's similar to the English 'Right, we're off' which you might say just before you actually set off ie. when the decision to leave immediately is seen as already having been taken (at least by the speaker).

Перешли мне, пожалуйста, его ещё раз. = Please send it to me once more.

This looks like it's from переслать(перешлю,..) rather than перейти.

Originally Posted by Paperplane

To me it's similar to the English 'Right, we're off' which you might say just before you actually set off ie. when the decision to leave immediately is seen as already having been taken (at least by the speaker).

Yes, and I'm reminded of an American slang phrase "We're outa (out of) here!", which is in the present tense, but has a logical future indication. At the time of utterance the act of having left is predicted, yet hasn't taken place. Possibly поехали and пошли were used with a similar sense, at least originally.

Originally Posted by puigh

Can someone explain to me why "поехали!" means "let's go!" although the literal translation is "(we/you/they) went" (if I'm not mistaken).

Because it's a whoop, not a verb.
In many cases (if not in most) "поехали!" used as "let's start".

Originally Posted by bitpicker

Really any verb (within reason, i.e. verbs signifying an activity several people may perform together)?

Err... Well, you are right, I confused it with that imperative cooperative (=future plural first person), which is indeed works virtually for any verb.

For most (perfective) verbs this form (= past plural) means just brutal imperative (impolite order). Though I can imagine that it is used as imperative cooperative in some contexts... Oh, my. The more I think about it, the more complicated it looks.

Пошёл работать = пойду работать = I should return to work now.

No, this is not imperative-like. It is different situation.

Перешли мне, пожалуйста, его ещё раз. = Please send it to me once more.

Again wrong example. This is a regular imperative, not past plural (otherwise it should be "переслали").

Начали = Let's begin!

This is OK. And any perfective verb with meaning "to start to" can work here... Depending on context.

Originally Posted by Inf

Because it's a whoop, not a verb.

When you say a "whoop", do you mean an interjection?

Originally Posted by Inf

Because it's a whoop, not a verb.
In many cases (if not in most) "поехали!" used as "let's start".

"Whoop" is not a grammatical term, if not anything, the word is a verb.
Verbs in past form like поехали, пошли, побежали, полетели are used either to describe started actions in the past or to urge to do the action at the moment.

Originally Posted by Paperplane

To me it's similar to the English 'Right, we're off' which you might say just before you actually set off ie. when the decision to leave immediately is seen as already having been taken (at least by the speaker).

This looks like it's from переслать(перешлю,..) rather than перейти.

Oh, I never knew that. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Demonic_Duck

When you say a "whoop", do you mean an interjection?

Used online translator for "возглас" .
Yes, I mean "interjection".

//next time will use online dictionary

поехали (прошедшее время, множественное число)

(Когда надо сдать отчёт? - Вчера.)

"Поехали!" - то же, что и "поедем-ка", только это уже не просьба, не предложение, а констатация уже начавшегося процесса, т.е. откладывать уже нельзя. Это - приказ ехать ВМЕСТЕ.