Thread: Стрелять vs. Обстрелять

What sort of difference is there in the meaning of these verbs?

Originally Posted by Бармалей

What sort of difference is there in the meaning of these verbs?

Обстрелять можно какую-нибудь цель.
Define target (targets are bold below):

Например - город был обстрелян реактивными снарядами.
Мы подверглись обстрелу.
Президент был обстрелян из засады.

А стрелять - это сам процесс стрельбы:
Мы стреляли
Где-то стреляли
Была стрельба
(It's just shooting/firing without specifying a target)

Generally you may use both, there is only one newance: when you use обстрел/обстрелять that require to specify the target of обстрел (bombardment, shelling, firing).
And стрелять can be used without it. (see examples above).

Very helpful site: www.gramota.ru . There are interpretations to many words. And you can check way of writing of words.

Can обстрелять ever mean "to shoot around" something? In either of these ways:

"The Marines fired warning shots around the car, forcing it to stop."
and
"In order to reduce casualties, the military ordered a new gun designed to shoot around corners."

Originally Posted by Бармалей

"The Marines fired warning shots around the car, forcing it to stop."

In this sentence you can say "сделали предупредительные выстрелы". And "обстрелять" doesn't make any sense here. They are trying to stop it , not to do away with this car.

Originally Posted by Бармалей

"In order to reduce casualties, the military ordered a new gun designed to shoot around corners."

I'm in some doubt about my understanding of this sentence. Is it a sort of a fantasy? A special gun whose bullets can change their trajectory...or lasers?

"Обстрелять" can also mean to surpass somebody in shooting.

Originally Posted by flowforever

I'm in some doubt about my understanding of this sentence. Is it a sort of a fantasy? A special gun whose bullets can change their trajectory...or lasers?

It's not a fantasy, it's reality
It's just a gun which allows the user to stay completely behind the corner so that only the gun or part of the gun sticks out and he is not visible to the enemy while shooting around the corner.

Бармалей, "обстрелять" doesn't make sense here either.
"In order to reduce casualties, the military ordered a new gun designed to shoot around corners."
=
"Чтобы уменьшить потери, военное командование заказало новое оружие, предназначенное для стрельбы из-за угла."

to shoot around corners = стрелять из-за угла

обстрелять always needs an object, a target, as Ramil said.
обстрелять кого-нибудь/что-нибудь = to subject somebody/something to shooting, fire, bombardment.

Ok, got it! Thanks guys.

Originally Posted by Ramil

Generally you may use both, there is only one nuance: when you use обстрел/обстрелять you have to/you must/etc. specify the target of обстрел (bombardment, shelling, firing).
And стрелять can be used without it. (see examples above).

After saying "when you use," you have to keep the subject in the second person.