Thread: Verbs with по

Hi all,
I would like to know the difference of verbs with the suffix and the ones without, ex: ехать и поехать

Thanks all for any help possible.

Originally Posted by thomaz-0

Hi all,
I would like to know the difference of verbs with the suffix and the ones without, ex: ехать и поехать

Thanks all for any help possible.

That's not a simple one. I believe there should be a complete tutorial somewhere. Off the top of my head, the ordinary usage of the "по" has a nuance of a future tense:

For example:

1. я еду => I'm going
я поеду => I will go

2. я буду ехать => I will be going
[s:4bxdr3vl]я буду поехать[/s:4bxdr3vl] => [s:4bxdr3vl]I will will go[/s:4bxdr3vl] => WRONG! (the 'future tense' is used twice here)
я собираюсь поехать => (that's perfectly ok) => I plan I will go *

In the past form the usage has a nuance of completeness:

3. я ехал => I was going
я поехал => I went

4. я бы ехал => I would be going
я бы поехал => I would have been going *

5. Gagarin (today is April, 12) had said: "Поехали!" and not "Едем!" because he kind of believed the process has just started and will complete successfully:

Поехали! => Let's go!
Едем! => We're going!

* This translation might be a bit controversial.

Perhaps, other forum members might be better at addressing that question. I would also be delighted to learn.

with verbs of motion по has the notion of setting out, initiating the activity.
Он шел на почту. He was going to the post office.
Он пошел на почту. He's gone off to the post office.

In others, it adds the notion of 'a little bit' -- давай поем! Let's get a bite to eat! . Где можно что-то почитать про Informix ? Where can I read some on Informix?

I am sure some reference book will have generalized meanings associated with various prefixes, but they don't always have to have meaning. Look at на 'on'. In perfective of писать, it has absolutely no semantic meaning. only grammatical, i.e., написать is the pf. of писать. Try Terrence Wade's book.