Thread: Difference between до and к

Looking back at some of my notes I am getting myself confused...

What is the difference between до + до and под + к when used with motion verbs? I find it difficult to differentiate and my textbooks don't do a very good job.

For example, I think the following mean..

Я подошел к остановке. I walked up to the stop.

Я дошел до конца квартала. I walked (up) to the end of the block.

I could try to explain it to you, but I would suggest that you do some independent research. Type all of the possible combinations of prefix + motion verb into google and see if you can understand the difference between the various combinations. Even if you don't come to a full understanding, your knowledge of the language will improve immeasurably from this exercise.

Yes, this can hardly be formalized. Any rule will not be absolute. Practice can not be substituted by rules.

Though...

"к" is used when the ultimate destination of motion is referred to.
"до" is used when intermediate or unintended destination point is described.