Thread: Simple Russian Phrases. Could you please check.

Thanks,

@iCake:

So the verb pair for "to wash" is "мыться/умыться" ?
if I write "сходил покупками" instead of "сходил за покупками" is it wrong? And why "сходил" and not just "ходил"?
what is wrong about "Я буду быстро возвращаться."? why you wrote "Я скоро вернусь". My version is unintelligible?

@Heterocera: If I am not mistaken "отпуск" is an organized tour. However, I do not know if "Путешествие"/"тур" means something so different.

So the verb pair for "to wash" is "мыться/умыться"?

мыться is to wash your whole body, умыться is to wash your face

if I write "сходил покупками" instead of "сходил за покупками" is it wrong? And why "сходил" and not just "ходил"?

сходил покупками is wrong. Покупками is a noun so it can't describe the verb directly. So you need to add something between them such as a preposition in this case
сходил за покупками - literally - went for some commodities.
сходил за покупками or ходил за покупками doesn't matter in your case. Both would fit in nicely

what is wrong about "Я буду быстро возвращаться."? why you wrote "Я скоро вернусь". My version is unintelligible?
Well, everything is wrong with your original phrase here. It doesn't work for this particular situation. First of all, you need a perfective verb there because it's a one time action, you will return there only once, and also the action is not in the process. As for быстро/скоро. I guess you could have said "Я быстро вернусь" but it just doesn't sound good at all.

@Heterocera: If I am not mistaken "отпуск" is an organized tour. However, I do not know if "Путешествие"/"тур" means something so different.

Отпуск is that special prolonged time (usually a month) you get once a year to rest from all the tiredness you job brings along and still get payed through that time This thing is a law.

Thanks iCake;

So it correct to to say Я буду скоро возвращаться in a stuation like I went to Holland for a vacation and will return to my home country Turkey soon? Я буду скоро возвращаться в Турцию из Голландии.?

Originally Posted by impulse

So it correct to to say Я буду скоро возвращаться in a stuation like I went to Holland for a vacation and will return to my home country Turkey soon? Я буду скоро возвращаться в Турцию из Голландии.?

Actually, your phrase IS possible. But there is a nuance when to use which.

The imperfective aspect in Russian has two basic meanings:
1) repetitive action, as Heterocera noted (буду возвращаться = will return, again and again);
2) a single action being viewed in its process. Other words, when you focus on the action itself (not on its result), you use imperfective.

Applying meaning 2) to the phrase "Я буду скоро возвращаться в Турцию из Голландии.", it can be understood as "I will be soon on my way back from Holland to Turkey". So, you focus on the action in its process. Below are some examples to illustrate when it is appropriate:

Example 1. Your friend asked you where he could find a cheap whisky. Assume, it is expensive in your country (as in Russia ). But you know, duty free shops have it cheaper. You reply to your friend:
- Я буду скоро возвращаться в Турцию из Голландии. И я могу купить тебе хороший дешёвый виски в дьюти-фри.

Example 2. I gave you a book to read. It is interesting, but you are so busy with your work that you cannot find a time to read it. Suddenly you went to a business trip to Holland. Then you say:
- Я буду скоро возвращаться в Турцию из Голландии. Наконец-то, у меня будет время дочитать твою книгу в самолёте. (Finally, I will have time to finish reading your book in the plane).

But when you focus on the result of a single action, you need perfective.

Example 3. Your girlfriend calls you while you are in Holland, and she says she is missing you.
Then you reply:
- Я скоро вернусь в Турцию из Голландии. (И мы увидимся). - Here, you focus on the final point of the action, you view the action as a single whole.

And surely, in your example as you wrote (Подождите минуточку меня здесь пожалуйста! Я буду быстро возвращаться.) it should be "Я скоро вернусь" instead. The key point here is you will be BACK soon, not the fact you will be ON YOUR WAY BACK.
And "быстро" more likely means "quickly/fast" rather than "soon". So, what you actually wrote was:

"Wait a minute for me here, please! I will be moving back fast"