Thread: выпить vs пить

Originally Posted by xXHoax

About 99.97% of Russian verbs have an Imperfective-Perfective pair

Most often, one verb will be imperfective, and the perfective will be the same root with an added prefix. по- being the most common
Here with пить you can see that the prefix вы- is what constitutes the perfective.

Sometimes an extra in-syllable is added to form imperfective from perfective -ыв-

A common hierarchy structure is:
ROOT [imperfective] -pair- prefix1-ROOT [perfective]
prefix2-ROO-infix-T -pair- prefix2-ROOT [perfective]
prefix3-ROO-infix-T -pair- prefix3-ROOT [perfective]
prefix4-ROO-infix-T -pair- prefix4-ROOT [perfective]

It’s even more complicated. There is the verb попи́ть, another perfective counterpart of the unprefixed пить.
Попи́ть means ‘drink some’ while вы́пить is ‘finish drinking’. Although, they are interchangeable in many cases.

Moreover, the verb вы́пить has its own prefixed imperfective form выпива́ть ‘drink (a certain amount)’.
E.g. «Я выпива́ю 5 ча́шек ко́фе в день» ‘I drink 5 cups of coffee a day’.

Another nuance is that the pair выпива́ть—вы́пить often means ‘drink alcohol’, especially without a direct object specified.
«Он ча́сто выпива́ет» ‘He drinks hard’
«Хо́чешь пить? — Нет, я хочу́ вы́пить» ‘Are you thirsty?’ ‘No, I wanna booze up’

I think that is why по- is so often used as the perfective-adding prefix - its meaning already is shortness.
In that sense, попить might be the more natural counterpart, and выпить is merely the more functionally common perfective realization of пить.

I guess you could say that you start with the base meaning БИТЬ, and it gets fragmented along many axes, one of which is perfectiveness, which itself gets split by prefix-axes, being the different kinds of added conceptualizations. So in some cases there are various aspects of perfectivity stressed in different prefixed-versions of the base, as well as different added meanings altogether stressed.

I suppose the reason prefixes all make perfectives, is that they each bring to the table the idea of an action вы-out of, у-away, etc. and those actions are inherently whole ideas, such that if you add the whole idea to a root, you get the meaning of the root carried out across a whole concept; and from THERE you have to distinguish that the desired meaning *also* involves duration, so the infix is added.

*representing an endpoint, a finished verb product

ROOT* (пить)
(xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx--------по- instantaneity----perfective--*xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(---Simple Perfective branch--xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx------added infix-- repeated completion----*xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx\xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx
(xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx----------вы- completion-----perfective--*xxxxxxx----------added infix----------imperfective----*
)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(-------some prefixed meaning-----------------------------------------------------------perfective----*xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx
(xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx
)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxx----------added infix----------imperfective----*xxxxxxxxxxxx
)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x
(-------some prefixed meaning-----------------------------------------------------------perfective----*xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxx
(ad nauseum




For some ROOTs, the perfective branch contains only one descendant, which employs all aspects of perfectivity? I think probably.

For clarification:

The lesson mentioned here says: Я потел бы выпить тоже

This version doesn't have any of that. It simply says Я хочу пить. I want to make sure I'm learning the right thing.