Prefix в- (во-) with the Verb of Motion "идти"

Part 1 - войти, входить

The Russian verbs of motion come in pairs, for example, "идти" and "ходить." Both can be translated to English as "to go" or sometimes as "to walk," but their meanings differ in Russian. The former describes movement in a certain direction at a specific moment in time, while the latter describes habitual or repetitive movement.

More on this in the previous post:

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Photo by Mathias Reding

Войти and Входить

The prefix "в-" ("во-") changes the meaning of the pair from "to go" to "to enter." And like with any Russian verb of motion pair, each verb inside the pair has its own meaning.

The former, "войти," describes the complete action of entering a space. As you may have noticed, the prefix changes the verb status from imperfective to perfective.

The latter, "входить," retains its imperfective status naturally, as it describes the process of entering a space.

Войти

The verb "войти" is a perfective verb, which means it typically does not have a present tense form.

Past Tense

Я вошёл (masculine) / Я вошла (feminine) - I entered

Я вошёл в переднюю; людей никого не было… - М. Ю. Лермонтов
(I entered the front room; there was no staff there... - M. Y. Lermontov)

Ударили к заутрене,
Как в город я вошла. - Н. А. Некрасов
(They rang the bells,
As I entered the city. - N. A. Nekrasov)

Мы вошли - We entered

Пугачев толкнул дверь ногою; замок отскочил; дверь отворилась, и мы вошли. - А. С. Пушкин
(Pugachev pushed the door with his foot; the lock bounced; the door opened, and we entered. - A. S. Pushkin)

Ты вошёл (masculine) / Ты вошла (feminine) - You entered

Ты чуть вошёл, я вмиг узнала,
Вся обомлела, запылала
И в мыслях молвила: вот он! - А. С. Пушкин, из “Письма Татьяны Онегину”

Performed by I. Smoktunovsky

Scarce had you entered, instantly I knew you,
I felt all faint, I felt aflame,
and in my thoughts I uttered: It is he! - A. S. Pushkin, from the Tatiana's Letter To Onegin, translation by V. Nabokov

As with other Russian poetry readings, I would like to offer you an alternative translation of those three lines, retaining the original rhythm, by Stanley Mitchell:

I knew you on your first appearing;
All faint and numb, aflame and fearing,
I uttered inwardly: it’s he! - A. S. Pushkin

Вы вошли - You entered (formal or plural)
Вы вошли в ресторан и заняли столик у окна.
(You entered the restaurant and took a table by the window.)

Он вошёл - He entered
Он вошёл в кабинет и сел за стол.
(He entered the office and sat down at the desk.)

Она вошла - She entered

Вдруг вошла
Черной и стройной тенью
В дверь дилижанса.
Ночь
Ринулась вслед. - М. Цветаева
(Suddenly she entered the coach
Like a black and slender shadow
Through the door.
The night
rushed behind. - M. Tsvetaeva)

Они вошли - They entered
Они вошли в зал и заняли свои места.
(They entered the hall and took their seats.)

Future tense conjugations, usage with imperatives, and fixed expressions below are available for paid subscribers only.