clean it. At that moment her older son drives into the yard with his
motorcycle, and the children run in after him and bring in their
wagon. I open the door and go into my apartment.)
The difference between the prefixes при- and в- is one of specificity: При- is
much more general, arriving here in a large, perhaps nameless place. В-, on the
other hand, usually cannot be used without specifying (or strongly implying) the
place. If you knock on the door and someone inside says, «Войдñте!», it is clear
that you are permitted to enter the room.
The differences between у- and вы- are similarly understood. The general
meaning of у- is gone, left, away. Compare the following two sentences, which are
different replies to the question «Мóжно Ивáна Ивáновича?» (“May I speak to
Ivan Ivanovich?”): «Егó нет. Он ушёл» (“He’s not here. He left”) as opposed to
«Егó нет. Он вπшел на нéсколько минÿт» (“He’s not here. He stepped out for a
few minutes”). The first reply implies that he is gone for the day. The second, on
the other hand, implies that he will be back.
Под-
This prefix is spelled подо- in front of -йти and подъ- in front of soft vowels and
has the meaning approaching, up to, toward, as far as. The difference between this
prefix and the prefix при- is that the latter implies entering or going into an area,
whereas with под- the subject goes up to a border but does not cross over it.
The only preposition that is generally used with verbs prefixed in под- is к
(ко).
A typical start to a joke may begin something like this: Ко мнé подошёл одñн
пáрень ...(So this guy walked up to me...). Other examples are Доклáдчик
подошёл к микрофóну и нáчал говорñть (The speaker approached the micro-
phone and began to speak) and Мы подлетáли к Парñжу нóчью (It was night
when we approached Paris).
От- (ото-, оть-)
This is the opposite prefix of под-. It indicates away, off, from. The differences
between this prefix and у- and вы- is that this prefix indicates motion away from
a border or limit. The preposition used with these verbs is от (ото).
—Николáй, подойдñ к окнÿ и посмотрñ, чтó случñлось на ÿлице.
Николáймéдленно подхóдит к окнÿ и выглûдывает на ÿлицу.
264 RUSSIAN: A Self-Teaching Guide