Learn the difference between возвратиться and вернуться
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What is the difference between |
| Saodat: возвратиться (vozvratit'sya) |
| Michael: and |
| Saodat: вернуться (vernut'sya)? |
| Michael: And how are they used? |
| (2 Seconds Pause) |
| At RussianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following scenario: Jack Jones and Natalia Ivanova are listening to music, when one word catches Jack's attention, |
| "I have never heard the word [to return] before." |
| Я никогда раньше не слышал слова "возвратиться." (Ya nikogda ran'she ne slyshal slova "vozvratit'sya.") |
| Dialogue |
| Jack Jones: Я никогда раньше не слышал слова "возвратиться." (Ya nikogda ran'she ne slyshal slova "vozvratit'sya.") |
| Natalia Ivanova: Оно обычно используется только в песнях и стихах. (Ono obychno ispol'zuyetsya tol'ko v pesnyakh i stikhakh.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Jack Jones: Я никогда раньше не слышал слова "возвратиться." (Ya nikogda ran'she ne slyshal slova "vozvratit'sya.") |
| Michael: "I have never heard the word [to return] before." |
| Natalia Ivanova: Оно обычно используется только в песнях и стихах. (Ono obychno ispol'zuyetsya tol'ko v pesnyakh i stikhakh.) |
| Michael: "It's usually only used in songs and poems." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: One thing that causes a lot of confusion for learners of the Russian language is the difference between the words, |
| Saodat: Возвратиться (Vozvratit'sya) |
| Michael: and |
| Saodat: Вернуться (Vernut'sya). |
| Michael: These two are cognates, which means they both have the meaning of "to return," or "to come back." Both are also perfective verbs, or |
| Saodat: Совершенный (Sovershennyy) |
| Michael: which means they both convey an action that has either already been completed or will be completed in the future. But what is the difference between the two words really? |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Jack Jones says, "I have never heard the word [to return] before?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Saodat: Я никогда раньше не слышал слова "возвратиться." (Ya nikogda ran'she ne slyshal slova "vozvratit'sya.") |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Now, let's take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Natalia Ivanova says "It's usually only used in songs and poems?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Saodat: Оно обычно используется только в песнях и стихах. (Ono obychno ispol'zuyetsya tol'ko v pesnyakh i stikhakh.) |
| Michael: One major difference between the two words in question is that the word, |
| Saodat: Возвратиться (Vozvratit'sya) |
| Michael: is usually limited to written language, which is why Natalia said it's only used in songs or poems. It has a bookish style to it and is mainly used to refer to a person's comeback or return and is almost never associated with things. Here's an example of this word used in literature: |
| Saodat: Ибо прах ты и в прах возвратишься. (Ibo prakh ty i v prakh vozvratish'sya.) |
| Michael: "You are dust and to dust you will return." This passage is taken from the Bible, particularly from the book of Genesis when man was said to "return" to dust. Compared to the word, |
| Saodat: Вернуться (Vernut'sya), |
| Michael: you will almost never hear this word being used in familiar conversation, unlike the word |
| Saodat: Вернуться (Vernut'sya), |
| Michael: which is used in everyday speech. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, we learned that while the words |
| Saodat: Возвратиться (Vozvratit'sya) |
| Michael: and |
| Saodat: Вернуться (Vernut'sya) |
| Michael: mean almost exactly the same thing, the word |
| Saodat: Возвратиться (Vozvratit'sya) |
| Michael: has sufficiently limited use and can only usually be read in literature or heard in songs. On the other hand, the word |
| Saodat: Вернуться (Vernut'sya) |
| Michael: is the more commonly used between the two and is the one you'll often hear in daily, informal conversations. |
| Expansion |
| Michael: The differences between the two words in question are quite subtle. It seems that you cannot construct a sentence where one word could not be replaced by the other and vice versa. One distinction between the two words, however, is that the word |
| Saodat: Возвратиться (Vozvratit'sya) |
| Michael: seems to convey the need or possibility, but not the assurance, of returning or coming back. Here's an example: |
| Saodat: Я ждал и работал день и ночь, чтобы получить возможность возвратиться. (Ya zhdal i rabotal den' i noch', chtoby poluchit' vozmozhnost' vozvratit'sya.) |
| Michael: "I waited and worked day and night for a chance to come back." Here's another one: |
| Saodat: Мы можем уехать и не возвратиться, возвратиться, но не увидеть друг друга. (My mozhem uyekhat' i ne vozvratit'sya, vozvratit'sya, no ne uvidet' drug druga.) |
| Michael: "We may leave and not return, return, but not see each other." On the other hand, the word |
| Saodat: Вернуться (Vernut'sya) |
| Michael: seems to convey an intention of returning or coming back. |
| Saodat: Вернуться и спасать ситуацию любым возможным способом. (Vernut'sya i spasat' situatsiyu lyubym vozmozhnym sposobom.) |
| Michael: "Go back and save the situation in any way possible." Here's another one: |
| Saodat: Вернуться в леса, воссоединиться с природой. (Vernut'sya v lesa, vossoyedinit'sya s prirodoy.) |
| Michael: "Return to the woods, reconnect with nature." Also, since the word |
| Saodat: Возвратиться (Vozvratit'sya) |
| Michael: is often found in literature, you can expect it to have a more metaphorical connotation than the word |
| Saodat: Вернуться (Vernut'sya), |
| Michael: which, on the other hand, has a more directional meaning. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Saodat: Пока! (Poka!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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