Common Russian Phrases for Trip Preparation

Planning a trip can be exciting, but it also involves a lot of preparation. Here are some common Russian phrases showing how to describe getting ready for a journey in the past tense (masculine/feminine forms):

  1. Я соста́вил/соста́вила маршру́т путеше́ствия.
    (I planned my travel itinerary.)
  2. Я купи́л/купи́ла биле́т на самолёт.
    (I bought a plane ticket.)
  3. Я заброни́ровал/заброни́ровала оте́ль.
    (I booked a hotel.)
  4. Я офо́рмил/офо́рмила страхо́вку.
    (I took out travel insurance.)
  5. Я получи́л/получи́ла ви́зу.
    (I got a visa.)

Note 1

‘Получи́ть ви́зу’ is the neutral way to say ‘get a visa’. Informal alternatives include ‘сде́лать ви́зу’ or ‘откры́ть ви́зу’.

Note 2

Pay attention to consonant alternations в → вл, п → пл, м → мл in the first-person singular of the future tense for some verbs:

  • я соста́вила (I planned) — я соста́влю (I will plan)
  • я купи́ла (I bought) — я куплю́ (I will buy)
  • я офо́рмила (I took out) — я офо́рмлю (I will take out)

Note 3

For the verb ‘заброни́ровать’ (to book), in the future tense the suffix -ова- is replaced by -у in all persons. Compare:

  • Past tense: он заброни́ровал (he booked), она заброни́ровала (she booked), оно заброни́ровало (it booked), они заброни́ровали (they booked).
  • Future tense: я заброни́рую (I will book), ты заброни́руешь (you will book), он/она/оно заброни́рует (he/she/it will book), мы заброни́руем (we will book), вы заброни́руете (you will book), они заброни́руют (they will book).

Note 4

Take note of how to pronounce the word ‘оте́ль’ (hotel). Even though it’s written with an ‘е’, it’s actually pronounced with an ‘э’ and the ‘т’ is hard, not soft: о[тэ́]ль.

When in doubt, always check a dictionary.

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