And to describe the slow progress of tears: Слёзы катили по её лицу (Tears rolled down her cheeks). In fact, it’s a good verb for any fast motion: Опять в армию, катим на фронт (In the army again, we’re rushing off to the front).īut it can also be used to describe moseying along: Синий пикап, выехав из ворот, катил неторопливо, тормозя на колдобинах (A blue pickup pulled out of the gates and slowly rolled along, braking on the potholes). It’s the verb you use when describing the bubbling, burbling flow of rivers or the tides rolling in on the seashore : Внизу маленькая речонка катила свои свинцовые волны (Below a small stream bubbled up its lead-colored waves). Катить (imperfective) is pretty much all about rolling things, or rolling along. It’s закатывать.īut let’s begin with катить, which is something like the starting point from which everything gets rolling.
It’s not катить, but I was in the ballpark, just hitting the wrong ball. And then a pause as my friend tried to figure out how to explain why you use one verb for hermetically sealing pickle jars, making a scene, and rolling up your sleeves. I was talking with a friend and describing someone who is very high-strung. Mistakes are a wonderful learning tool.Īnd so it was with this week’s column. But a lot of the time - let’s be honest - it’s because I’ve said something and my listeners have snorted with laughter. Sometimes someone asks me about a word or phrase. Sometimes I hear or read something in a conversation or in the media - commercials are a great source of slang - that I begin to wonder about. I wish I could say something exciting and mystical, like I put a volume of Dal’s dictionary under my pillow and the words I need to write about come to me in a dream. People often ask me where I get my ideas for columns.
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