ехать или ездить, идти или ходить

Question

Sometimes I know which verb to use but sometimes it is hard for me to decide.

1. Is it rule that with verb ЛЮБИТЬ we should always use ХОДИТЬ, ЕЗДИТЬ, ... instead of ИДТИ, ЕХАТЬ, ...?

2. Уже восемь? Я ЕДУ на работу! (Is it possible to use here ИДУ if we are going by foot - ПЕШКОМ?)

3. Мы ЕДЕМ на море, а они ЕДУТ отдыхать в деревню. (Is this correct?)

Answer 1

1. "Люблю ездить/ходить" is correct in most cases, but:

a) If you like the process of walking/riding/driving and doing something else in the same time, you can also say, for example: "люблю идти по ночному городу и наслаждаться тишиной". This form is somewhat poetical, but is also OK in informal speech.

b) There are collocations like "идти на риск" or "идти в размен" in which "ходить" is never used.

#2 and #3 are answered well by others.

Answer 2

1. Yes. Люблю ходить пешком, люблю ездить летом на море, etc.

2. Actually идти на работу is idiomatically correct regardless of means of transportation. (Unless you specify the means.)

3. Yes, if both are referring to a single trip. If you're asking about the ending, it's been fixed by Eugene in the edit. Едят is a form of есть, not ехать.

(Sorry for the duplicate answer, I was meaning to edit.)

Answer 3

1. verb ЛЮБИТЬ is both for "love" and "like" Люблю идти/ехать - rare used it is like continuous action. Люблю ходить/ездить - much more correct - this about an action that you like to do - for example you have two abilities to reach your work place - by car or by foot. And you tell someone that "Люблю ходить to my work place" - this will be ".. I choosing "by foot" rather then use any other ability to reach this place"
2. Correct
3. Correct

Answer 4

1. Not sure what the question is about.
2. Correct.
3. они ЕДУТ отдыхать. они ЕДЯТ арбуз (they are eating watermelon).

Answer 5

The simpliest explanation:

I. идти/ехать is a process. Literally - be going (by foot/by car). Я иду на работу - I'm going to work (now). Compare: Я хожу на работу - I go to work (every workday). And yes, we use ехать/ездить only if it's by car/bus/underground, etc., if the whole way is by foot, we use идти/ходить.

II. If we use infinitive we can say идти/ехать if we mean a single (non-repeated) action. Я не хочу туда идти. - I don't wanna go there (single action). Compare: Я не хочу ходить на работу. - I don't wanna go to work (not just today, but in general - meaning repeated action).

III. In 'when' clauses we use идти/ехать, because we mean the process itself again. Когда я иду на работу, я не отвечаю на звонки. - When I'm going to work I don't answer phone calls. (not sure continuous form is appropriate here in English, sorry if I'm mistaken). "Когда я хожу..." would sound a bit unnatural. But in the past tense things differ. We use ходил/ездил in case we don't mean a single action, but all those actions together. Когда я ездил на работу, я никогда не видел этот дом. - When I went to work I never saw that house (I went to work lots of times of course). The opposite, we use "шел/ехал" if we mean a single action. Когда я вчера шел на работу, мне перебежала дорогу черная кошка. - When I was going to work yesterday a black cat crossed my way.

And yes, with любить we usually use "ходить/ездить" because we mean those actions in general but not a process. In the accepted answer there is "я люблю идти по ночному городу..." but for me it sounds unnatural (I'm a native). I'd say "я люблю ходить по ночному городу и наслаждаться тишиной". And yes with some idiomatic expressions like "идти на рожон" we use only this form.

Your #2 item: correct, because you don't mean here a repeated action in general.

Your #3 item: Мы ЕДЕМ на море - only if we are doing it now. Otherwise Мы ЕЗДИМ. The same is for the second part of your sentence.