Prefixes · Lesson 3
Прочитать, продать
про- · through / past
про- often means through to the end, or past / missed. You already know прочитать as the pair of читать. Here it also builds new verbs: продать, проспать, прожить.
How it works
про- often means through to the end, or past / missed. You already know прочитать as the pair of читать. Here it also builds new verbs: продать, проспать, прожить.
Then open Tables, Notes, Exceptions, and Examples in that order.
When to use it
- читать → прочитать = read through (the default pair — now you know why: through).
- Contrast почитать (a bit) vs прочитать (the whole thing).
- дать → продать = sell (hand through / away). New meaning, not «give perfectly».
- спать → проспать = oversleep / sleep through. жить → прожить = live through a period.
Pro tip
про- = through (finish the object, live the span, miss the alarm) or the big shift дать → продать. Motion пройти stays in Verbs.