How to Ask for Something at a Store – Lesson Focus

Let’s take a closer look at the conversation. Do you remember how Ben Lee asks for an item without knowing its name, “This, please.” Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.) This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern. First is Это (Eto). “This.” Это. Это. Это (Eto) is the neuter, singular form of the word for “this.” If you don’t know the name of an item and consequently its gender, you can use это (eto). It refers to something which is near the speaker. Ben uses it because he’s pointing at something which is near to him. Next is пожалуйста (pozhaluysta), “please.” Пожалуйста. Пожалуйста. All together, it’s Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.) “This, please.” Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.) Do you remember how the clerk says, “Here you are.” Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz’mite.) First is Вот (Vot), meaning “here” in this context. Вот. Вот. Next is возьмите (voz’mite), literally “take.” Возьмите. Возьмите. Возьмите (voz’mite) is from взять (vzyat’), “to take”. Взять (Vzyat’). All together, it’s Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz’mite.), literally “here, take,” but it translates as “Here you are!” Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz’mite.) Note, an alternative response from the clerk could be “Вот, пожалуйста” (vot, pozhaluysta), literally “Here, you are welcome,” but translates as “Here you are!” The pattern is: ITEM, пожалуйста. ITEM, “please.” ITEM, pozhaluysta. To use this pattern, simply replace the ITEM placeholder with the thing you want. Note: This pattern requires a demonstrative pronoun, which is determined by the location, gender and the number of the desired item. Imagine you’d like something from across the room. The pronoun to indicate something far from a speaker is то (to), “that.” То. То. Say “That, please.” Ready? То, пожалуйста (To, pozhaluysta). “That, please.” То, пожалуйста (To, pozhaluysta). The following phrases can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in Russian: Это, пожалуйста (Eto, pozhaluysta), “This, please.” And, То, пожалуйста (To, pozhaluysta), “That, please.” For items that are plural, use эти (eti), “these.” Эти. Or, For things that are far from you, use те (te), “those.” Те. To recap: Close to speaker Far from speaker singular Это (eto) То (to) plural Эти (eti) Те (te) Remember, these can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in Russian.