Russian · TORFL Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 19
В ресторанеAt the restaurant
Ordering food. The key: the DIRECT OBJECT goes in the accusative case. Feminine words change -а to -у: водА → "Я хочу водУ", пиццА → "Я хочу пиццУ". Masculine (inanimate) and neuter words do not change: суп → "Я хочу суп", чай → "Я хочу чай". English speakers put the word in its base form: "Я хочу вода" ✗ → "Я хочу воду" ✓. Order: "Я хочу…", "Дайте…, пожалуйста", "Можно…?". New words: ресторан, меню, заказать, хотеть, суп, салат, вода, чай, кофе, пожалуйста. Cyrillic corner: reading "хочу, воду, пожалуйста".
Dialogue
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вода? воду?
- ОфициантЧтовыхотитезаказать?What would you like to order?
- MikeЯхочувода.I want water. (slip: the object needs the accusative "воду" — say "Я хочу воду")
- Официант«Воду».Прямоедополнение—винительныйпадеж:вода→воду."Воду". The direct object is the accusative: вода → воду.
- MikeА,яхочуводуисуп,пожалуйста.Ah, I want water and soup, please.
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Заказ— Ordering
- ОфициантЧтовыхотите?What would you like?
- AnyaЯхочусуписалат.Иводу,пожалуйста.I want soup and salad. And water, please.
- ОфициантХорошо.Вотменю.Certainly. Here is the menu.
- AnyaСпасибо.Thank you.
Vocabulary
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- ресторан
nounrestaurant
- меню
nounmenu
- заказать
verbto order (я заказываю)
- хотеть
verbto want (я хочу)
- суп
nounsoup
- салат
nounsalad
- вода
nounwater (acc. воду)
- чай
nountea
- кофе
nouncoffee
- пожалуйста
particleplease
Grammar
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The accusative case (вода → воду)
Explanation
When we name what we want or order, the word goes in the ACCUSATIVE case (the direct object). Feminine words in -а change the ending to -у: водА → водУ, пиццА → пиццУ, рыбА → рыбУ. Masculine inanimate (суп, чай, салат) and indeclinable words (кофе, меню) do NOT change: "Я хочу суп", "Я хочу кофе". English speakers keep the base form: "Я хочу вода" ✗ → "Я хочу воду" ✓. Polite formulas: "Дайте …, пожалуйста", "Я хочу …", "Можно …?".
Examples
- Дайте меню, пожалуйста.The menu, please.
- Я хочу воду.I want water. (вода → воду)
- Я заказываю суп и салат.I order soup and salad.
- Можно чай, пожалуйста?May I have tea, please?
Cyrillic
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Читаем слова для заказа— Reading the Ordering Words
Watch the stress and vowel reduction. "Хочу": stress at the end (ha-CHÚ), soft "ч". "Вода" — stress on the end (va-DÁ), but in the accusative "воду" the stress moves to the front: VÓ-du. "Пожалуйста" in fast speech is shorter: "pa-ZHÁL-sta". "Суп" and "салат" are simple hard sounds. Read the words below aloud, watching the stress.
Read the ordering words aloud:
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