A phone call is a tiny, high-pressure genre with its own fixed formulas — and Russian's differ enough from English that calquing them sounds odd. You don't answer with "hello, this is Anna"; you answer Алло́ or, more tellingly, Слу́шаю ("I'm listening"). You don't ask "can I speak to Anna?" with a full verb; you say Мо́жно А́нну? — letting Мо́жно swallow the verb and leaving Anna in the bare accusative. And almost every request you make — call me back, text me, send it over — rides on a perfective imperative (Перезвони́, Напиши́, Пришли́), because you want the action done once, completed. This page lays out the openers, the asking formulas, and the request imperatives, with the grammar that makes each click.
Answering and opening
When a Russian picks up, the neutral answer is Алло́ (stress on the second syllable — it's a borrowing, not native). More revealing is Слу́шаю ("[I'm] listening"), a first-person verb that's a complete sentence by itself (Russian drops the "я"). In an office you may hear Да or the company name. The caller's classic question is Кто говори́т? ("Who's speaking?") or, more politely, Кто э́то?
| Russian | Who says it | English |
|---|---|---|
| Алло́? | either | Hello? |
| Слу́шаю (вас). | person answering | I'm listening / Speaking. |
| Кто говори́т? | caller / answerer | Who's speaking? |
| Э́то А́нна. | caller identifying | This is Anna. |
— Алло́, слу́шаю вас. — Здра́вствуйте, э́то из поликли́ники.
— Hello, I'm listening. — Hello, this is from the clinic. — Слу́шаю вас, the 'я' dropped (see pro-drop).
Алло́? Кто говори́т? Я вас пло́хо слы́шу.
Hello? Who's speaking? I can hardly hear you. — Кто говори́т? to identify a caller.
Здра́вствуйте, э́то Ива́н Петро́в, мне ну́жен отде́л прода́ж.
Hello, this is Ivan Petrov, I need the sales department. — Э́то + name to introduce yourself by phone.
Asking for someone: Мо́жно + accusative
This is the formula that trips up every learner. To ask "can I speak to Anna?", Russians most often say Мо́жно А́нну? — literally "[is it] possible Anna?" The magic is that Мо́жно ("it's possible / may I") lets you drop the verb (попроси́ть, "to ask for") entirely, but the noun keeps the accusative the dropped verb would have governed — hence Анну, not А́нна. You can also keep the verb: Мо́жно попроси́ть А́нну? ("may I ask for Anna?"). Both are correct; the short one is more common. For the accusative endings, see accusative forms.
| Russian | Register | English |
|---|---|---|
| Мо́жно А́нну? | everyday | Can I speak to Anna? |
| Мо́жно попроси́ть А́нну? | a touch more polite | May I ask for Anna? |
| Позови́те, пожа́луйста, А́нну. | polite request | Please call Anna to the phone. |
| А́нна на ме́сте? | casual (office) | Is Anna in / available? |
Алло́, до́брый день! Мо́жно Серге́я Ива́новича?
Hello, good afternoon! Can I speak to Sergei Ivanovich? — Мо́жно + accusative Серге́я Ива́новича, verb dropped.
Мо́жно попроси́ть к телефо́ну Мари́ну?
Could I ask for Marina (to come to the phone)? — fuller form with попроси́ть к телефо́ну.
Его́ сейча́с нет, перезвони́те, пожа́луйста, по́зже.
He's not in right now, please call back later. — the standard 'not available' reply.
Making requests: perfective imperatives
Phone and text requests overwhelmingly use perfective imperatives, because you're asking for a single, completed action — call me back (once), write to me, send it. The perfective signals "do it and finish it"; the imperfective would imply repetition or process, which is wrong here (see aspect in the imperative). Build them with the imperative endings -и́ / -ь plus -те for formal/plural (see imperative formation).
| Imperative (perfective) | From | English |
|---|---|---|
| Перезвони́ / Перезвони́те мне. | перезвони́ть | Call me back. |
| Напиши́ / Напиши́те мне. | написа́ть | Text / write to me. |
| Пришли́ / Пришли́те ссы́лку. | присла́ть | Send (me) the link. |
| Сбро́сь / Сбро́сьте а́дрес. | сбро́сить (colloquial) | Shoot me the address. |
Перезвони́ мне, когда́ освободи́шься.
Call me back when you're free. — Перезвони́ (perfective, one completed call-back); мне (dative).
Напиши́ мне в Телегра́м, я сейча́с не могу́ говори́ть.
Text me on Telegram, I can't talk right now. — Напиши́ (perfective imperative); в Телегра́м.
Пришли́те, пожа́луйста, докуме́нты на по́чту.
Please send the documents to my email. — Пришли́те (formal perfective); на по́чту ('to email').
Managing the call: hearing, holding, staying in touch
Calls drop, voices break up, and you need lines for it. Я не расслы́шал ("I didn't catch that", masc.; -а for fem.) is the polite "say again." Не клади́ тру́бку ("don't hang up") holds the line — тру́бка is the "receiver." Я на свя́зи ("I'm in touch / reachable") and Бу́дем на свя́зи ("let's keep in touch") close things off. Свя́зь плоха́я flags a bad signal.
Извини́те, я не расслы́шал — повтори́те, пожа́луйста.
Sorry, I didn't catch that — could you repeat it? — Я не расслы́шал + the request Повтори́те.
Подожди́те, не клади́ тру́бку, я вас соединю́.
Hold on, don't hang up, I'll put you through. — Не клади́ тру́бку (negative imperfective imperative — see below).
Тут плоха́я связь, я тебе́ перезвоню́ че́рез мину́ту.
The signal's bad here, I'll call you back in a minute. — перезвоню́ (perfective future); че́рез мину́ту.
Ну всё, до́говорились, бу́дем на свя́зи!
Right, it's settled, let's stay in touch! — Бу́дем на свя́зи, a standard sign-off.
Common Mistakes
❌ Мо́жно А́нна?
Case error — the dropped verb (попроси́ть) governs the ACCUSATIVE: Мо́жно А́нну?, not the nominative А́нна.
✅ Мо́жно А́нну?
Can I speak to Anna? — accusative А́нну even though the verb is unspoken.
❌ На телефо́не э́то А́нна. / Я А́нна.
Phone self-ID isn't 'Я А́нна' — point at the voice: Э́то А́нна.
✅ Алло́, э́то А́нна.
Hello, this is Anna. — Э́то + name on the phone.
❌ Звони́ мне за́втра в три. (one specific call)
Aspect mismatch — a single planned call is perfective: Позвони́ мне за́втра. Imperfective Звони́ implies 'call regularly'.
✅ Позвони́ мне за́втра в три.
Call me tomorrow at three. — perfective Позвони́ for one specific call.
❌ Не положи́ тру́бку.
Negative imperatives are usually imperfective — 'don't hang up' is Не клади́ тру́бку (класть), not the perfective положи́.
✅ Не клади́ тру́бку.
Don't hang up. — imperfective imperative in the negative.
❌ Напиши́ ко мне.
No ко — 'text me' takes the bare dative: Напиши́ мне (or в Телегра́м for the channel).
✅ Напиши́ мне ве́чером.
Text me this evening. — bare dative мне after написа́ть.
Key Takeaways
- Openers: Алло́; answer with Слу́шаю (verb, "я" dropped); identify yourself as Э́то А́нна, never Я А́нна on the phone.
- Ask for someone with Мо́жно + accusative: Мо́жно А́нну? — Мо́жно lets the verb (попроси́ть) drop, but the name stays accusative (А́нну, Серге́я).
- Requests = perfective imperatives: Перезвони́, Напиши́, Пришли́ — single completed actions. Imperfective (Звони́) = standing invitation.
- Negative imperatives go imperfective: Не клади́ тру́бку, not *Не положи́.
- Call management: Я не расслы́шал, Не клади́ тру́бку, Бу́дем на свя́зи, Связь плоха́я.
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- The Imperative: FormationA2 — To build a Russian command you start from the PRESENT/FUTURE stem (the они-form minus its ending), not the infinitive: a vowel stem adds -й (чита́ют → чита́й), a consonant stem with end-stressed 1sg adds -и (говоря́т → говори́, пиши́, иди́), and a consonant stem with fixed stem-stress adds -ь (гото́вят → гото́вь, брось). Add -те for the plural/polite form, and -ся/-сь for reflexives. A handful of high-frequency irregulars (дай, ешь, пей, пой, ляг, поезжа́й) have to be memorized.
- Aspect in the ImperativeB1 — Commands force an aspect choice too: perfective for a single concrete request expecting completion (Прочита́й э́то! Купи́ хлеб!), imperfective for process, habit, and — crucially — polite invitations and 'go ahead' permission (Сади́тесь! Входи́те!); and negative commands flip the default, with imperfective for a prohibition (Не открыва́й!) but perfective for a warning against an accidental result (Не упади́! Не забу́дь!).
- Accusative: FormsA1 — The accusative (вини́тельный паде́ж) is the case of the direct object, but it has almost no endings of its own — only feminine -а/-я nouns get a distinct ending (-у/-ю: кни́га→кни́гу). Everything else borrows: inanimate nouns copy the nominative (стол, окно́), animate nouns copy the genitive (бра́та), and feminine -ь nouns don't move at all (ночь→ночь). The form of 'I see X' depends on X's gender and whether it is alive.
- Softening Commands and Making SuggestionsB1 — A bare perfective imperative plus пожа́луйста still sounds curt to Russian ears — politeness lives in aspect and framing. This page gives the graded toolkit: the warm imperfective imperative for invitations (Сади́тесь, Проходи́те), дава́й(те) for joint suggestions, the gold-standard conditional Не могли́ бы вы…?, the -ка softener, and пусть for third-person wishes.
- Making Arrangements and AppointmentsB1 — Coordinating plans with the grammar behind it: договори́ться ('agree/arrange', a reciprocal -ся verb), встре́титься с + instrumental ('meet with'), назна́чить встре́чу ('set up a meeting'), the question Во ско́лько встре́тимся?, and Дава́й + perfective future for proposing — so making plans doubles as practice in the instrumental, reflexive verbs, and using the perfective future to suggest.