Learn Hardcore Chinese: qǐng nǐ mànmàn de tián zhè gè biǎogé.

Breakdown of qǐng nǐ mànmàn de tián zhè gè biǎogé.

Used when counting nouns or when specifying a specific instance of a noun.

There are also classifiers for people, for bound items such as books and magazines, for cups/glasses, etc.

The classifier 个 is a general one that can be used for any of these.

What is the function of 请 here, and is it always necessary when you want to say “please” in Chinese?

请 is a polite verb that literally means to request / to invite, and in many sentences it corresponds to English “please”.

In 请你慢慢地填这个表格, the pattern is:

请 + (someone) + do something
→ 请你填这个表格 = I ask you to fill in this form → Please fill in this form.

Is it necessary?

Grammatically, 你慢慢地填这个表格 is a complete sentence.
Adding 请 just makes it more polite or softer.
In everyday speech, people often omit 请 and rely on tone of voice to sound polite, but 请 is very common in written instructions, service contexts, or when speaking more formally or respectfully.

So 请 is optional grammatically but important for politeness and tone.

Why do we say 慢慢地填 and not just 慢填 or 慢慢填? What does 地 do?