tenin ha 「isoide kudasai」 to iimasita.

は marks 店員 as the topic of the sentence.

So 店員は means something like:

• As for the clerk, ...
• The clerk ...

It tells you that the sentence is about the clerk. In English, we usually just say The clerk said ..., but Japanese often marks the topic explicitly with は.

In this sentence, と marks the content of what was said.

So:

• 「急いでください」 = the quoted words
• と = quotation marker
• 言いました = said

Together, 「急いでください」と言いました means said, “Please hurry.”

This と is very common with verbs like:

• 言う = to say
• 思う = to think
• 聞く = to ask/hear

Japanese uses 「 」 for direct quotations, similar to English quotation marks.

So 「急いでください」 shows the exact words that were spoken: Please hurry.

This sentence is using a direct quote. A more literal structure is:

• The clerk said, Please hurry.

Japanese often places the quoted speech before と言いました.

急いでください is made from:

• 急ぐ = to hurry
• 急いで = the て-form
• ください = please do ...

So 急いでください means:

• Please hurry
• Please do it quickly

A very common pattern in Japanese is:

• て-form + ください = please do ...

Examples:

• 待ってください = Please wait.
• 見てください = Please look.
• 書いてください = Please write.

This is the て-form of 急ぐ.

急ぐ is a godan verb ending in -ぐ. For this kind of verb:

• -ぐ changes to -いで in the て-form

So:

• 急ぐ → 急いで

Similar examples:

• 泳ぐ → 泳いで
• 脱ぐ → 脱いで

This is just a standard conjugation pattern you need to memorize.

Yes, it is polite, because it uses ください and the verb 言いました is also in polite form.

However, 急いでください can still sound fairly direct depending on the situation. It is polite grammar, but the meaning is still a request or instruction: Please hurry.

Depending on tone and context, it could feel:

• neutral and practical
• urgent
• slightly strong

If someone wanted to sound softer, they might say something more indirect in some situations.

Because the sentence is reporting that the clerk said it.

• 言います = say / will say
• 言いました = said

The quoted words themselves are 急いでください, because that was the request the clerk made. But the act of saying happened in the past, so 言いました is used.

In English we do the same thing:

• The clerk said, Please hurry.

The sentence is read:

てんいん は 「いそいで ください」 と いいました。

Word by word:

• 店員 = てんいん
• 急いで = いそいで
• 言いました = いいました

A point learners often notice is that 言う is read いう, so 言いました becomes いいました.

That is the normal Japanese word order.

Japanese often puts the content first, and the main verb comes later. So the structure is:

• [what was said] + と + 言いました

Literally, it is closer to:

• The clerk, “Please hurry,” said.

In natural English, we reorder it as:

• The clerk said, “Please hurry.”

So the Japanese word order may feel backward at first, but it is completely normal.

With a clear direct quote before 言う, と is normally used.

So:

• 「急いでください」と言いました = natural
• 「急いでください」言いました = not correct standard Japanese

In casual speech, some quotation patterns can loosen up in other contexts, but for a sentence like this, you should keep と.

Sometimes, yes, but the nuance changes.

• 店員は「急いでください」と言いました。
  = As for the clerk, he/she said, “Please hurry.”
  This sounds like the clerk is the topic.

• 店員が「急いでください」と言いました。
  = The clerk said, “Please hurry.”
  This puts more focus on the clerk as the one who said it.

For many beginner situations, both may translate similarly in English, but は is more topical and が is more identifying or focused.

店員 usually means a store clerk or shop employee, especially someone working at a store and dealing with customers.

So in this sentence, 店員 is most naturally understood as:

• the clerk
• the shop assistant
• the store employee

It would not usually mean just any worker in any company.

It is a report about what the clerk said.

The full sentence is not telling you to hurry directly. It is saying that the clerk said Please hurry.

That is why the main verb is 言いました.

Compare:

• 急いでください。
  = Please hurry.
  Direct request to the listener.

• 店員は「急いでください」と言いました。
  = The clerk said, “Please hurry.”
  Report about someone’s speech.