Он заказал виски.

he

Breakdown of Он заказал виски.

• заказать: to order
• виски: whisky

Questions & Answers about Он заказал виски.

Why is the verb заказал and not заказать?

Заказать is the infinitive, meaning to order.
Заказал is the past-tense form: ordered.

In this sentence, the verb is in the past tense masculine singular because the subject is он.

A few matching forms:

• он заказал = he ordered
• она заказала = she ordered
• они заказали = they ordered

So Он заказал виски uses the correct finite verb form for he.

What exactly does заказал tell us about the subject?

It tells us three things at once:

• past tense
• singular
• masculine

Russian past-tense verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.
Because the subject is он, the masculine past form заказал is used.

Why is there no word for a or the before виски?

Russian does not have articles like a, an, or the.

So виски can mean:

• a whisky
• the whisky
• some whisky

The exact meaning depends on context. In a restaurant or bar, Он заказал виски will often be understood as He ordered a whisky or He ordered whisky.