Questions & Answers about Я хочу заказать такси.
Why is the verb заказать in the infinitive after хочу?
In Russian, after verbs of desire like хотеть (“to want”), you follow with another verb in the infinitive to show what you want to do. So Я хочу заказать literally means “I want to order.” Here заказать is perfective, because you intend to complete the action once. The imperfective заказывать would imply a habitual or repeated action (e.g. “I want to be ordering taxis regularly”), which doesn’t fit this context.
What case is такси, and why doesn’t it change form?
Такси is an indeclinable noun borrowed from French. It looks the same in nominative, accusative, genitive, etc. In Я хочу заказать такси, такси is the direct object (accusative), but since it’s indeclinable, it remains такси.
Can I drop the pronoun я and just say Хочу заказать такси?
Yes. Russian often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person. Хочу заказать такси is perfectly natural and common in spoken Russian. Including я can add emphasis or clarity, but it’s optional.
Is Я хочу заказать такси polite enough? How can I make it sound more polite?