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Questions & Answers about Застели стол скатертью.
What verb form is застели and how is it formed?
застели is the 2nd-person singular imperative of the perfective verb застелить (“to cover completely; to lay”). To form this in Russian, take the infinitive stem (застели-) and add -и for the “you” command. It’s used when talking to one person.
Why is стол in its “simple” form, and why doesn’t it have an article?
стол is the direct object in the accusative case. Since it’s an inanimate masculine noun, the accusative singular form стол looks identical to the nominative. Russian has no articles (“a/the”); definiteness is determined by context.
Why is скатертью in the instrumental case?
The instrumental case expresses the means or tool used—in this sentence, you’re covering the table with a tablecloth. The noun скатерть (tablecloth) forms its singular instrumental by replacing -ь with -ью, giving скатертью.
What does the prefix за- add to стелить?
The prefix за- turns the imperfective стелить (“to spread/lay”) into the perfective застелить, indicating a completed, one-off action or full coverage—“to cover (completely).”
Can I use an imperfective verb if I want to express a habitual action?
Yes. The imperfective counterpart is стелить, and its 2nd-person singular imperative would be стели. That form implies a repeated or ongoing action (“keep laying out the tablecloth”), but for a single command you almost always use the perfective застели.
How would I give this command to more than one person or use a polite form?
Use the 2nd-person plural imperative: застелите стол скатертью.
Where do the stresses fall in застели and скатертью?
In застели́, the stress is on the last syllable (-ли́). In скатЕртью, the stress remains on the second syllable (-те́р-).