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Questions & Answers about Сделай паузу.
Why is the subject pronoun ты omitted in Сделай паузу?
In Russian imperatives, the verb ending already marks the person. Сделай ends in ‑ай, which signals “you” (singular, informal). Adding ты would be redundant, so it’s normally dropped.
What form of the verb is Сделай, and why is it perfective?
Сделай is the imperative of the perfective verb сделать (“to do/make (once, to completion)”). A perfective imperative says “complete this action”—here, “complete a pause.” If you used the imperfective imperative делай, it would imply a repeated or ongoing action (“pause repeatedly” or “keep pausing”), which sounds odd in this context.
What case is паузу, and why does it take that ending?
Пауза is a feminine noun of the first declension. In Сделай паузу, it’s the direct object of сделай, so it’s in the accusative singular. For feminine first-declension nouns, the accusative singular ending is ‑у (пауза → паузу).
How would you make this command more polite or plural?
To address multiple people or speak formally, use the plural/formal imperative ending: Сделайте паузу. That softens the tone and clearly targets more than one person or shows respect.
Can you use делай паузу instead, and how would the meaning change?