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Хозяйка квартиры попросила залог за ключи, и я заплатила залог наличными.

Хозяйка квартиры попросила залог за ключи, и я заплатила залог наличными.
The landlady asked for a deposit for the keys, and I paid the deposit in cash.

Breakdown of Хозяйка квартиры попросила залог за ключи, и я заплатила залог наличными.

я
I
и
and
за
for
ключ
the key
квартира
the apartment
попросить
to ask for
заплатить
to pay
хозяйка
the landlady
наличными
in cash
залог
the deposit
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Questions & Answers about Хозяйка квартиры попросила залог за ключи, и я заплатила залог наличными.

Why is it Хозяйка квартиры and not хозяйка квартиру or хозяйка в квартире?

Хозяйка (landlady/owner, feminine) is the main noun. квартиры is in the genitive case because it expresses possession/association: the landlady of the apartment.

  • хозяйка квартиры = landlady/owner of the apartment (normal fixed pattern)
  • хозяйка в квартире would mean the hostess/landlady who is inside the apartment (location), which is a different idea.
What does попросила mean here, and what is the grammar of попросить + (something)?

попросила is past tense, perfective, feminine: she asked/requested.
The verb попросить commonly takes a direct object in the accusative for what is requested:

  • попросить (что?) залог = to ask for a deposit
    You can optionally add who she asked it from:
  • попросила у меня залог = asked me for a deposit
  • попросила меня заплатить залог = asked me to pay a deposit
Why is it залог (accusative) and not залога (genitive)?

After попросить, both can appear in some contexts, but they feel different:

  • попросила залог (accusative) = asked for the deposit as a concrete, expected item (most natural here)
  • попросила залога (genitive) can sound more like asked for some deposit / demanded deposit money (more partitive/indefinite), and is less standard in this exact phrasing.
Why does Russian use залог за ключи? What does за mean with the accusative?

Here за + accusative expresses an exchange/condition: a deposit for the keys (i.e., money given in connection with receiving the keys, refundable later).
Because ключи are inanimate plural, accusative = nominative in form, so it stays ключи (not a different ending).

Is ключи accusative or nominative here? How can I tell?

It’s accusative plural governed by за. But for inanimate nouns, accusative plural looks the same as nominative plural.
Compare:

  • inanimate: вижу ключи (acc = nom form)
  • animate: вижу студентов (acc = gen form)
Why is я заплатила feminine? I thought я doesn’t have gender.

я itself has no gender, but past tense verbs in Russian agree in gender/number with the speaker’s implied gender.

  • я заплатил = I paid (male speaker)
  • я заплатила = I paid (female speaker)
    So the sentence implies the narrator is a woman.
What’s the difference between заплатила and платила?

It’s mainly aspect:

  • заплатила (perfective) = paid (completed action, one-time result)
  • платила (imperfective) = was paying / used to pay / paid (process, repeated, or background)
    In this sentence, the payment is a single completed event, so заплатила fits best.
Why does it say заплатила залог наличными? What case is наличными and why?

наличными is instrumental plural, used to express the means/manner: paid in cash (literally, with cash).
Common alternatives:

  • заплатила наличными = paid in cash
  • заплатила наличкой = paid cash (more colloquial)
  • заплатила по карте = paid by card
Why is залог repeated? Can Russian replace the second one with a pronoun?

Yes, repetition is possible and often sounds clear and natural, but you can replace the second залог:

  • …и я заплатила его наличными. = …and I paid it in cash.
    Russian often repeats nouns for clarity, especially in short narratives, but pronouns are also fine when the reference is obvious.
Why is there a comma before и?

Because it’s a compound sentence with two independent clauses and different subjects: 1) Хозяйка квартиры попросила…
2) и я заплатила…
Russian normally uses a comma before и in this situation. If it were a single clause with a shared subject, the comma would usually be omitted.