Пожалуйста, подай мне полотенце.

me

Breakdown of Пожалуйста, подай мне полотенце.

• пожалуйста: please
• полотенце: the towel
• подать: to hand

Questions & Answers about Пожалуйста, подай мне полотенце.

What does подай mean here?

Подай is the imperative form of подать, which often means to hand/give/pass something to someone in a concrete situation.

In this sentence, подай мне полотенце means something like:

• hand me the towel
• pass me the towel

It is more specific than just give. It often suggests physically passing an object to someone.

Why is the verb подай and not дай?

Both can work, but they are slightly different.

• дай = give
• подай = hand over / pass / give here

So:

• Дай мне полотенце = Give me the towel
• Подай мне полотенце = Pass me the towel / Hand me the towel

With something nearby that another person can hand to you, подай sounds very natural.

Is this sentence formal or informal?