Breakdown of Оператор ответила вежливо и сказала, что товара пока нет в наличии.
и
and
сказать
to say
вежливо
politely
ответить
to answer
Questions & Answers about Оператор ответила вежливо и сказала, что товара пока нет в наличии.
Why is it ответила and сказала, not ответил and сказал?
Because the speaker is referring to a female operator.
The noun оператор has a masculine-looking form, but it can refer to either a man or a woman, depending on the real person. In the past tense, Russian verbs agree with the person's gender:
- ответил / сказал = he answered / he said
- ответила / сказала = she answered / she said
So Оператор ответила... tells you that the operator was a woman.
Why are there two verbs: ответила and сказала? Don’t they both mean something like said?
They are close, but not identical.
- ответила = answered / replied
- сказала = said
So the sentence structure is roughly:
- The operator replied politely and said that...
This is very natural in Russian. First, she replied, and then the content of her reply is introduced with сказала, что...
Why is вежливо used here? What form is it?