Хоть бы официантка не забыла про добавку и вторую порцию гарнира.

I hope the waitress doesn’t forget the second helping and the second portion of the side dish.

Breakdown of Хоть бы официантка не забыла про добавку и вторую порцию гарнира.

• и: and
• не: not
• забыть: to forget
• второй: second

Questions & Answers about Хоть бы официантка не забыла про добавку и вторую порцию гарнира.

Why does хоть бы mean something like I hope here?

In this sentence, хоть бы expresses a wish, hope, or anxious expectation.

So:

Хоть бы официантка не забыла...
= I just hope the waitress doesn’t forget...
= Hopefully the waitress won’t forget...

This structure often sounds emotional. It can suggest that the speaker is worried, impatient, or really wants something to happen or not happen.

A few similar examples:

• Хоть бы он пришёл. = I just hope he comes.
• Хоть бы дождя не было. = I just hope there won’t be rain.

So хоть бы is not literal here; it is a set expression used for wishes.

Why is забыла in the past tense if the meaning is about the future?

That is normal after хоть бы.

Russian often uses a past-tense form after хоть бы to express a wish about the present or future. So although забыла is grammatically past tense, the whole sentence means something like:

I hope she doesn’t forget.

This is a fixed pattern:

• Хоть бы он позвонил. = I hope he calls.
• Хоть бы она не опоздала. = I hope she isn’t late / doesn’t arrive late.

So you should not translate the tense literally here. The construction as a whole expresses a wish.

Why is it забыла, not забудет?