Позвоните, чтобы сообщить о списании.

Breakdown of Позвоните, чтобы сообщить о списании.

чтобы
in order to
позвонить
to call
сообщить о списании
to report the charge

Questions & Answers about Позвоните, чтобы сообщить о списании.

Why is the verb Позвоните used here instead of Позвони?

Позвоните is the imperative form used for:

  • plural you: telling several people to call
  • polite/formal singular you: telling one person politely to call

So in signs, instructions, customer-service messages, and official language, Позвоните is very common.

By contrast, Позвони is the singular informal command, used with friends, family, children, etc.

Examples:

  • Позвони мне вечером. = Call me this evening. informal
  • Позвоните нам по этому номеру. = Call us at this number. polite/formal
What part of speech is Позвоните, and how is it formed?

Позвоните is the imperative of the verb позвонить.

The basic verb is:

  • позвонить = to make a call / to call

The imperative forms are:

  • позвони = call! informal singular
  • позвоните = call! formal singular or plural

So the -те ending adds politeness or plurality to the command.

Also, позвонить is a perfective verb, which means the sentence focuses on a single completed call, not the process of calling in general.

Why is чтобы used here?

Чтобы introduces a purpose: in order to, so as to.

So:

  • Позвоните = Call
  • чтобы сообщить = in order to inform / to report

This is a very common Russian structure:

  • Я пришёл, чтобы помочь. = I came to help.
  • Нажмите кнопку, чтобы продолжить. = Press the button to continue.

In your sentence, чтобы shows why you should call.

Why is сообщить in the infinitive after чтобы?

After чтобы, Russian often uses the infinitive when the person doing both actions is the same.

Here the implied subject is the same:

  • you call
  • you inform/report

So Russian uses:

  • Позвоните, чтобы сообщить...

This is similar to English:

  • Call to report...
  • Call in order to report...

If Russian wanted to use a finite verb after чтобы, it would usually be in a clause with its own subject or more explicit structure.

Why is it сообщить and not сообщать?

Сообщить is perfective, while сообщать is imperfective.

Here, сообщить is used because the sentence refers to one complete act of informing/reporting. The idea is: make the call and give the information.

That is very natural in purpose constructions:

  • позвонить, чтобы сообщить
  • прийти, чтобы спросить
  • открыть, чтобы проверить

Using сообщать would sound less natural here unless the context emphasized an ongoing or repeated process.

What case is списании, and why is that case used?

Списании is in the prepositional case.

That is because it follows the preposition о, and о commonly requires the prepositional case when it means about/concerning.

So:

  • о списании = about the write-off / about the charge / about the deduction

Compare:

  • о книге = about the book
  • о проблеме = about the problem
  • о списании = about the write-off

The dictionary form is:

  • списание

The prepositional singular form is:

  • о списании
What does списание mean exactly?

Списание is a noun meaning something like:

  • write-off
  • deduction
  • charge
  • debit
  • removal from an account
  • sometimes cancellation or withdrawal, depending on context

It comes from the verb списать / списывать.

In banking or billing contexts, списание often means a sum of money being taken from an account or charged.

So сообщить о списании could mean something like:

  • report a charge
  • report a deduction
  • notify someone about a write-off

The exact English translation depends on the situation.

Why is it о списании and not про списание?

Both о and про can relate to about, but they are not used the same way.

With the verb сообщить, the standard and most natural construction is:

  • сообщить о чём-то = to inform/report about something

So:

  • сообщить о списании is the normal formal wording

Using про here would sound less standard and less appropriate in official or service language.

Think of сообщить о as a fixed, very common pattern.

Is this sentence formal or neutral in tone?

Yes, it sounds formal, neutral, and instructional.

Clues:

  • Позвоните is the polite/formal imperative
  • чтобы сообщить is a common official-purpose structure
  • списание is fairly formal vocabulary, especially in finance or administration

This kind of sentence would fit:

  • a bank app
  • a customer-support page
  • an automated message
  • a billing notice

It does not sound casual or conversational.

Could the sentence have a different word order?

Yes, but the given order is the most straightforward and natural for an instruction.

Standard version:

  • Позвоните, чтобы сообщить о списании.

You might also see variants in specific contexts, but they can sound marked or less natural:

  • Чтобы сообщить о списании, позвоните... = To report a charge, call...
    • This is fine if the sentence continues with a phone number or other instruction.

Russian word order is flexible, but the original sentence is the most normal as a short command.

Where is the stress in these words?

The stress is:

  • позвонИте
  • сообщИть
  • списАнии

So you can pronounce the sentence as:

  • позвонИте, чтобы сообщИть о списАнии

Stress matters in Russian, so it is worth learning these with the words.

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