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Questions & Answers about Дай мені відповідь, будь ласка.
What is the grammatical role of дай and why is the subject pronoun missing?
дай is the 2nd person singular imperative of давати (to give). Ukrainian usually omits the subject pronoun (ти) because the verb ending (–ай) already shows you’re speaking to “you” informally.
Why is мені used instead of мене, and what case is it?
мені is the dative form of я (I) and marks the indirect object – the recipient of the action. мене is the accusative (direct object), but here you ask someone to give something to you, so you need the dative.
What case is відповідь in and why does it look the same as the nominative?
відповідь (answer) is in the accusative case as the direct object of дай. For feminine nouns ending in a soft consonant, the accusative equals the nominative, so відповідь stays unchanged.
What does будь ласка literally mean, and how is it formed?
Literally будь ласка is “be (будь) kindness/favour (ласка).” It’s the fixed Ukrainian phrase for “please.” будь is the singular imperative of бути (to be), and ласка means “kindness” or “favour.”
Why is there a comma before будь ласка, and is it required?
The comma separates the main command from the polite phrase. It’s standard to write …, будь ласка but omitting the comma in informal writing isn’t unheard of. Including it makes the structure clearer.
Can будь ласка be placed at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes. You can say Будь ласка, дай мені відповідь. The meaning stays the same; the only difference is a slight shift in emphasis or politeness.
How would you make this request more formal or address more than one person?
Use the 2nd person plural imperative дайте instead of дай:
• Дайте мені відповідь, будь ласка.
This form works for polite singular or any plural audience.
How is відповідь pronounced and where is the stress?
It’s pronounced [vid-pov-ídʲ], with stress on the final syllable -відь. The soft sign (ь) indicates that д is palatalized ([dʲ]).
Is there an imperative form of відповісти (to answer) instead of using дай відповідь?
Yes, the singular imperative is відпові́сь, but it’s uncommon in everyday speech. Ukrainians prefer дай відповідь or дай мені відповідь.
Can you swap the order of мені and відповідь, and does it change anything?
Yes: Дай відповідь мені, будь ласка is perfectly correct. The meaning is the same, though putting відповідь first may slightly highlight the answer itself rather than the fact you’re receiving it.