Questions & Answers about Дайте нам счёт, пожалуйста.
Why does the word for 'give' end in -йте here?
Дайте is the formal or plural command for 'give'. It comes from the verb дать. Because you are making a polite request to a waiter, you add the formal -те ending to the informal command дай.
Why is the word for 'us' нам instead of нас?
In Russian, when you give something to someone, that person is the indirect object and takes the Dative case. Нам is the Dative form of мы (we), meaning 'to us'. If you used нас (Accusative), it would literally mean you are handing us over to someone!
Is счёт in the Accusative case? Why hasn't the ending changed?
Yes, it is in the Accusative case because it is the direct object (the thing being given). However, for masculine inanimate nouns like счёт (bill), the Accusative form looks exactly the same as the dictionary (Nominative) form.
How do you pronounce the сч in счёт?
The letter combination сч in Russian is pronounced as a soft, sustained 'sh' sound, very similar to the letter щ. So, счёт is pronounced roughly like 'shchot'.