Questions & Answers about Дайте, пожалуйста, меню.
Why does Дайте end in -йте?
Дайте is the polite or plural command form (imperative) of the verb дать (to give). Because the base ends in a vowel, we add -йте to make it a polite request. If you were talking to a close friend or a child, you would just use the informal Дай.
The translation says 'Give me', but there is no word for 'me' in the Russian sentence. Is it missing?
It is implied! In Russian, you can often leave out pronouns like мне (to me) when the context makes it obvious. Saying Дайте, пожалуйста, меню sounds perfectly natural and polite at a restaurant without adding the word for 'me'.
Does the word меню change its ending depending on its role in the sentence?
No, меню is a borrowed foreign word. Like many foreign words ending in a vowel in Russian (such as кафе or метро), it never changes its ending, no matter what grammatical case is being used.
Why are there commas around пожалуйста?
In Russian, the word пожалуйста (please) is almost always separated by commas when it appears in the middle of a sentence. As a pronunciation tip, remember that the й in the middle is usually silent when spoken!
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