Breakdown of Мы хотели бы отдельный столик, пожалуйста.
мы
we
хотеть
to want
пожалуйста
please
бы
would (conditional particle) / concessive particle
Questions & Answers about Мы хотели бы отдельный столик, пожалуйста.
Why is хотели in the past tense if we are asking for a table right now?
To say "would like" in Russian, you use the conditional mood for polite requests. This is formed by combining the past tense of the verb with the particle бы. Because the subject is the plural мы (we), you use the plural past tense хотели, even though the request is happening in the present.
Can I say Мы бы хотели instead of Мы хотели бы?
Why doesn't отдельный столик change its ending, since it's the direct object of what we want?
It actually is in the Accusative case, which marks the direct object. However, столик is an inanimate masculine noun. For masculine nouns that aren't alive, the Accusative form looks exactly the same as the basic Nominative (dictionary) form. The adjective отдельный follows this same rule.
Why use столик instead of the regular word for table, стол?
столик is the diminutive form of стол. In Russian, using diminutives often makes a request sound softer and more polite. When talking about a table at a restaurant or cafe, it is standard practice to ask for a столик rather than a стол.