Breakdown of Я хотела бы заплатить наличными.
я
I
хотеть
to want
заплатить
to pay
бы
would (conditional particle) / concessive particle
наличные
cash
Questions & Answers about Я хотела бы заплатить наличными.
Why use хотела бы instead of just saying я хочу (I want)?
Adding the particle бы changes the meaning from 'I want' to 'I would like.' This is the conditional mood, and it makes your request sound much more polite. Using just я хочу can sound too direct or demanding when you are making a request or buying something.
Why is the past tense form хотела used here if the speaker is talking about right now?
In Russian, the conditional mood ('would like') is formed by using the past tense of the verb plus the particle бы. Even though it looks like the past tense, it refers to a present or future desire. Because the speaker is a woman, she uses the feminine form хотела. A man would say Я хотел бы.
Why do we use the perfective verb заплатить instead of the imperfective платить?
You use the perfective заплатить because you are talking about one specific, completed action: paying for this particular purchase right now. If you were talking about paying as a general, repeated habit (like paying rent every month), you would use the imperfective платить.
What case is the word наличными in, and why?
It is in the Instrumental case. The dictionary form is наличные (cash), which acts like a plural adjective. In Russian, when you do something 'by means of' a tool or method, you put that method in the Instrumental case. So, to say you are paying 'by means of cash', you change it to наличными.
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