Breakdown of Вот ваш суп. Приятного аппетита!
ваш
your [formal/plural]
суп
soup
вот
here is, there is
приятного аппетита
enjoy your meal
Questions & Answers about Вот ваш суп. Приятного аппетита!
The English translation says 'Enjoy', which is a command. Why isn't there an imperative verb in the Russian phrase?
In Russian, the standard way to say 'Enjoy your meal' doesn't actually use a verb or a command! Instead of telling you to do something, Russians use the set phrase Приятного аппетита, which literally means '(I wish you a) pleasant appetite.'
Why do the words in Приятного аппетита end in -ого and -а?
They are in the Genitive case. When wishing someone well in Russian, the phrase 'I wish you...' is implied but left out. The thing you are wishing for gets put into the Genitive case. Because аппетит is a masculine word, it gets the -а ending, and the adjective describing it gets -ого.
Why does the sentence use Вот for 'Here is' instead of Здесь?
Здесь refers to a physical location, like saying 'The soup is located here on the table.' Вот is a pointing word used when you are handing something to someone or drawing their attention to it. When a waiter puts a dish in front of you, they will always use Вот.
Why is 'your' translated as ваш here instead of твой?
Ваш is the polite, formal version of 'your' (as well as the plural 'your'). A waiter or a host serving you food will usually use polite language. Also, because суп is a masculine noun, we use the matching masculine form ваш. If they were serving a feminine noun like пицца, they would say ваша пицца.
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