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Questions & Answers about Попробуйте этот суп.
Why is the command ending -уйте instead of something like -овайте?
The verb is попробовать (to try or taste). Verbs that end in -овать drop that ending and replace it with -у- when conjugated (like я попробую). To make it a command, you use that future-tense stem (попробу-) and add -й for informal 'you', plus -те because this sentence is formal or plural.
Why do этот суп look like they are in the nominative case? Aren't they the direct object here?
They are in the accusative case because they are the direct object receiving the action. However, for masculine nouns like суп, the accusative form only changes if the noun is alive (animate). Because soup is an inanimate object, both the noun and the pointing word этот look exactly the same as their dictionary (nominative) forms.
Can I use попробовать to mean 'try' in the sense of making an effort, like trying to study (учиться)?
Попробовать specifically means to taste food or drink, or to attempt an action just to see what happens. If you want to say 'try' in the sense of making a real, continued effort to do something (like studying hard), you would use the verb стараться. For example, you can попробовать to memorize a word (учить) to see if it sticks, but you use стараться if you are putting in serious, ongoing work.