Breakdown of Подойдите к этой скамейке, пожалуйста.
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
пожалуйста
please
к
towards, to
подойти
to approach, to come up to
скамейка
bench
Questions & Answers about Подойдите к этой скамейке, пожалуйста.
Why do we use the preposition к here instead of в or на to mean "to"?
Verbs of motion with the prefix под- (meaning approach or come up to) almost always pair with the preposition к followed by the Dative case. You are approaching the bench, not going inside it (в) or stepping onto it (на).
Why does the sentence use the perfective подойдите rather than the imperfective подходите?
In Russian commands, the perfective aspect is used for a specific, one-time action with a clear result. The speaker wants the person to walk up to the bench right now and stop there. If they used the imperfective подходите, it would sound more like a general, open invitation, similar to stepping right up or coming closer.
Why does the phrase end in этой скамейке?
The preposition к always requires the Dative case. The dictionary word for bench is скамейка (a feminine noun), which changes its ending to скамейке in the Dative. The word for "this" is эта, and its feminine Dative form is этой.
Where does the й in подойдите come from?
The base verb is идти (to go on foot). When you add a prefix that ends in a consonant like под-, an extra о is added to make it easier to pronounce, creating подо-. Then, the и from the root changes to a short й, giving us the infinitive подойти. The command form подойдите is built directly from this modified root.
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