Questions & Answers about Подойди к тискам и принеси мне те новые плоскогубцы.
Why is the word for vise in the plural form (тискам)?
Тиски (a vise) is a plural-only noun in Russian, similar to how scissors or pants work in English. Even if you mean one single vise, you must use the plural. Here, it takes the Dative plural ending -ам because it follows the preposition к.
Why do we say к тискам instead of в тиски for approaching the vise?
The verb подойти means to approach or step up to something, which requires the preposition к plus the Dative case. If you used в plus the Accusative (в тиски), it would imply physically going inside the vise!
Are плоскогубцы (pliers) also a plural-only noun?
Yes! Just like in English, pliers is a plural-only noun in Russian. Because of this, any pronouns or adjectives attached to it must also be in the plural form. That is why we use те новые (those new) regardless of whether there is one pair of pliers or many.
Why does те новые плоскогубцы look like the Nominative case if it is the direct object?
The verb принести (to bring) requires the Accusative case for its direct object. However, for inanimate plural nouns (and plural-only inanimate nouns like this one), the Accusative form is identical to the Nominative form.