Breakdown of Положи кусачки на верстак, пожалуйста.
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
пожалуйста
please
положить
to put (down)
верстак
workbench
кусачки
wire cutters
Questions & Answers about Положи кусачки на верстак, пожалуйста.
Why doesn't the ending of кусачки change here, since it's the direct object of the sentence?
Кусачки (wire cutters) is a plural-only noun, just like "scissors" or "glasses" in English. As the direct object, it needs to be in the accusative case. For inanimate plural nouns, the accusative form is identical to the nominative form. So, кусачки stays exactly the same!
Is кусачки related to the Russian verb for "to bite"?
Yes! It comes from the verb кусать (to bite). Just like many hand tools in English that have two identical halves (clippers, pliers, scissors), кусачки is always plural in Russian.
Why use положи instead of клади for "put"?
Положи is the imperative form of the perfective verb положить. We use the perfective here because it is a request to complete one single, specific action. Клади comes from the imperfective verb класть and would be used if you were telling someone to "keep putting" things down, or giving a general, repeated instruction.
Why is it на верстак and not на верстаке?
When the preposition на shows the direction of a movement (putting something onto a surface), it takes the accusative case. Верстак (workbench) is a masculine inanimate noun, so its accusative form looks just like the nominative. If the tools were already resting motionless on the workbench, you would use the prepositional case: на верстаке.
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