Word
Говорите громче, вас плохо слышно!
Meaning
Speak louder, I can hardly hear you!
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Говорите громче, вас плохо слышно!
вы
you (plural)
говорить
to speak, to talk
громко
loudly
плохо слышно
the line is bad, I cannot hear you
Questions & Answers about Говорите громче, вас плохо слышно!
The English translation says "I can hardly hear you," but where is the word for "I" in the Russian sentence?
This sentence uses an impersonal construction. Literally, it translates to "it is badly audible." In Russian, it is very common to describe sensory states without a subject like я. If you wanted to specify who is struggling to hear, you would use the dative case: мне вас плохо слышно (to me, you are badly audible).
Why is вас used instead of вы?
Because вы is not the subject performing an action here. In the impersonal expression слышно (it is audible), the person being heard is the direct object, which takes the accusative case. So, вы becomes вас.
Is слышно a verb in this sentence?
No, слышно is a state word (or predicative adverb) meaning "audible" or "can be heard." It is related to the verb слышать (to hear), but it functions to describe the environment or situation itself. A similar word you likely know is видно (visible / can be seen).
Why use громче instead of более громко for "louder"?