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Questions & Answers about Что ему передать?
Why is there no verb for 'can I' or 'should I' in this sentence?
In Russian, you can use an infinitive verb like передать all by itself to ask for instructions or suggest an action. This common structure translates smoothly to 'what should I' or 'can I' in English.
Why is 'him' in the dative case (ему) instead of the accusative (его)?
The verb передать means to pass or hand something over to someone. The person receiving the message or item is the indirect object, which always takes the dative case in Russian.
Does передать specifically mean 'to take a message'?
It generally means to pass, transfer, or hand over. At a dinner table, you might use передать to ask someone to pass the salt, but in the context of a phone call or a visitor, it naturally means passing a message.
Why does the English translation say 'Can I take a message?' when the Russian starts with Что (What)?
The literal Russian meaning is 'What to pass on to him?'. While English speakers usually phrase this as a yes/no question like 'Can I take a message?', Russians simply ask directly what information needs to be transmitted.