Breakdown of Мадам, ваш столик у окна.
окно
window
ваш
your [formal/plural]
столик
small table
мадам
madam (f, indeclinable)
Questions & Answers about Мадам, ваш столик у окна.
Why doesn't мадам change its ending or have a feminine suffix?
Мадам is a borrowed foreign word. Foreign words ending in a consonant are normally masculine in Russian, but because мадам refers specifically to a woman, it is grammatically feminine. However, just like foreign women's surnames that end in a consonant, it remains completely indeclinable in all cases.
Why use the diminutive столик instead of the standard word стол?
In a restaurant, cafe, or hospitality setting, Russians almost universally use the diminutive столик rather than стол when referring to a customer's table. It sounds more polite, welcoming, and appropriate for the context.
What case is окна in here, and where does the stress fall?
It is in the genitive case, which is required by the preposition у (meaning "by" or "next to"). Watch out for the pronunciation: the genitive singular is окна́ (stressed on the last syllable), which is often confused with the nominative plural о́кна (stressed on the first syllable).
Why is there no dash (—) replacing the missing verb "is"?
While written Russian often uses a dash to indicate the omitted present tense of "to be", this rule generally applies when connecting two nouns in the nominative case (for example, Он — врач). Because this sentence connects a noun (столик) with a prepositional phrase (у окна), no dash is needed.