How to Indicate Objects with the Help of Gestures

Learn how to indicate objects with the help of gestures

Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Russian by RussianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for something at a grocery store in Russian.

For example, "This, please." is

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

Mikhail Maslov is at a small grocery store.

After finding something he wants, he points at the item and asks for it.

Before you hear the conversation, let's learn some of its key components.

это (eto)

"this"

это

Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz'mite.)

"Here you are!"

Вот, возьмите!

Listen to the conversation.

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz'mite.)

Once more with the English translation.

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

"This, please."

Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz'mite.)

"Here you are!"

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Mikhail Maslov asks for an item without knowing its name,

"This, please."

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern.

First is Это (Eto). "This." Это . Это.

Это (Eto) is the neuter, singular form of the word for "this." If you don’t know the name of an item and consequently its gender, you can use это (eto).

It refers to something which is near the speaker. Mikhail uses it because he’s pointing at something which is near to him.

Next is пожалуйста (pozhaluysta), "please." Пожалуйста . Пожалуйста.

All together, it's Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.) "This, please."

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how the clerk says,

"Here you are."

Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz'mite.)

First is Вот (Vot), meaning "here" in this context. Вот . Вот.

Next is возьмите (voz'mite), literally "take." Возьмите . Возьмите.

Возьмите (voz'mite) is from взять (vzyat’), "to take." Взять (Vzyat’).

All together, it's Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz'mite.), literally "here, take," but it translates as "Here you are!"

Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz'mite.)

Note, an alternative response from the clerk could be Вот, пожалуйста (Vot, pozhaluysta), literally "Here, you are welcome," but it translates as "Here you are!"

The pattern is:

ITEM, пожалуйста. (ITEM, pozhaluysta.)

ITEM, "please."

ITEM, пожалуйста.

To use this pattern, simply replace the ITEM placeholder with the thing you want.

Note: This pattern requires a demonstrative pronoun.

Imagine you’d like something from across the room. The pronoun to indicate something far from a speaker is то (to), "that." То . То.

Say

"That, please."

Ready?

То, пожалуйста (To, pozhaluysta).

"That, please."

То, пожалуйста (To, pozhaluysta).

The following phrases can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in Russian:

Это, пожалуйста (Eto, pozhaluysta), "This, please." And,

То, пожалуйста (To, pozhaluysta), "That, please."

For items that are plural, use эти (eti), "these." Эти. Or,

For things that are far from you, use те (te), "those." Те.

Remember, these can be used to refer to an item without knowing its name in Russian.

Again, the key pattern is

ITEM, пожалуйста. (ITEM, pozhaluysta.)

ITEM, "please."

ITEM, пожалуйста.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

"This , please."

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

То, пожалуйста. (To, pozhaluysta.)

"That, please."

То, пожалуйста. (To, pozhaluysta.)

Эти, пожалуйста. (Eti, pozhaluysta.)

"These, please."

Эти, пожалуйста. (Eti, pozhaluysta.)

Те, пожалуйста. (Te, pozhaluysta.)

"Those, please."

Те, пожалуйста. (Te, pozhaluysta.)

Это и то, пожалуйста. (Eto i to, pozhaluysta.)

"This and that, please."

Это и то, пожалуйста. (Eto i to, pozhaluysta.)

Did you notice how the last speaker used a different sentence pattern?

Это и то, пожалуйста. (Eto i to, pozhaluysta.)

"This and that, please."

We used the words это (eto) and то (to) together.

Это (Eto). "This." Это.

То (To). "That." То.

When requesting multiple items, you can join them with the conjunction, и (i), meaning "and."

И (I). "And." И.

Это и то, пожалуйста. (Eto i to, pozhaluysta.) "This and that, please."

Let’s review the key vocabulary.

это (eto)

"this"

это

то (to)

"that"

то

эти (eti).

"these"

эти

те (te)

"those"

те

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "please?"

Пожалуйста (Pozhaluysta)

Пожалуйста (Pozhaluysta).

Do you remember how Mikhail says,

"This, please."

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta).

Do you remember how to say "here?"

Вот (Vot)

Do you remember how the clerk says,

"Here you are!"

Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz'mite.)

When you don't know the name of something, do you remember the word for "that?"

То (To).

When you don’t know the name of something, do you remember the word for "these?"

Эти (Eti)

Эти (Eti).

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Mikhail . You're at the grocery store to buy some bread, but you don't know the word.

Instead you point at it and say, "this" or это (eto).

Ready?

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz'mite!)

Listen again and repeat.

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Marina , and you see some small snacks you'd like to try.

Ask for "these," or эти (eti).

Ready?

Эти, пожалуйста. (Eti, pozhaluysta.)

Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz'mite.)

Listen again and repeat.

Эти, пожалуйста. (Eti, pozhaluysta.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Milena , and you see a sandwich in the showcase far away.

Ask for "that," or то (to).

Ready?

То, пожалуйста. (To, pozhaluysta.)

Вот, возьмите! (Vot, voz'mite.)

Listen again and repeat.

То, пожалуйста. (To, pozhaluysta.)

In Russian speech you can notice one more variation of the pattern used in this lesson - Вот это, пожалуйста (Vot eto, pozhaluysta).

Did you noticed how we added Вот (Vot) particle?

Particles вот (vot), "here" and вон (von) "there" are used to point out to an object located close or far away from the speaker, respectively.

So, вот is used with demonstrative pronouns это and эти.

And вон is used with demonstrative pronouns то and те.

For example, imagine, that you want to buy a pack of peanuts that is located at a distance from you and you don’t know what to call it in Russian. You can say:

Вон то, пожалуйста. (Von to, pozhaluysta).

If the pack of peanuts is located close to you, you can say:

Вот это, пожалуйста (Vot eto, pozhaluysta).

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