How to Order Multiple Items From a Menu

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Russian by RussianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to order two or more of something at a restaurant in Russian.

For example, "Two of these, please." is

Два этого, пожалуйста. (Dva etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Milena Maslova is at the restaurant with her husband.

The server is ready to take their order, and approaches them.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.)

"Please, go ahead."

Слушаю вас.

два (dva)

"two"

два

Let’s listen to the conversation.

Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.)

Два этого, пожалуйста. (Dva etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Once more with the English translation.

Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.)

"Please go ahead."

Два этого, пожалуйста. (Dva etogo, pozhaluysta.)

"Two of these, please."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how the server says,

"Please go ahead."

Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.)

First is слушаю (slushayu), literally "[I am] listening." Слушаю . Слушаю.

Слушаю (Slushayu) is from я слушаю (ya slushayu), "I [am] listening," but я (ya), "I [am]" is omitted.

Слушаю (Slushayu) is from the verb слушать (slushat’). "Listen." Слушать.

Next is вас (vas), "[to] you." Вас . Вас.

Note, Вас (Vas), "you," refers to the plural, as in "you all," but it's also the formal way to address a single person, as is the case here, where the waiter is addressing Milena Maslova.

All together, Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.), literally "[I’m] listening [to] you." But it translates as "Please go ahead."

Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.)

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Milena Maslova says,

"Two of these, please."

Два этого, пожалуйста. (Dva etogo, pozhaluysta.)

First is два (dva), "two." Два . Два.

After this is этого (etogo), "this," but translates as "these" here. Этого . Этого.

Этого (Etogo) is from это (eto), "this." Это.

The word это (eto) can be used when the name of the thing, or things, is not known and is close to the speaker. Milena uses it because she’s pointing at something on the menu near to her, and she doesn’t know the Russian word for it.

Last is the phrase пожалуйста (pozhaluysta), "please." Пожалуйста . Пожалуйста.

All together, Два этого, пожалуйста. (Dva etogo, pozhaluysta.), literally "two this, please," but it translates as "Two of this, please."

Два этого, пожалуйста. (Dva etogo, pozhaluysta.)

The pattern is

QUANTITY этого, пожалуйста. (QUANTITY etogo, pozhaluysta.)

"QUANTITY of this, please."

QUANTITY этого, пожалуйста.

To use this pattern, simply replace the QUANTITY placeholder with the number of the item you're requesting.

Note: This pattern requires a number greater than 1.

Imagine you’d like three of a thing you don’t know the Russian word for.

Three, три (tri). Три . Три.

Say

"Three of these, please."

Ready?

Три этого, пожалуйста. (Tri etogo, pozhaluysta.)

"Three of these, please."

Три этого, пожалуйста. (Tri etogo, pozhaluysta.)

The pattern, {Number} этого, пожалуйста ({Number} etogo, pozhaluysta) can be used to order an item without knowing its name, and consequently its gender, in Russian.

Remember this pattern is useful for numbers greater than one. If you want to order only one item, use, Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.) "This, please." Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

Again, the key pattern is

QUANTITY этого, пожалуйста. (QUANTITYl etogo, pozhaluysta.)

"QUANTITY of this, please."

QUANTITY этого, пожалуйста.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Два этого, пожалуйста. (Dva etogo, pozhaluysta.)

"Two of these, please."

Два этого, пожалуйста. (Dva etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Три этого, пожалуйста. (Tri etogo, pozhaluysta.)

"Three of these, please."

Три этого, пожалуйста. (Tri etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Четыре этого, пожалуйста. (Chetyre etogo, pozhaluysta.)

"Four of these, please."

Четыре этого, пожалуйста. (Chetyre etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

"This, please."

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

Два этого и три этого. (Dva etogo i tri etogo.)

"Two of these and three of these."

Два этого и три этого. (Dva etogo i tri etogo.)

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

Два этого и три этого. (Dva etogo i tri etogo.)

"Two of these and three of these."

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

Also, in colloquial Russian it’s very common to drop пожалуйста (pozhaluysta), "please" at the end of the request.

As in the example Два этого и три этого (Dva etogo i tri etogo). "Two this and three of these." Два этого и три этого (Dva etogo i tri etogo).

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let's review the key vocabulary.

четыре (chetyre)

"four"

четыре

три (tri)

"three"

три

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)

And how to say "two?"

два (dva)

Do you remember how Milena Maslova says,

"Two of these, please."

Два этого, пожалуйста. (Dva etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Do you remember how the server says,

"Please go ahead."

Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.)

Do you remember how to say the number "three?"

три (tri)

And how to say "four?"

четыре (chetyre)

When you don't know the Russian word for something, how do you say "this?"

это (eto)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Mikhail Maslov , and you're at a restaurant. You see a picture of a dish you'd like to try. Respond to the server by saying, "Three of these, please." "Three" is три (tri).

Ready?

Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.)

Три этого, пожалуйста. (Tri etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Listen again and repeat.

Три этого, пожалуйста. (Tri etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Marina Maslova , and you’re at the coffee shop with three friends. Order for all four people. "Four" is четыре (chetyre).

Ready?

Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.)

Четыре этого, пожалуйста. (Chetyre etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Listen again and repeat.

Четыре этого, пожалуйста. (Chetyre etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Miroslav Maslov , and you’re by yourself.

Order one of something by saying, "This, please." "This" is это (eto).

Ready?

Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.)

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

Listen again and repeat.

Это, пожалуйста. (Eto, pozhaluysta.)

In this lesson, you learned how to order two or more of something at a restaurant. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of dining at the restaurant. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say "please?"

пожалуйста (pozhaluysta)

And how to say "coffee?"

кофе (kofe)

Do you remember how to say,

"Excuse me, coffee, please."

Извините. Кофе, пожалуйста. (Izvinite. Kofe, pozhaluysta.)

And how to say,

"Yes, right away."

Да, сейчас. (Da, seychas.)

Imagine you're Jack Jones and you're at a restaurant with your friends, and you'd like to ask for a menu.

Do you remember how to say "menu" in Russian?

меню (menyu)

Now ask for a menu.

Ready?

Извините. Меню, пожалуйста. (Izvinite. Menyu, pozhaluysta.)

Да, сейчас. (Da, seychas.)

Listen again and repeat.

Извините. Меню, пожалуйста. (Izvinite. Menyu, pozhaluysta.)

You're ready to make your order. You'd like to order three of one item.

Do you remember how to say "three" in Russian?

три (tri)

Respond to the server's approach.

Слушаю вас. (Slushayu vas.)

Три этого, пожалуйста. (Tri etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Listen again and repeat.

Три этого, пожалуйста. (Tri etogo, pozhaluysta.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can order at a restaurant unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

What's next?

Show us what you can do.

When you're ready, take your assessment.

You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results.

Keep practicing — and move on to the next series!

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