Learn how to ask for clarification
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| Let's take a closer look at the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Daniel introduces himself? |
| "Nice to meet you. I’m Daniel." |
| Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Даниил. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Daniil.) |
| First is the expression Приятно познакомиться (Priyatno poznakomit'sya), meaning "Nice to meet you." Приятно познакомиться (Priyatno poznakomit'sya). |
| Let's start with приятно (priyatno), literally "pleasantly." Приятно. Приятно. |
| Next is познакомиться (poznakomit'sya), literally "to get acquainted." Познакомиться. Познакомиться. |
| Together, it's Приятно познакомиться (Priyatno poznakomit'sya), literally, "Pleasantly to get acquainted," but translates as "Nice to meet you." Приятно познакомиться (Priyatno poznakomit'sya). |
| This phrase can be used in many contexts and is appropriate for both formal and informal situations. |
| says, |
| “I’m Daniel” |
| “Меня зовут Даниил” (Menya zovut Daniil). |
| First is меня (menya), "me." Меня. Меня. |
| After this is зовут (zovut), meaning "[they] call." Зовут. Зовут. |
| Note, зовут (zovut) is the shortened form of они зовут (oni zovut), “they call.” In Russian, они (oni), "they," is usually omitted. |
| Зовут (Zovut) is from the verb звать (zvat'), meaning "to call." звать (zvat'). |
| Together it's меня зовут (menya zovut). Literally, "me [they] call," but it translates as "my name is." Меня зовут. |
| Next is the name, Даниил (Daniil). "Daniel." Даниил. Даниил. |
| All together, it's Меня зовут Даниил (Menya zovut Daniil). Literally, "Me [they] call Daniil," but it translates as "My name is Daniel," or “I am Daniel.” |
| Together, it’s Меня зовут Даниил (Menya zovut Daniil). "[I]’m Daniel." Меня зовут Даниил. |
| All together, it’s "Nice to meet you. I'm Daniel." Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Даниил. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Daniil.) |
| Приятно познакомиться. Меня зовут Даниил. (Priyatno poznakomit'sya. Menya zovut Daniil.) |
| Sasha can’t catch his name. |
| Do you remember how she asks, |
| "Excuse me. Can you repeat that? |
| Извини, можешь повторить? (Izvini, mozhesh' povtorit'?) |
| First is извини (izvini). "Excuse [me]." Извини. Извини. |
| Note: извини (izvini) is the informal form of "Excuse [me]." Извини. In this conversation, Daniel and Sasha are of similar age, so the informal извини (izvini) is more natural. |
| Извини (izvini) is from the verb извинить (izvinit’), “to excuse”. Извинить (Izvinit’) |
| Next is можешь (mozhesh'), "[you] can," as in you are able. Можешь. Можешь. |
| Note: "you" is understood from the context. |
| Можешь (mozhesh') is from the verb мочь (moch’), “can.” Можешь. |
| Next is повторить (povtorit’), "repeat." Повторить. Повторить. |
| Together, можешь повторить (mozhesh' povtorit') literally means, "[you] can repeat," but in this context, it translates as "can [you] repeat [that]?" Можешь повторить. |
| All together, Извини, можешь повторить? (Izvini, mozhesh' povtorit'?) Literally, "Excuse [me], [you] can repeat," but translates as "Excuse me, can you repeat [that]?" |
| Извини, можешь повторить? (Izvini, mozhesh' povtorit'?) |
| Note: [that] is added to translation, but there is no corresponding word in the Russian question. |
| Finally, do you remember how Daniel says, |
| “I’m Daniel.” |
| Hint, you’ve heard it before. |
| Меня зовут Даниил. (Menya zovut Daniil.) "I’m Daniel." |
| Меня зовут Даниил. (Menya zovut Daniil.) |
| In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in an informal situation: |
| Извини, можешь повторить? (Izvini, mozhesh' povtorit'?) |
| Excuse [me], can [you] repeat [that]? |
| To ask for clarification in a formal situation: |
| Извините, можете повторить? (Izvinite, mozhete povtorit'?) |
| Excuse [me], can [you] repeat [that]? |
| Извините, можете повторить? (Izvinite, mozhete povtorit'?) |
| Note the two changes in the formal form. |
| First, Извините (izvinite), replaces извини (izvini). |
| Извините (Izvinite), "Excuse me,” formal form. Извините. Извините. |
| Извините (Izvinite), is the second person plural form of the verb извинить (izvinit’), meaning "to excuse." извинить (izvinit’) |
| Second, можете (mozhete) replaces можешь (mozhesh’). |
| Можете (mozhete), “[you] can” when using formal Russian. Можете. Можете. |
| Можете (mozhete) means “you can,” as in “you all can.” It is the second person plural form of the verb мочь (moch’), "to be able." |
| The second person plural is used for formal situations when addressing a single person. |
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