Week 10, Lesson 19, Thursday
Order food and drinks
One small change makes ordering work: what you want takes a new ending, so рыба becomes рыбу. The rest is a handful of polite phrases.
1Recap 5 minutes
Three questions from Week 9, before anything new.
2Goal 1 minute
I can read a simple menu and order a meal and a drink politely.
3The lesson 20 minutes
In this lesson
- The menu
- хотеть: to want
- What you want changes its ending
- Ordering politely
The menu
A café menu, laid out as you would see it in Russia. Read every line aloud before the lesson: almost every word is new, and all of them are useful.
| Russian | Meaning |
|---|---|
| суп, борщ | soup, borsch |
| салат | salad |
| рыба | fish |
| мясо | meat |
| курица | chicken |
| хлеб, сыр | bread, cheese |
| каша | porridge |
| вода, сок, чай | water, juice, tea |
| кофе | coffee (он, a famous exception) |
| вино | wine |
хотеть: to want
хотеть is the one verb you will use in every restaurant. It is easiest learned as two halves.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| я | хочу |
| ты | хочешь |
| он, она | хочет |
| мы | хотим |
| вы | хотите |
| они | хотят |
Learn it in two halves: the singular has ч and looks like Pattern I; the plural has т and looks like Pattern II.
What you want changes its ending
Watch only the coloured endings. Everything you order or want follows this pattern.
| Dictionary form | After хочу or буду |
|---|---|
| рыба | рыбу |
| каша | кашу |
| вода | воду |
| курица | курицу |
| суп | суп |
| вино | вино |
-а becomes -у and -я becomes -ю. Words for things that are он or оно do not change. Watch the stress in воду.
Ordering politely
| Russian | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Что вы будете? | What will you have? |
| Я буду борщ и рыбу. | I'll have borsch and fish. |
| Дайте, пожалуйста, меню. | The menu, please. |
| Можно кофе? | Can I have a coffee? |
| Счёт, пожалуйста! | The bill, please! |
4Listen and say 5 minutes
Sound of the lesson: х is your Spanish j
Russian х is the sound of the Spanish j in jamón: breathy, made at the back of the mouth.
- хочу́ [kha-CHU] Hear it on Forvo (opens in a new tab)
- хлеб [khlyep] Hear it on Forvo (opens in a new tab)
Listen to the textbook
The book's own recordings for this topic, free on the publisher's site. Listen once for the gist, then again with the book open.
5Phrases and words 5 minutes
Phrases to learn whole
Learn each one as a single unit, the way you would learn a word. They come back in your Daily 10.
- Что вы бу́дете?What will you have?
- Я бу́ду …I'll have …
- Да́йте, пожа́луйста, меню́.The menu, please.
- Мо́жно ко́фе?Can I have a coffee?
- Счёт, пожа́луйста!The bill, please!
Words to read aloud
Read each one aloud, then open it to check.
сала́т
ку́рица
вода́
хоте́ть
счёт
6Class exercises 15 minutes
Checked instantly. Get one wrong and you can try it again.
Role-play
Take one card each. Swap roles for a second round.
You, the guest
- Ask for the menu.
- Order a starter, a main course and a drink.
- Ask for the bill.
Ника, the waiter
- Greet the guest: Добрый вечер!
- Ask Что вы будете? and Что вы будете пить?
- Say one dish is not available today, and offer another.
7Your turn 5 minutes
Order a meal politely: a starter, a main course and a drink.
See a model answer
Я буду борщ и рыбу. И воду, пожалуйста. Счёт, пожалуйста!
Saved as you type. It goes to Ника together with Homework 19.
8Mini questionnaire required, 80% to pass
9Feedback 5 minutes
10Check your goal 1 minute
I can read a simple menu and order a meal and a drink politely.
Can you do this now? Be honest: the answer decides your next step.
11Homework
Homework 19 on Saturday: ordering practice, and a meal ordered in writing.
I can read a simple menu and order a meal and a drink politely.