"Можете нарезать картошку?"
Translation:Could you slice the potatoes?
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1064
I often see the word можете, or можешь, used without a pronoun. I think it is because it often functions as an imperative-type sentence (as here), which doesn't use pronouns.
1064
Hmm, I'm trying to remember why I wrote this one year ago... It's not an imperative sentence per se, but it has the same effect as the imperative sentence "Нарежь(те) картошку"/"slice the potatoes".
I don't think this sentence is in any way special and demands special treatment in Duolingo. I don't know why the course creators didn't use a pronoun here.
In general, pronouns are often dropped in colloquial speech, but rarely dropped in written texts and in formal language. Maybe this sentence sounds colloquial so that's why the pronoun is dropped? After all, we don't often ask about cutting potatoes in a formal way... That's my guess.
264
The reason is that можете is clearly you-plural form, so a pronoun вы is not necessary.
Карто́шки can be either a accusative plural form, or a genitive singular form.
It’s not plural because «карто́шка» is an uncountable mass noun. It behaves like «rice» in English.
But if you wanted to use a genitive singular, you can. «Можете нарезать карто́шки?» sounds OK with genitive too. Accusative shifts the meaning towards 'all the potatoes', while Genitive shifts the meaning towards 'some potatoes'.
Yes, I was corrected in some other topic.
I personally don't use it in plural, but such option indeed exists.
997
Лук - are a type of plant or food. one piece, the lower part is an лУковица, the upper стрелка. Соответственно много - луковицы и стрЕлки. Луки can be used for different biological species of onions or for many pieces of weapons. Funny, стрелкИ из лука and стрЕлки из лука have absolutely different meanings.
You can't use «can I» because «мо́жете» is a 2nd person plural form, so it can only be used with «вы» (but plural form can be used to address one person for politeness). So, «можете» implies «вы» and you can't translate it "can I", "can I" is «могу я?».
As for accepting or not accepting pronouns: generally, pronouns are needed in written and formal speech, but can often be dropped in dialogues and in informal situations. Maybe this phrase is written without a pronoun because it's something you often hear and rarely see written, so that's why it's written with a dropped pronoun.
"Can you cut up the potatoes?" doesn't - erm - cut it.
I wonder why. I'm pretty cut up about it.
Accusative Singular. You can find all the declensions of картошка here. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%B0 This of course does mean either the English or Russin sentence is, as of right now, not a correct translation.
I would say «мо́жете поре́зать карто́фелину»? (But if precision is not required, you can use the «карто́шку» for one potato too. I'm not sure about the verb, for some reason «поре́зать» sounds slightly better to my ear when speaking about one potato, but it might be just me.)
Well, I try to write the standard forms in Duolingo, but in this exact case I just didn't know my stress is non-standard :)
Upd.: I've updated my message.
1064
From what I understand, it can be singular, plural OR mass. So "potatoes" and "potato" should both be fine.
However, looking at the context of the sentence, notice that the subject is plural (because можете). How likely is it that someone is asking a group of people to slice one single potato? ;)
380
I said, 'Could you please ...' That was considered wrong. While I learned it is polite to say that in english.
Could you - are you able to. a suggestion rather than a request.
Will you = a request or possibly a threat if the answer is no.
Can you - same as Could you except often sarcastic - as if "Can you slice the potatoes without cutting yourself".
Would you - same as will you except more politely.
All could be used in casual speech to ask you to slice the potatoes. I personally wish that Duo would refrain from casual careless and often grammatically incorrect English. Duo seems to think that all English speakers are 8 years old.
185
I don't fully understand your question. Can you provide an example of an English sentence please.