Poprosil, chtoby: someone else's request and question
Someone else's words are set into a frame, and the tense inside does not move: said yesterday — and still coming tomorrow. For example: “Она спросила, где вторая платформа” — She asked where the second platform is. A rule from the Russian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Someone else's words are set into a frame, and the tense inside does not move: said yesterday — and still coming tomorrow.
A retelling is introduced by chto: On obyasnil, chto poezd ne idyot. The comma before chto is required. A question keeps its own question word: Ona sprosila, gde ostanovka — no li and no reshuffling.
A request goes through chtoby: On poprosil, chtoby ya podozhdal. Colder and shorter — the infinitive: On poprosil podozhdat — the very same thing.
And hearsay takes its marks: budto, yakoby, so slov ochevidtsa. Each says: that is what was heard, but I will not vouch for it.
Table
| What is passed on | Introduced by | Example | In plain words |
|---|---|---|---|
| a retelling | chto | obyasnil, chto poezd ne idyot | broke the news |
| a question with a word | gde, kogda, kto | sprosila, gde ostanovka | passed the question on |
| a question without one | li | sprosil, est li mesta | yes or no |
| a request | chtoby | poprosil, chtoby podozhdali | passed the request on |
| a request, shorter | the infinitive | poprosil podozhdat | the same without chtoby |
| hearsay | budto | govoryat, budto pereyekhali | no vouching |
| hearsay | yakoby | yakoby videl ego | a newspaper mark |
| the source | so slov | so slov ochevidtsa | whose words |
By example
- Она спросила, где вторая платформаOna sprosila, gde vtoraya platformaShe asked where the second platform is
- Он попросил, чтобы мы подождали у входаOn poprosil, chtoby my podozhdali u vkhodaHe asked us to wait by the entrance
- Я слышал, будто они продали домYa slyshal, budto oni prodali domI heard that they had sold the house
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to pass on a request?
A request goes through chtoby: On poprosil, chtoby ya podozhdal. Colder and shorter — the infinitive: On poprosil podozhdat — the very same thing.
Poprosil chto or poprosil chtoby?
A request goes through chtoby: On poprosil, chtoby ya podozhdal. Colder and shorter — the infinitive: On poprosil podozhdat — the very same thing.
How to pass on a question?
A retelling is introduced by chto: On obyasnil, chto poezd ne idyot. The comma before chto is required. A question keeps its own question word: Ona sprosila, gde ostanovka — no li and no reshuffling.
A comma before chto?
A retelling is introduced by chto: On obyasnil, chto poezd ne idyot. The comma before chto is required. A question keeps its own question word: Ona sprosila, gde ostanovka — no li and no reshuffling.
What does it look like in a Russian example sentence?
“Она спросила, где вторая платформа” (Ona sprosila, gde vtoraya platforma) — She asked where the second platform is. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.