Вопрос, будь то простой или сложный, требует времени.

Будь то is a set expression meaning whether it be, be it, or more naturally in English, whether it is.

So:

• будь то простой или сложный = whether it is simple or complex
• the whole sentence means something like A question, whether simple or complex, requires time.

A useful thing to know is that будь то is treated as a fixed phrase. Learners usually should not try to translate it word-for-word at first.

Because будь то is not a normal future-tense construction. It is an idiomatic expression built from the imperative form будь of быть.

Literally, that can look strange to an English speaker, but in this phrase it does not mean someone is being commanded to be. Instead, it functions as part of the fixed expression будь то... или...

So:

• будь то А или Б = whether it be A or B
• not it will be A or B

This is one of those phrases that is best learned as a whole.

Because this part is a parenthetical inserted phrase giving extra clarification about вопрос.

Main structure:

• Вопрос требует времени. = A question requires time.

Inserted clarification:

• будь то простой или сложный = whether simple or complex

So the commas show that this is additional information interrupting the main sentence.

Without the inserted phrase, the sentence is still complete:

• Вопрос требует времени.

That is why the commas are needed.

Because they describe the implied subject вопрос and match it in case, number, and gender.

• вопрос = masculine singular nominative
• простой = masculine singular nominative
• сложный = masculine singular nominative

In other words, the sentence is talking about a question that may be:

• простой = simple
• сложный = complex

Since these adjectives refer back to вопрос, they stay in the same form.

Because времени is in the genitive singular, and that is the normal form after требовать in this kind of meaning.

• время = time
• времени = of time / time in the genitive

Russian often uses the genitive after требовать when meaning to require, especially with abstract things like:

• требовать времени = to require time
• требовать усилий = to require effort
• требовать внимания = to require attention

So Вопрос требует времени is the natural way to say A question requires time.

Вопрос is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence.

The core sentence is:

• Вопрос требует времени.

Here:

• вопрос = subject
• требует = verb
• времени = object/complement governed by the verb

So вопрос is nominative because it is the thing doing the requiring.

Because the subject вопрос is singular.

• вопрос = singular
• therefore требует = third person singular

If the subject were plural, the verb would also be plural:

• Вопросы требуют времени. = Questions require time.

It is singular in form, but it expresses a general idea.

Russian often uses the singular to talk about something in a general, class-wide sense, just like English can do in sentences such as:

• A question requires time.
• The elephant is a large animal.

So here вопрос does not necessarily mean one specific question. It can mean any question in a general sense.

Yes. You could express a similar idea in simpler ways, for example:

• Простой или сложный вопрос требует времени.
• Любой вопрос требует времени — простой или сложный.
• Вопрос требует времени, независимо от того, простой он или сложный.

But будь то простой или сложный is a compact and slightly more formal/literary way to say it.

Yes, it tends to sound more formal, bookish, or polished than the most everyday alternatives.

Compare:

• будь то простой или сложный = more formal/written
• независимо от того, простой он или сложный = neutral, explanatory
• простой он или сложный = straightforward and common

So the original sentence has a somewhat elevated tone.

In this expression, то is part of the fixed phrase. It is not functioning like the ordinary demonstrative that in a simple word-for-word way.

For a learner, the safest approach is:

• learn будь то as one chunk
• understand it as whether it be / be it

Trying to assign a simple one-word English equivalent to то here is usually less helpful than just memorizing the whole expression.

Yes. In this sentence, или simply links the two alternatives:

• простой или сложный = simple or complex

Inside the phrase будь то... или..., it introduces the second option in the pair of possibilities.

The word order is natural, but Russian does allow some flexibility.

Original:

• Вопрос, будь то простой или сложный, требует времени.

This structure works well because:

1. Вопрос is introduced first as the topic.
2. The parenthetical phrase adds clarification.
3. The main statement ends with требует времени.

You could say:

• Простой или сложный вопрос требует времени.

That is also correct, but it feels less parenthetical and more direct.

So the original word order is chosen partly for style and emphasis, not just grammar.

Yes, but that is a different structure.

• будь то простой или сложный = fixed expression meaning whether simple or complex
• будь он простым или сложным = literally whether it is simple or complex, with an explicit pronoun он

In the second version:

• он refers back to вопрос
• простым and сложным are instrumental, not nominative

So both are possible, but they are built differently:

1. будь то простой или сложный → fixed idiomatic pattern
2. будь он простым или сложным → a more transparent grammatical structure

Because the sentence is using the fixed idiom будь то... или..., where the descriptive words stay in the nominative to match the noun they refer to.

If you used a different structure, such as:

• будь он простым или сложным

then you would use the instrumental:

• простым
• сложным

So the case changes depending on the construction, not just the meaning.

The sentence can be broken down like this:

• Вопрос — subject, nominative singular
• будь то простой или сложный — inserted parenthetical phrase meaning whether simple or complex
• требует — verb, third person singular
• времени — genitive singular after требовать

So the core pattern is:

• Subject + verb + genitive complement

with a parenthetical expression inserted after the subject.