Learn Hardcore Russian: Я хочу знать, сколько времени осталось.

When you ask about an amount with сколько, Russian requires the noun to be in the genitive case. Since время (time) is uncountable, you say сколько времени.

Why is there a comma before сколько?

Because сколько времени осталось is a subordinate (indirect question) clause. In Russian, subordinate clauses are separated from the main clause (Я хочу знать) by a comma.

Why does the verb осталось appear in the past tense (neuter singular) when we’re talking about the present?

Russian often uses the past tense of остаться (“to remain”) to express that something has remained up to the present—similar to English present perfect (“has left”). Also, the phrase сколько времени is treated as a singular neuter concept, so the past neuter form осталось is required.

Could we use a different tense, like останется (future) or остается (present)?

In contexts about deadlines or remaining time, you typically use осталось.
• останется (“will remain”) shifts focus to a future action and is less common here.
• остается (“remains” in the present) sounds odd because it doesn’t convey the completed-result nuance of time counted down up to now.

What’s the difference between знать and узнать in this sentence?

• Я хочу знать (imperfective) expresses a desire to be in the state of knowing—continuous knowledge.
• Я хочу узнать (perfective) focuses on the moment of discovering the information—“to find out.” Both are correct; the nuance changes slightly.

Can we drop я in Я хочу знать?

Yes. In Russian the pronoun я is optional because хочу already implies “I.” Dropping it (Хочу знать, сколько времени осталось) sounds more colloquial; including я adds emphasis or formality.

How would I say “I want to know how much time I have left”?

Add a dative pronoun:
Я хочу знать, сколько времени у меня осталось.
Here у меня clarifies that the remaining time belongs to the speaker.

What’s the difference between Сколько времени осталось? and a question with во сколько?

• Сколько времени осталось? means “How much time is left?” (quantity of time).
• Во сколько asks “At what clock time” something happens (e.g., “Во сколько начинается встреча?” = “At what time does the meeting start?”).

Can I use ещё to emphasize “still”?

Yes.
Я хочу знать, сколько ещё времени осталось.
Adding ещё emphasizes that time is still elapsing or that there’s an ongoing countdown.