Learn Hardcore Russian: Покупатель спрашивает у кассира, есть ли скидки на колбасу. - The customer asks the cashier if there are any discounts on the sausage.

We use спрашивает (imperfective, present) to describe an action that’s currently happening or habitual. If you say Покупатель спросил у кассира, you switch to the perfective past, indicating the buyer already completed the action of asking.

What’s the difference between спрашивать у and спросить у?

Спрашивать is the imperfective aspect (ongoing or repeated actions), while спросить is the perfective aspect (one-time or completed). In this sentence, спрашивает shows the buyer is in the process of asking.

Why do we use спрашивает у кассира instead of just спрашивает кассира?

When you ask someone a question in Russian, you normally use спрашивать/спросить у + a person in the genitive case. The у marks the source of information. Saying спрашивает кассира without у is grammatically possible but less idiomatic.

What does есть ли mean here?

Есть ли literally means “is there,” and ли is the particle that turns the clause into an indirect yes/no question. So есть ли скидки = “whether there are discounts.”

Why is скидки in the nominative case, and why is колбасу accusative?

In the clause есть скидки, скидки acts as the subject (nominative plural). The phrase на колбасу uses the preposition на with the accusative case to mean “on sausage” or “for sausage.”

Could we say скидки по колбасе instead of на колбасу?

Yes. Скидки по колбасе (using по + dative) is also common, especially in ads. Both mean “discounts on sausage,” though на колбасу is more literal (“for sausage”).

In the subordinate clause есть ли скидки на колбасу, why isn’t the word order the same as in a direct question like Скидки на колбасу есть?

Indirect (embedded) questions keep statement word order with ли after the verb. Direct questions often allow inversion and rely on intonation. So we say …спрашивает…, есть ли скидки… rather than swapping subject and verb.

Why is there a comma before есть ли?

The comma separates the main clause (Покупатель спрашивает у кассира) from the subordinate (embedded question) clause (есть ли скидки на колбасу). In Russian, embedded questions are always set off by a comma.

What’s the difference between скидка and распродажа?

Скидка means “a discount” (a price reduction on a specific item), while распродажа means “a sale” (an event or period when many items are sold at reduced prices).