Learn Hardcore Russian: Решение зависит от того, придёте ли Вы вовремя. - The decision depends on whether you will arrive on time.

ли turns the clause into an indirect yes/no question, i.e., “whether.”
It is an enclitic: it follows the word it relates to and cannot start the clause.
Neutral placement is after the verb: придёте ли Вы.
Moving it changes focus:
- вовремя ли вы придёте = whether it’s on time that you will come (focus on punctuality).
- вы ли придёте = will it be you who comes (focus on the subject “you”), which is a different meaning here.

Why is Вы capitalized?

Capitalized Вы is a courtesy form for a single addressee (formal “you”), common in letters, emails, and messages.
Lowercase вы is standard elsewhere and is used for plural “you.”
If addressing multiple people politely, keep it lowercase (вы).

Why is it придёте and not приходите?

придёте is future tense of the perfective verb прийти (a single, complete arrival).
приходите is present/habitual (imperfective) and would suggest a regular action.
будете приходить would mean “will (habitually) come,” not a one-off event. Here a single future arrival is meant, hence perfective придёте.

Can I use если instead of ли?

After зависит от того, Russian normally uses a “whether”-type clause with ли.
если introduces a condition (“if”), so you’d rephrase: Если вы придёте вовремя, (то) решение…
With зависит от того, stick to … ли … to embed “whether.”

Is от того necessary, or can I say: Решение зависит, придёте ли…?

Standard literary style prefers зависит от того, ….
Omitting от того (i.e., зависит, придёте ли…) occurs in speech but is informal/colloquial and avoided in careful writing.

Why is it того (genitive)?

The verb зависеть governs the preposition от
- genitive.
The pronoun то in the genitive is того. This forms the correlative structure от того, … ли … (“depends on whether…”).
Using этого would refer back to something already mentioned, not forward to the clause that follows.

What’s the difference between вовремя and во время?

вовремя (one word) = “on time” (an adverb): придёте вовремя.
во время (two words) = “during” + a noun in the genitive: во время встречи (“during the meeting”).

Can the word order be changed inside the ли-clause?

Neutral: придёте ли вы вовремя.
Focus on punctuality: вовремя ли вы придёте.
Focus on the subject identity (different meaning): вы ли придёте (“will it be you who comes”).
ли cannot be the first word of the clause.

How should I pronounce this? Where is the stress?

Could I use приедете instead of придёте?

придёте (from прийти) is neutral “come/arrive,” often associated with coming on foot.
приедете (from приехать) implies arriving by vehicle.
Choose based on context; both can fit, but придёте (вовремя) is very idiomatic.

Can I say будете вовремя instead of придёте вовремя?

Yes. быть вовремя = “to be on time”: будете ли вы вовремя is natural.
Nuance: придёте вовремя highlights the arrival event; будете вовремя focuses on being present by the start time. Both are fine here.

Does решение mean “decision” or “solution”?

It can mean either. In everyday contexts like meetings or plans, it’s usually “decision.” In math/technical contexts, it can mean “solution.” Context decides.

What are the comma rules with this structure and with ли?

Put a comma after того to introduce the subordinate clause: …от того, придёте ли…
Do not put a comma directly before ли.
You can add или нет: …придёте ли вы вовремя или нет (no comma before или in this short form).

Why is it зависит (present) and not будет зависеть (future)?

Russian often uses the present to state a rule/relationship that holds in the near future: Решение зависит…
Решение будет зависеть… is also correct and makes the futurity explicit. Both are acceptable; choose based on stylistic preference.