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Во время вебинара мне хочется задавать вопросы, если что‑то непонятно.

Во время вебинара мне хочется задавать вопросы, если что‑то непонятно.
During the webinar, I feel like asking questions if something is unclear.

Breakdown of Во время вебинара мне хочется задавать вопросы, если что‑то непонятно.

мне
me
если
if
что-то
something
во время
during
хотеться
to feel like
задавать
to ask
вебинар
webinar
вопрос
question
непонятно
unclear
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Questions & Answers about Во время вебинара мне хочется задавать вопросы, если что‑то непонятно.

Why is it во время + вебинара (genitive)? Can I say в время?

Во время is a fixed prepositional phrase meaning during and it requires the genitive case:

  • во время (чего?) вебинара
    You can’t say в время in this meaning. В
    • time words is used differently (e.g., в то время = at that time / while).
What case is вебинара and how do I know its ending?

Вебинар is a masculine noun, so the genitive singular is вебинара:

  • nominative: вебинар
  • genitive: вебинара
    It follows the common pattern for many masculine nouns: -Ø → -а in the genitive singular.
Why does the sentence use мне хочется instead of я хочу? What’s the difference?

Мне хочется is an impersonal construction meaning something like I feel like / I have the urge. It’s less direct and more about an inner desire.

  • я хочу = a straightforward, deliberate I want
  • мне хочется = I feel like, often softer/more spontaneous

Grammatically, мне is dative because the “desire” is presented as happening to you:

  • мне (кому?) хочется = to me it feels like (doing something)
Why is there an infinitive задавать after хочется?

After (мне) хочется, Russian typically uses the infinitive to express what you feel like doing:

  • мне хочется + infinitive
    So мне хочется задавать = I feel like asking (to ask repeatedly / in general).

You can also use a noun sometimes, but the infinitive is the most common pattern.

Why is it задавать вопросы and not спрашивать вопросы?

In Russian, the natural collocation is задавать вопросы (to pose/ask questions).
Спрашивать is used differently:

  • спрашивать (что?) can mean to ask (a question), but more often you ask someone something:
    • спрашивать преподавателя (to ask the teacher)
    • спрашивать о чём‑то (to ask about something)
    • спрашивать, где... (to ask where...)

So задавать вопросы is the standard “asking questions (as a set/regularly)” phrasing.

What does the imperfective задавать imply here? Could it be задать?

Задавать (imperfective) suggests a general, repeated, or ongoing action: asking questions during the webinar whenever needed.

Задать (perfective) would point to a single, completed act (or a limited set as a whole), for example:

  • мне хочется задать вопрос = I feel like asking a question (one specific question)

Your sentence uses задавать вопросы because it’s about the general behavior during the webinar.

Why is there a comma before если?

Because если что‑то непонятно is a subordinate conditional clause (if something is unclear). In Russian, such clauses are normally separated by a comma:

  • ..., если ...
What exactly is если что‑то непонятно grammatically? Where’s the verb?

It’s a common Russian pattern where the “verb to be” is omitted in the present tense.

  • что‑то = something (pronoun)
  • непонятно = short-form predicative meaning unclear / not understandable

So it’s equivalent to:

  • если что‑то (есть) непонятно = if something is unclear
Why is что‑то written with a hyphen, and when is it used?

что‑то is a pronoun formed with the particle -то, which is written with a hyphen. It usually means something / somehow / some kind of, often implying “some unspecified thing”:

  • что‑то непонятно = something is unclear
  • кто‑то = someone
  • где‑то = somewhere

It’s different from что-то? as two words (which would be unusual here); the hyphenated form is the standard pronoun.