Log inSign up

Если лифт не работает, мне придётся подняться на восьмой этаж по лестнице.

Если лифт не работает, мне придётся подняться на восьмой этаж по лестнице.
If the elevator doesn’t work, I will have to go up to the eighth floor by the stairs.

Breakdown of Если лифт не работает, мне придётся подняться на восьмой этаж по лестнице.

на
to
не
not
мне
me
если
if
работать
to work
по
by
этаж
the floor
лифт
the elevator
восьмой
eighth
лестница
the stairs
прийтись
to have to
подняться
to go up
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Russian now

Questions & Answers about Если лифт не работает, мне придётся подняться на восьмой этаж по лестнице.

Why is there a comma in Если лифт не работает, мне придётся...?

Because если introduces a subordinate conditional clause (Если лифт не работает), and in Russian a subordinate clause is normally separated from the main clause by a comma. The comma comes at the boundary between the two clauses.

Why is не работает in the present tense? Shouldn’t it be future?

Russian often uses the present tense after если to talk about a condition in general or in the future: Если лифт не работает... = If the elevator isn’t working (at that time)...
You can also say Если лифт не будет работать... (future), which sounds a bit more explicitly “in the future / then”.

How does negation work in лифт не работает?

Basic negation is just не + verb:
работает = is working → не работает = is not working.
No extra auxiliary verb like English do/does is needed.

Why is it мне and not я?

Because придётся is typically used in an impersonal construction: it expresses that something “will have to happen” to someone. The person is put in the dative case:
мне (to me) / тебе / ему / ей / нам / вам / им.
So мне придётся means I’ll have to / I’ll be forced to (literally, “it will come to me (to do it)”).

What exactly does придётся mean, and what verb is it from?

придётся means will have to / will be forced to. It comes from the verb прийтись.
It’s very common in everyday Russian for unavoidable necessity. Compare:

  • мне придётся = I’ll have to (future)
  • мне пришлось = I had to (past)
Why is придётся followed by an infinitive (подняться)?

Because придётся works like a modal/necessity verb: it’s normally followed by an infinitive that names the required action:
мне придётся + infinitive = I’ll have to + verb
Here: мне придётся подняться = I’ll have to go up.

Why is the verb подняться (perfective) used instead of подниматься (imperfective)?

подняться is perfective and focuses on completing the action—reaching the result (getting up to the 8th floor). That’s the natural choice here.
подниматься (imperfective) would emphasize the process of going up (the act of climbing), and would sound more like you’re describing the action in progress or repeatedly.

What does the -ся in подняться do?

-ся is the reflexive particle. With many motion verbs it often makes the verb intransitive and can add a sense like “to move oneself”:
поднять = to lift (something)
подняться = to rise / to go up (oneself)

Why is it на восьмой этаж—what case is восьмой in?

After на with a meaning of destination/direction (“to where?”), Russian uses the accusative.
этаж (masc. inanimate) has the same form in nominative and accusative singular (этаж), but the adjective shows the accusative form: восьмой (matches masc. inanimate accusative = nominative form).
So на восьмой этаж = to the eighth floor (destination).

Could you also say just на восьмой without этаж?

Yes. In context, Russians often drop этаж and say на восьмой meaning to the eighth (floor). The full version на восьмой этаж is explicit and very clear.

Why is it по лестнице and not на лестнице?

They mean different things:

  • по лестнице = by/along the stairs, using the stairs (how you go up)
  • на лестнице = on the staircase (location: where you are)
    Here you’re describing the method/route, so по лестнице is correct.
What case is лестнице in after по?

With the meaning “along/by way of,” по usually takes the dative case:
лестница → dative singular лестнице.
So по лестнице is literally “along the staircase.”

Is the word order fixed? Can I swap the clauses?

You can swap them:

  • Если лифт не работает, мне придётся...
  • Мне придётся подняться..., если лифт не работает.
    The comma remains, and the meaning stays the same; the first version is slightly more “setup first, then result,” which is very common.
How is this sentence typically pronounced (stress)?

Common stresses:

  • лифт
  • рабОтает
  • придЁтся
  • поднЯться
  • восьмОй
  • этАж
  • лЕстнице