Я не уверен, будет ли повышение в этом месяце.

Because the sentence after it (будет ли повышение в этом месяце) is a subordinate clause (an embedded yes/no question). In Russian, subordinate clauses are normally separated by commas:

• Я не уверен, …
• Я знаю, что …
• Я спросил, будет ли …

ли marks an indirect yes/no question, similar to “whether / if” in English:

• Я не уверен, будет ли повышение… = “I’m not sure whether there will be a raise/promotion…”

In indirect questions, ли usually comes right after the word that’s being “questioned” or emphasized—very often after the verb:

• будет ли = “whether there will be” You can sometimes move it for emphasis, but будет ли is the most neutral here.

In standard Russian, using если for “whether” is generally not correct or sounds nonstandard/colloquial. если primarily means if in the conditional sense (“if X happens, then Y”). Use ли (or что for “that”) for embedded questions:

• Correct: Я не уверен, будет ли повышение…
• Conditional (different meaning): Если будет повышение, я буду рад. (“If there is a raise, I’ll be glad.”)

Russian uses future tense for events that will happen later. Since в этом месяце refers to a time period that may still be ongoing but includes the future, Russian typically uses the future:

• будет = “will be” If you meant “Is there (right now) a raise this month?” you’d usually rephrase rather than use a true present tense, because “a raise” is an event/decision, not a constant state.

Both word orders are possible, but they differ in emphasis:

• будет повышение is neutral: “there will be a raise”
• повышение будет emphasizes повышение (like “A raise will happen (as opposed to something else)”) With ли, будет ли повышение is the most natural neutral order for an embedded yes/no question.

в этом месяце uses the prepositional case because в + “location/time frame” often takes prepositional:

• в чём? → в месяце этот месяц (nominative) → в этом месяце (prepositional)

It means “in/within this month.”

уверен is the short-form adjective/predicative use: “(I am) sure.” It’s very common after быть being omitted in the present:

• Я (есть) уверен. → Я уверен.

You can say Я уверенный, but that means “I’m a confident person” (a general trait), not “I’m sure (about this fact).” For “sure (that/whether…)” you normally use:

• Я уверен(а), что…
• Я не уверен(а), будет ли…

Because here it’s not describing you as a type of person; it’s stating your certainty about a specific situation. Russian uses the short form for that:

• Я не уверен, … = “I’m not sure, …” не уверенный would usually function as an attributive adjective (“not confident”) and would sound off in this structure.

Yes—short-form adjectives agree in gender and number:

• male speaker: Я не уверен
• female speaker: Я не уверена
• plural (“we”): Мы не уверены

Because повышение is the subject of будет (“there will be X”):

• будет (что?) повышение → nominative

Russian often uses this “existential” pattern with быть:

• Будет дождь. (“There will be rain.”)
• Будет встреча. (“There will be a meeting.”)

повышение can mean either: 1) a pay raise (often made explicit as повышение зарплаты) 2) a promotion (often made explicit as повышение в должности)

Without extra context, повышение is ambiguous; native speakers rely on the situation to know which is meant.

Yes, common alternatives include:

• Я не уверен(а), будет ли повышение… (neutral)
• Не уверен(а), будет ли повышение… (more casual; dropping я is common)
• Я не знаю, будет ли повышение… (“I don’t know whether…”, more direct)
• Неясно, будет ли повышение… / Пока непонятно, будет ли повышение… (“It’s not clear yet whether…”, softer/impersonal)