Если страницы не держатся, их можно скрепить скрепкой или степлером.

Если is the standard Russian word for if in ordinary conditional sentences.

So:

• Если страницы не держатся... = If the pages aren’t holding together / If the pages won’t stay attached...

It works very much like English if at the start of a condition.

Страницы is the plural of страница (page).

Here it is in the nominative plural, because it is the subject of the clause:

• страницы не держатся = the pages aren’t holding together

Singular:

• страница = page

Plural:

• страницы = pages

That’s a very natural question. In this sentence, не держатся means something like:

• aren’t staying together
• aren’t holding
• won’t stay attached
• are coming apart

The verb is держаться, which often means to hold on, to stay in place, or to remain attached depending on context.

So страницы не держатся does not mean the pages are actively holding something. It means the pages themselves are not staying together properly.

The base verb is держать = to hold.

But держаться is a different verb, often meaning:

• to hold on
• to stay
• to remain attached
• to keep together

The -ся ending often changes the meaning of a verb, sometimes making it more like oneself, be in a state, or stay/behave in a certain way.

Here:

• держать = to hold something
• держаться = to stay held / to hold together / to remain attached

So страницы не держатся is idiomatic Russian for pages that are loose or coming apart.

Because их is the direct object here, not the subject.

Compare:

• они = they (subject form)
• их = them (object form)

In this sentence:

• страницы are the thing being fastened
• so Russian uses их = them

Structure:

• их можно скрепить = they can be fastened / you can fasten them

Literally, it is closer to:

• them it is possible to fasten

That sounds odd in English, but it is normal in Russian.

Можно means it is possible, it is allowed, or more naturally here, you can.

So:

• их можно скрепить = they can be fastened
• more natural English: you can fasten them

This is a very common Russian pattern:

• можно + infinitive

For example:

• можно сделать = it can be done / you can do it
• можно читать = it is possible to read / you can read

Here:

• можно скрепить = can fasten

Скрепить is the perfective verb, while скреплять is the imperfective partner.

• скреплять = to fasten, to be fastening, to fasten repeatedly/in general
• скрепить = to fasten successfully, to fasten as a completed action

In this sentence, the idea is:

• if the pages are loose, you can fasten them

That means a single practical completed action, so скрепить fits well.

If you used скреплять, it would sound more like a general process or repeated action, which is less natural here.

Yes, it sounds repetitive to English speakers, because both words come from the same root:

• скрепить = to fasten / attach together
• скрепка = paper clip

So literally it can feel a bit like fasten with a fastener.

But in Russian this is completely normal. The meaning is clear:

• скрепить скрепкой = to fasten with a paper clip

Russian often allows this kind of root repetition when one word is the action and the other is the tool.

They are in the instrumental case, because they express the tool used to do something.

Here the meaning is:

• with a paper clip
• with a stapler

Russian often uses the instrumental case for by means of / with a tool.

So:

• скрепка → скрепкой
• степлер → степлером

This is the same pattern as:

• писать ручкой = to write with a pen
• резать ножом = to cut with a knife

So:

• скрепить скрепкой или степлером = to fasten with a paper clip or a stapler

It means with a stapler.

• степлер = stapler
• степлером = with a stapler

If you wanted to talk about staples, that would be a different word, for example скобы in some contexts.

So the sentence is talking about the tool, not the metal staples themselves.

Not exactly word-for-word. Скрепить is broader than English to staple.

It means something like:

• to fasten together
• to attach together
• to secure together

Because the sentence gives two tools:

• скрепкой = with a paper clip
• степлером = with a stapler

the broader verb скрепить works well. It covers both options.

If the sentence only talked about a stapler, Russian might also use a more specific expression in some contexts, but here скрепить is very natural.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause introduced by если:

• Если страницы не держатся, ...

Russian normally separates that clause from the main clause with a comma.

So the structure is:

• Если
  • condition, main clause

This is very standard punctuation in Russian.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, though the original sounds natural and neutral.

Original:

• Если страницы не держатся, их можно скрепить скрепкой или степлером.

Possible variation:

• Их можно скрепить скрепкой или степлером, если страницы не держатся.

Both are understandable. The original puts the condition first, which is common when giving instructions or practical advice.

Yes, in a way.

Russian often uses можно + infinitive without naming a person. It is an impersonal construction. In English, we often translate it with you can.

So:

• их можно скрепить literally: them it is possible to fasten
• natural English: you can fasten them

The sentence does not specifically mean you personally. It means that this is something one can do.

Yes, it sounds natural, especially in instructions, office contexts, or practical advice.

It has a slightly neutral/instructional feel, like something you might see:

• in a manual
• in office guidance
• in a classroom or workplace context

A more conversational person might also say something simpler depending on the situation, but this sentence is perfectly normal Russian.