Стоит ли брать троллейбус, если до метро идти всего пять минут?

Стоит ли means Is it worth... ? / Should one... ?

It comes from стоить in the sense of to be worth:

• Стоит идти? = Is it worth going?
• Стоит ли брать троллейбус? = Is it worth taking the trolleybus?

The particle ли is what makes it a yes/no-type question in a more neutral or formal way. It often comes right after the word being questioned:

• Стоит ли...
• Нужно ли...
• Можно ли...

So Стоит ли брать троллейбус...? is literally something like Is it worth to take the trolleybus...?, but in natural English: Should we take the trolleybus? / Is it worth taking the trolleybus?

Ли is a question particle used in indirect or neutral yes/no questions. It does not translate neatly into one single English word.

In this sentence:

• Стоит ли брать троллейбус?

the speaker is asking whether taking the trolleybus is worthwhile.

A useful pattern is:

• Verb + ли + infinitive/complement

Examples:

• Нужно ли идти? = Is it necessary to go?
• Можно ли войти? = May I come in?
• Стоит ли ждать? = Is it worth waiting?

English usually shows this kind of question by word order, but Russian can use ли instead.

This is about aspect.

• брать = imperfective
• взять = perfective

After expressions like стоит ли, Russian often prefers the imperfective infinitive when talking about an action in a general, practical, or deliberative sense.

So:

• Стоит ли брать троллейбус? = Is it worth taking the trolleybus?

This sounds like a general decision: Should we do this at all?

If you said взять, it would sound more focused on a single completed act of taking it. That is not impossible in some contexts, but брать is more natural here.

This is similar to:

• Стоит ли покупать эту книгу? = Is it worth buying this book?
• Стоит ли начинать? = Is it worth starting?

Yes. Брать can be used colloquially in transport contexts to mean take:

• брать такси = take a taxi
• брать автобус = take the bus
• брать троллейбус = take the trolleybus

It is understandable and natural in conversational Russian.

Other ways to express a similar idea include:

• ехать на троллейбусе = go by trolleybus / ride the trolleybus
• сесть на троллейбус = get on the trolleybus

But in a sentence about choosing a means of transport, брать works well.

This is a very common Russian pattern:

• до + place + идти/ехать + amount of time

So:

• до метро идти пять минут = it takes five minutes to walk to the metro
• more literally: to the metro, walking is five minutes

Russian often expresses travel time this way without using a direct equivalent of English it takes.

More examples:

• До станции ехать десять минут. = It takes ten minutes to get to the station.
• До магазина идти недалеко. = It’s not far to walk to the store.

So the whole clause means:

• если до метро идти всего пять минут = if it’s only a five-minute walk to the metro

Here идти is used in an idiomatic time-distance expression.

In Russian, when saying how long it takes to go somewhere on foot, the imperfective идти is very common:

• До дома идти двадцать минут.
• До метро идти пять минут.

This does not focus on completing the action; it describes the route or required time in a general way.

Using дойти would shift the emphasis toward reaching the destination, and it is less natural in this exact pattern.

So:

• до метро идти пять минут = the standard way to say it’s a five-minute walk to the metro

До means as far as / to in the sense of reaching a point or destination.

In this sentence:

• до метро идти пять минут

the meaning is it takes five minutes to get as far as the metro.

К метро means toward the metro or up to the metro in a directional sense, but it is not the normal choice in this time-expression pattern.

Compare:

• идти к метро = to walk toward the metro
• до метро идти пять минут = it takes five minutes to walk to the metro

So до is the idiomatic choice here.

До normally requires the genitive case.

So in theory:

• до + genitive

But метро is one of those Russian nouns that is indeclinable, meaning its form stays the same in all cases.

That is why you see:

• nominative: метро
• genitive after до: still метро

So even though the case is genitive, the word itself does not visibly change.

Here всего means only / just.

So:

• всего пять минут = only five minutes / just five minutes

It adds the idea that five minutes is a small amount of time, which supports the speaker’s point:

• if the metro is only five minutes away on foot, maybe taking the trolleybus is unnecessary.

Russian often leaves the subject unstated when it is obvious, unimportant, or meant to be general.

So:

• Стоит ли брать троллейбус...?

can mean:

• Should I take the trolleybus?
• Should we take the trolleybus?
• Is it worth taking the trolleybus?

The sentence is deliberately general. English often needs to choose a subject, but Russian can stay more neutral.

The second part is also impersonal:

• до метро идти пять минут

This does not say explicitly кому it takes five minutes. It simply states the situation: the metro is a five-minute walk away.

The word order is very natural.

• Стоит ли брать троллейбус, если до метро идти всего пять минут?

Russian word order is flexible, but this version sounds smooth and standard:

1. main question first: Стоит ли брать троллейбус
2. reason/condition after если: если до метро идти всего пять минут

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, but this version is the most straightforward conversational wording.

For example, stressing the short walking time more strongly:

• Стоит ли брать троллейбус, если до метро всего пять минут идти?

That is possible, but the original is more neutral.

Yes, but in natural English it may feel closer to when or given that, depending on context.

Literally:

• если = if

But in this sentence the speaker is reasoning from a fact or near-fact:

• if it’s only a five-minute walk to the metro...

So the overall sense is:

• Given that the metro is only five minutes away on foot, is it worth taking the trolleybus?

Russian если is still the correct word here.