Вы когда-либо были в Москве?

Вы is the polite/formal way to say you in Russian, and it is also the plural you. In this sentence, it most likely means formal singular you.

So:

• Ты когда-либо был в Москве? = Have you ever been to Moscow? (informal, to one person)
• Вы когда-либо были в Москве? = Have you ever been to Moscow? (formal to one person, or plural to several people)

Also, when Вы is used politely to one person, the verb still takes the plural form, which is why you get были.

Capitalized Вы is often used in writing to show respect when addressing one person formally. It is especially common in letters, emails, forms, and polite written communication.

In ordinary writing, many people also write вы with a lowercase letter, even when being polite. So:

• Вы = polite/respectful written style
• вы = also possible in many contexts

The capitalization does not change the grammar or meaning of the sentence.

The verb here comes from быть = to be. In this sentence, Russian uses the past tense form of to be together with the idea of location/experience to mean have been.

The past tense forms are:

• был — masculine singular
• была — feminine singular
• было — neuter singular
• были — plural

Because the subject is Вы, Russian uses the plural form были.

There is no form былись here. Russian does not build this idea the same way English builds have been.

Russian does not have a direct equivalent of the English present perfect tense like have been. Instead, it often uses the past tense, and the context tells you the intended meaning.

So Вы когда-либо были в Москве? literally looks closer to Were you ever in Moscow?, but the natural English translation is Have you ever been to Moscow?

This is very common in Russian:

• Вы были в Париже? = Have you been to Paris?
• Я уже читал эту книгу. = I have already read this book.

Когда-либо means ever, at any time, or at some point in your life.

In this sentence, it helps create the meaning Have you ever... ?

A very common alternative is когда-нибудь, which often sounds more natural in everyday speech:

• Вы когда-либо были в Москве?
• Вы когда-нибудь были в Москве?

Both can mean Have you ever been to Moscow?

Very roughly:

• когда-либо can sound a bit more formal or bookish
• когда-нибудь is very common in conversation

They are close in meaning, but not always identical in tone.

In a sentence like this, both usually mean ever:

• Вы когда-либо были в Москве?
• Вы когда-нибудь были в Москве?

However, когда-нибудь can also mean sometime in the future, depending on context:

• Приходите когда-нибудь. = Come by sometime.

Когда-либо usually has the sense of at any time whatsoever and is more often used in formal or neutral written language.

So for this sentence, a learner should understand them as near-equivalents, but remember that когда-нибудь is broader and more conversational.

After the preposition в meaning in, Russian usually requires the prepositional case when talking about location.

The noun Москва changes in the prepositional case:

• Москва → в Москве

So:

• в Москве = in Moscow
• в России = in Russia
• в школе = at school / in school

This case change is one of the most important things to notice in the sentence.

The preposition в can mean either in or into/to, depending on the case and the idea involved.

Here, в Москве is in the prepositional case, which shows location:

• быть в Москве = to be in Moscow

If you were expressing movement to/into a place, Russian would usually use the accusative case:

• ехать в Москву = to go to Moscow

Compare:

• Я был в Москве. = I was in Moscow.
• Я еду в Москву. = I am going to Moscow.

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English word order. The sentence:

• Вы когда-либо были в Москве?

could also appear as:

• Когда-либо вы были в Москве?
• Были ли вы когда-либо в Москве?
• Вы были когда-либо в Москве?

Some versions sound more natural than others, depending on style and emphasis.

For everyday spoken Russian, many people would more naturally say:

• Вы когда-нибудь были в Москве?

So the original sentence is correct, but it is not the only possible word order.

Ли is a question particle often used in more formal or structured yes/no questions.

So:

• Вы были в Москве? = Were you / Have you been in Moscow?
• Были ли вы в Москве? = Have you been to Moscow?

Both are correct, but ли often makes the question sound a bit more formal, careful, or written.

If you include когда-либо, you can say:

• Были ли вы когда-либо в Москве?

This is perfectly correct, but somewhat formal in tone.

Because Russian does not form the present perfect the way English does. English needs have been; Russian does not.

English:

• Have you ever been to Moscow?

Russian:

• Вы когда-либо были в Москве?

Russian expresses this idea through the past tense and context, not with a separate auxiliary verb like have.

A few natural answers are:

• Да, был(а). = Yes, I have. / Yes, I was.
• Да, я был в Москве. = Yes, I’ve been to Moscow.
• Нет, не был(а). = No, I haven’t.
• Нет, я не был в Москве. = No, I haven’t been to Moscow.

Use:

• был if the speaker is male
• была if the speaker is female

If speaking formally or about multiple people, the verb form in the question is были, but in the answer a single speaker still uses their own singular gender form:

• man: Я был в Москве
• woman: Я была в Москве

Yes, it is correct, understandable Russian. But in everyday conversation, many speakers would be more likely to say:

• Вы когда-нибудь были в Москве?

This sounds a bit more conversational and idiomatic to many learners and native speakers.

So:

• Вы когда-либо были в Москве? = correct, slightly more formal/bookish
• Вы когда-нибудь были в Москве? = very common in speech

A practical pronunciation guide is:

Vy kag-DA lee-BA by-LI v mas-KVYE?

A few notes:

• Вы sounds roughly like vɨ, a sound English does not have exactly.
• когда-либо has stress on -да- and -ли-: когдá-либо
• были is stressed on the first syllable: бЫли
• Москве is stressed on the second syllable: Москвé

The main stresses are:

• Вы когдá-либо бЫли в Москвé?

It asks about life experience in general: Have you ever been to Moscow at any point before now?

It does not ask about a specific trip. If you wanted a more specific question, you might say something like:

• Вы были в Москве в прошлом году? = Were you in Moscow last year?
• Вы уже были в Москве? = Have you been to Moscow already?

So когда-либо gives the broad ever in your life meaning.