Questions & Answers about Imaš li razlog da ne dođeš sutra?
What is the sentence doing word by word?
A useful breakdown is:
- Imaš = you have
- li = a question particle used to form a yes/no question
- razlog = reason
- da = often introduces a clause like to / that
- ne = not
- dođeš = you come / you should come / you would come depending on context; here it refers to coming tomorrow
- sutra = tomorrow
So the structure is roughly:
Do you have a reason not to come tomorrow?
A very literal feel would be:
Have you a reason that you not come tomorrow?
What does li mean here?
Li is a particle used to turn something into a yes/no question.
So:
- Imaš razlog = You have a reason
- Imaš li razlog? = Do you have a reason?
It does not have a direct English translation by itself. Its job is grammatical, not lexical.
Why is it Imaš li and not Li imaš?
Because li is an enclitic, which means it normally goes in the second position of its phrase or clause.
So Serbian prefers:
- Imaš li razlog...?
not:
- Li imaš razlog...? ✗
This second-position behavior is very common with Serbian clitics.