Breakdown of Она сомневается и утром, и вечером.
и
and
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
утром
in the morning
вечером
in the evening
Questions & Answers about Она сомневается и утром, и вечером.
Why is there a comma before the second и?
In Russian, when you use double coordinating conjunctions like и ... и (both ... and), a comma is strictly required before the second conjunction. This is a key punctuation rule that differs from English, where we do not put a comma in a phrase like "both in the morning and in the evening."
What exactly does the first и add to the sentence? Could I just say Она сомневается утром и вечером?
You could absolutely drop the first и, but it changes the tone. Just saying утром и вечером simply means "in the morning and in the evening." Using the double и ... и structure translates to "both in the morning and in the evening," which adds emphasis to the fact that she experiences these doubts at both distinct times.
Does the reflexive ending -ся on сомневается mean she is doubting herself?
Not necessarily. While the -ся ending often indicates a reflexive action (doing something to oneself), сомневаться (to doubt / to hesitate) is a verb that inherently requires this ending in Russian, regardless of who or what is being doubted. You cannot say сомневать.
Why are the words for morning and evening (утром and вечером) in the instrumental case?
When you want to say "in the morning" or "in the evening" to indicate when a recurring or specific action happens, Russian uses the instrumental case of these nouns. This allows you to express the time of day using just one word, without needing a preposition like the English "in."