Breakdown of Я сомневаюсь, поэтому хочу уточнить, работает ли он сегодня.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
я
I
работать
to work
хотеть
to want
сегодня
today
поэтому
so (therefore)
сомневаться
to doubt / to hesitate
уточнить
to clarify / to specify
ли
whether / if (in indirect questions)
Questions & Answers about Я сомневаюсь, поэтому хочу уточнить, работает ли он сегодня.
How does ли work in this sentence, and why isn't it at the beginning of the clause like "whether" is in English?
The particle ли creates an indirect yes/no question, much like "whether" or "if" in English. However, ли cannot start a clause. It must come right after the word that is the focus of your question. Since you are asking whether he is working, работает goes first, followed immediately by ли.
Could I use если instead of ли here, since they can both mean "if"?
No, and this is a major trap for English speakers! English uses "if" for both conditions ("If it rains...") and indirect questions ("I wonder if he is working"). Russian strictly separates them. You must use если for conditions and ли for indirect yes/no questions like this one.
Why does сомневаюсь have the reflexive ending -сь? Am I doubting myself?
Not necessarily. The verb сомневаться (to doubt) is inherently reflexive in Russian. It always takes a reflexive ending (-ся or -сь after vowels), but the action isn't directed back at yourself. It is just the built-in form of this specific verb.
Why use the perfective verb уточнить here rather than its imperfective pair уточнять?
You want to complete a single action: clarify the schedule to resolve your doubt and get a specific result. When you want to emphasize the successful completion of an action rather than an ongoing process, Russian uses the perfective aspect, which is why уточнить is the natural choice here.
Why is there a comma right before работает?
Russian punctuation rules are very strict about separating clauses. You need a comma to separate the main clause ending in уточнить from the dependent indirect question starting with работает ли.
Learn Я сомневаюсь, поэтому хочу уточнить, работает ли он сегодня and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free