Breakdown of Мама сомневалась, поэтому зашла в комнату убедиться, спит ли ребёнок.
мама
mom
ребёнок
child
комната
room
в
in / to (direction)
спать
to sleep
поэтому
so (therefore)
зайти
to drop in / stop by (pf, on foot)
сомневаться
to doubt / to hesitate
ли
whether / if (in indirect questions)
убедиться
to make sure
Questions & Answers about Мама сомневалась, поэтому зашла в комнату убедиться, спит ли ребёнок.
Why is ли placed right after спит? Can I say ли ребёнок спит?
The particle ли always comes immediately after the word that is being questioned. In an indirect yes/no question, the main action in doubt is the verb. Therefore, спит is placed at the beginning of the clause, and ли attaches directly to it. You can never put ли at the very start of a clause like the English words 'if' or 'whether'.
Why does the Russian sentence use the present tense спит when the English translation says 'was sleeping'?
In Russian indirect questions and reported speech, you use the tense of the original thought. In that past moment, Mom was wondering: 'Is the child sleeping right now?' Because her original thought was in the present tense, Russian keeps the present tense спит in the indirect question, even though the main verbs (сомневалась, зашла) are in the past tense.
Why use зашла instead of another verb of motion like вошла?
The prefix за- on verbs of motion often means to make a short visit, to drop by, or to make a quick detour. While вошла simply means she physically entered, зашла carries the helpful nuance that she popped in or dropped by the room just for a moment to check on the child.
Does убедиться literally translate to 'to check'?
Literally, убедиться is a reflexive verb that means to convince oneself or to make sure of something. Mom dropped into the room to convince herself about the child sleeping. This is the most natural way in Russian to express the English concept of 'checking if' or 'making sure that' something is happening.
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