Breakdown of Или мы проверим наличие продуктов, или мы не узнаем, достаточно ли их на складе.
не
not
мы
we
они
they
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
продукт
product, foodstuff
или
or
проверить
to check (perfective)
узнать
to find out, to learn
склад
warehouse
ли
whether / if (in indirect questions)
наличие
availability / presence
достаточно
enough
Questions & Answers about Или мы проверим наличие продуктов, или мы не узнаем, достаточно ли их на складе.
Why does ли come right after достаточно instead of at the beginning of the second clause?
In Russian, the particle ли (meaning whether or if) cannot start a clause. It must come immediately after the specific word that is the main focus of the question. Since we are wondering if there is enough of the products, the word достаточно is placed first, followed immediately by ли.
Why does the sentence use их instead of они in the phrase достаточно ли их?
Words expressing quantity, such as достаточно (enough), require the noun or pronoun that follows them to be in the genitive case. Therefore, the nominative они (they) changes to the genitive их (of them) to express enough of them.
Is the conjunction или (or) in this sentence related to the particle ли?
They look similar and actually share a historical origin, but they function very differently in modern Russian. You use или to present choices (often paired as или ..., или ... for either ..., or ...). You use ли as a particle to form indirect yes/no questions, equivalent to whether or if.
Why are the verbs проверим and узнаем both in the perfective aspect?
These verbs are perfective because they refer to specific, completed actions in the future that focus on a result. We are talking about the result of checking (проверим) and the result of finding out (узнаем), rather than an ongoing, continuous process.
Learn Или мы проверим наличие продуктов, или мы не узнаем, достаточно ли их на складе 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