Breakdown of Никто ничего не сказал, зато мы смогли убедиться, работает ли этот компьютер.
не
not
мы
we
компьютер
computer
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
работать
to work
сказать
to tell, to say
никто
nobody
ничто
nothing (nominative)
смочь
to manage to, to be able to (perfective)
зато
but on the other hand
ли
whether / if (in indirect questions)
убедиться
to make sure
Questions & Answers about Никто ничего не сказал, зато мы смогли убедиться, работает ли этот компьютер.
Why does ли come after работает instead of at the beginning of the clause?
In Russian, the particle ли (meaning whether or if in indirect questions) must come directly after the word that is the main focus of the question. Because we are asking whether the computer works, работает is placed at the start of the subordinate clause, with ли attached immediately after it like a tag.
Could we use если instead of ли here, since the English translation could say 'check if this computer works'?
No, that is a very common trap! если is only used for conditional statements (like 'If it rains, we will stay home'). When you are forming an indirect yes/no question—anytime you can replace 'if' with 'whether' in English—you must use the particle ли.
What does зато mean here, and how is it different from но?
зато translates to 'but on the other hand' or 'to make up for it'. While но (but) just shows a simple contrast, зато specifically introduces a positive outcome that compensates for a negative one. The negative fact here is that nobody spoke, but the compensating positive fact is that they got to check the computer.
Why are there three negative words in the phrase Никто ничего не сказал?
Unlike English, Russian uses negative concord, often called double or triple negatives. If you use negative pronouns like никто (nobody) and ничего (nothing), you are still grammatically required to place the negative particle не immediately before the verb. It translates literally to 'Nobody nothing not said'.
Why is the verb убедиться used for 'to check' instead of проверить?
While проверить means to test or inspect something, убедиться literally means 'to convince oneself' or 'to make sure'. It is used here because the speakers didn't just run a test; they successfully proved to themselves that the computer actually functions.
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