Breakdown of Она спросила, меняет ли эта книга моё мировоззрение.
книга
book
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
мой
my (мой, моя, моё) / mine
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
спросить
to ask (perfective)
менять
to change, to exchange
ли
whether / if (in indirect questions)
мировоззрение
worldview
Questions & Answers about Она спросила, меняет ли эта книга моё мировоззрение.
Why do we use ли here instead of если for "whether" or "if"?
In Russian, если is strictly used for conditional "if" statements (like "If it rains, we will stay home"). For indirect yes/no questions (like "She asked if/whether..."), you must use the particle ли.
Since "She asked" is in the past tense (Она спросила), why is меняет in the present tense?
Unlike English, which shifts tenses back in reported speech ("She asked if it changed"), Russian keeps the exact tense the person originally used. Her original direct question was, "Does this book change your worldview?" (present tense), so the reported speech also uses the present tense (меняет).
Why is ли placed right after меняет? Could we say "ли эта книга меняет"?
No, ли can never be the first word in a clause. It must immediately follow the specific word that is being questioned. Because the core of her question is about the action of changing, the verb меняет is pulled to the front of the subordinate clause, followed directly by ли.
How is the noun мировоззрение constructed?
It is a compound noun formed from мир (world) and воззрение (view, opinion, or outlook), joined by the connecting vowel -о-. It translates directly to the English equivalent "worldview".
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