Breakdown of Разве осётр может жить где-либо, кроме этого водоёма?
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
жить
to live
мочь
to be able to
разве
really?, surely not?
Questions & Answers about Разве осётр может жить где-либо, кроме этого водоёма?
Why use где-либо here instead of где-нибудь?
Both mean "anywhere," but the suffix -либо is slightly more formal and adds a stronger sense of "anywhere at all." It is frequently used in questions, negative sentences, or conditional statements. While you could easily swap it for где-нибудь in everyday speech, где-либо emphasizes the absolute lack of restrictions here: "any place whatsoever."
How does the word Разве change the tone of this question?
The particle Разве adds a strong sense of surprise, disbelief, or doubt. Instead of just asking a neutral "Can sturgeon live anywhere else?", it makes the question mean "Can sturgeon really live anywhere else?" It shows the speaker strongly suspects the answer is no.
Why is the phrase этого водоёма in the genitive case?
The preposition кроме (meaning "except" or "besides") always requires the noun phrase following it to be in the genitive case. Because водоём (body of water) is a masculine noun, its demonstrative modifier этот becomes этого and the noun itself takes the -а ending.
The English translation uses "sturgeon" as a general plural. Why does Russian use the singular осётр может?