Breakdown of Если с мальками что-либо случится, мы потеряем прибыль.
мы
we
с
with (also со)
потерять
to lose (perfective)
случиться
to happen
Questions & Answers about Если с мальками что-либо случится, мы потеряем прибыль.
Why use что-либо here instead of что-то or что-нибудь?
The suffix -либо means 'anything at all'. It is very similar to -нибудь and is commonly used in conditional clauses after если. However, -либо sounds a bit more formal or official, which fits the business context of discussing прибыль (profit). You would not use что-то because that implies a specific 'something' (as if you expect a certain event to occur), whereas this is a completely hypothetical scenario.
Why is мальками used with the preposition с?
In English, things happen 'to' someone or something. In Russian, the verb случиться (to happen) requires the preposition с (with) followed by the instrumental case to express this. Therefore, с мальками translates literally as 'with the fry'.
English uses the present tense for the verb 'happens' here. Why does Russian use the future tense случится?
When an если (if) clause describes a possible future condition, Russian strictly uses the future tense, whereas English defaults to the present. Both случится and потеряем are perfective future verbs here because they describe singular, completed actions that trigger a definitive result.
What gender is прибыль and why hasn't its ending changed?
Прибыль (profit) is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign. It is the direct object of the verb потеряем, meaning it must be in the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in a soft sign, the accusative form is exactly the same as the nominative form, which is why the word looks unchanged here.