Breakdown of Вряд ли он откроет свой бизнес, прежде чем проконсультироваться с советником.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
открыть
to open
с
with (also со)
свой
one's own
бизнес
business
вряд ли
hardly / unlikely
прежде чем
before (doing something)
проконсультироваться
to consult (seek professional advice)
советник
advisor (m)
Questions & Answers about Вряд ли он откроет свой бизнес, прежде чем проконсультироваться с советником.
Why is прежде чем followed by the infinitive проконсультироваться instead of a conjugated verb?
When the subject of the main clause (он) is the exact same person performing the action in the прежде чем (before) clause, we use an infinitive. If the subjects were different, you would need to use a conjugated verb in the past tense.
Why do we use the perfective infinitive проконсультироваться here instead of the imperfective консультироваться?
The focus is on achieving a result (completing the consultation) before taking the next step of opening the business. Прежде чем typically takes a perfective verb when referring to a single, sequential, and completed action.
Could I say его бизнес instead of свой бизнес?
Grammatically, yes, but it completely changes the meaning. If you use его (his), it means he is opening someone else's business. Because he is the subject of the sentence and the business belongs to him, you must use the reflexive possessive свой.
How does Вряд ли work here, and does it affect the grammar of the verb?
Вряд ли means unlikely or hardly and expresses strong doubt. It doesn't change the grammar or tense of the sentence; откроет is just a standard future perfective verb. It is usually placed at the very beginning of the sentence or right before the specific word being doubted.
Learn Вряд ли он откроет свой бизнес, прежде чем проконсультироваться с советником 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