Breakdown of Вряд ли они модернизируют систему.
они
they
система
system
вряд ли
hardly / unlikely
модернизировать
to modernize
Questions & Answers about Вряд ли они модернизируют систему.
How can модернизируют mean "will modernize" if it looks exactly like a present-tense verb conjugation?
The verb модернизировать is biaspectual, meaning its single set of conjugations handles both the imperfective and perfective aspects. Because perfective verbs conjugated in the present tense actually carry future meaning in Russian, this word can mean either "are modernizing" (imperfective present) or "will modernize" (perfective future).
What tells us that this specific sentence is using the perfective future meaning rather than the imperfective present?
The particle вряд ли (it is unlikely) expresses doubt about a potential outcome, which naturally shifts the context toward a future event. Without a word like сейчас (now) to anchor it to an ongoing process in the present, a biaspectual verb expressing a major change like this defaults to the perfective future.
If I wanted to emphasize the process and say "It is unlikely they will be modernizing the system," how would I change the sentence?
You would explicitly force the imperfective future by using the auxiliary verb быть. The sentence would become Вряд ли они будут модернизировать систему. By using the compound future tense, you completely remove the ambiguity of the biaspectual verb, making it strictly imperfective.
Does the particle вряд ли ever require the subjunctive mood with бы, since it expresses doubt?