да ... ли

Offers with Да ... Ли

Level 2Sounds Like da... li

To offer help or ask "Shall I ...?", put да before the verb and ли after it: Да отворя ли прозореца? (Shall I open the window?)

How It Works

1. The pattern. да + (short pronoun) + verb + ли + rest of the sentence:

  • Да ти помогна ли? (Shall I help you?)
  • Да отворя ли прозореца? (Shall I open the window?)
  • Да вземем ли такси? (Shall we take a taxi?)

2. Which verb. For one action, use the perfective (see perfective verbs after да): помогна, отворя, дойда. For an ongoing action, the imperfective is natural: Да те чакам ли? (Should I wait for you?)

3. Other persons. You can also ask whether someone else should do something: Да дойде ли и Мария? (Should Maria come too?)

4. Answers. Да, моля. (Yes, please.) Не, благодаря. (No, thank you.) Да, ако обичаш. (Yes, if you would.)

5. Where ли goes. As in other yes-no questions with ли, ли follows the verb, never да. Written together, дали is a different word meaning "whether".

Examples (6)

  1. Да ти помогна ли?

    Shall I help you?

    Word by Word: To you (I) help (question)?

    The short pronoun ти goes between да and the verb.

  2. Да отворя ли прозореца?

    Shall I open the window?

  3. Да дойда ли с теб?

    Shall I come with you?

  4. Да вземем ли такси?

    Shall we take a taxi?

    A first-person plural verb makes a suggestion for the group.

  5. Да ви донеса ли още вода?

    Shall I bring you more water?

    A polite offer, as a waiter might say it.

  6. Да те чакам ли?

    Should I wait for you?

    Waiting is ongoing, so the imperfective чакам is used.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the short pronoun after the verb.

    Да помогна ли ти?
    Да ти помогна ли?

    After да, a short pronoun like ти goes directly before the verb.

  • Leaving out да.

    Отворя ли прозореца?
    Да отворя ли прозореца?

    To ask "Shall I ...?", a perfective present form like отворя needs да. Without да, отворя ли sounds like the start of an "if" clause: Отворя ли прозореца, ще стане студено (If I open the window, it will get cold).

  • Putting ли right after да.

    Да ли отворя прозореца?
    Да отворя ли прозореца?

    Ли comes after the verb it asks about. Да and ли together are a different word, дали (whether).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

да ... лиLevel 2Offers with Да ... Ли

Learn This First

Offers with да ... ли combine ли questions with да clauses.

Words in This Pattern