Where ли Goes

Level 3Sounds Like li po glagolot i zamenkite

Ли goes right after the verb, and the short words in front of the verb stay together with it: Го знаеш ли? (Do you know him?) Ќе дојдеш ли? (Will you come?)

How It Works

A yes-or-no question can use ли instead of дали (see дали; ли). This entry shows exactly where ли goes.

1. After the whole verb group. The verb and the short words before it (не, ќе, short pronouns, се) stay together as one unit. Ли comes after that unit and never goes inside it:

  • Го знаеш ли? (Do you know him?)
  • Ќе дојдеш ли? (Will you come?)
  • Ти се допаѓа ли? (Do you like it?)
  • Ќе ми го дадеш ли? (Will you give it to me?)
  • Не ме препознаваш ли? (Don't you recognise me?)

The order inside the group is explained in ред пред глаголот: не; ќе; ми; го.

2. After a fronted word, for focus. If you put another word first and add ли to it, the question asks about that word: Утре ли доаѓаш? (Is it tomorrow that you are coming?) Марко ли го кажа тоа? (Was it Marko who said that?) The rest of the verb group stays together after ли.

One marker only. A question with дали at the start does not also take ли. To ask for agreement instead, use нели (see нели).

Examples (6)

  1. Го знаеш ли?

    Do you know him?

    Word by Word: Him you-know Q?

  2. Ќе дојдеш ли?

    Will you come?

    Word by Word: Will you-come Q?

  3. Ти се допаѓа ли?

    Do you like it?

    Word by Word: To-you self pleases Q?

  4. Ќе ми го дадеш ли?

    Will you give it to me?

    Word by Word: Will to-me it you-give Q?

    The whole group ќе ми го дадеш stays together, and ли follows it.

  5. Не ме препознаваш ли?

    Don't you recognise me?

    Word by Word: Not me you-recognise Q?

  6. Утре ли доаѓаш?

    Is it tomorrow that you are coming?

    Word by Word: Tomorrow Q you-come?

    Ли after утре puts the focus on the day.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting ли between a short pronoun and the verb.

    Го ли знаеш?
    Го знаеш ли?

    The short pronoun and the verb form one unit that ли cannot split. Put ли after the verb.

  • Putting ли right after ќе.

    Ќе ли дојдеш?
    Ќе дојдеш ли?

    Ќе belongs to the verb group, so ли comes after the verb, not after ќе.

  • Using both дали and ли.

    Дали го знаеш ли?
    Го знаеш ли?

    Choose one question marker: Дали го знаеш? or Го знаеш ли?

How It Connects

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Where ли GoesLevel 3

Learn This First

Where ли goes combines ли and pronoun clusters.

Words in This Pattern