да ли

Reporting a Yes or No Question

Level 4Sounds Like indirektno pitan̂e sa da li

Use индиректно питање са да ли to report yes/no questions in indirect speech or express doubt after verbs like питати (to ask) or знати (to know). It corresponds directly to English 'whether' or 'if'.

How It Works

An indirect question with да ли forms a dependent interrogative clause (зависноупитна реченица). It is standard, stylistically neutral, and frequent in everyday spoken and formal Serbian.

Key Syntactic Rules:

  • No Comma: When the indirect question directly follows the governing verb, do not place a comma before да ли.
  • Punctuation Depends on the Main Verb: If the main clause is declarative (e.g., Пита ме..., Не знам...), end the sentence with a period. End with a question mark only if the matrix clause itself is interrogative (e.g., Знаш ли да ли он долази?).
  • Clitic Ordering (Second Position): The phrase да ли functions as the initial phonological host for the subordinate clause. Unstressed auxiliary or pronominal clitics (кратке заменице и енклитике) must immediately attach after ли (e.g., ...да ли је Марко стигао, never *...да ли Марко је стигао).
  • No Sequence of Tenses (Backshifting): Serbian does not backshift tenses like English does. If you are reporting an event that was simultaneous with the past matrix verb, retain the present tense (e.g., Питао ме је да ли живим у Београду = 'He asked me if I lived [at that time] in Belgrade').

Examples (4)

  1. Мајка ме је питала да ли сам завршио домаћи задатак.

    Mother asked me whether I had finished my homework.

    Word by Word: Mother me has asked that whether am finished home assignment.

    Because the governing clause is a statement in the past tense, the sentence ends with a period. The auxiliary clitic 'сам' immediately follows 'да ли'.

  2. Још увек не знамо да ли ће сутра падати киша.

    We still do not know if it will rain tomorrow.

    Word by Word: Still always not we-know that whether will tomorrow to-fall rain.

    Expresses epistemic doubt after 'не знати'. English uses 'if', but Serbian requires 'да ли' rather than 'ако'.

  3. Можеш ли ми рећи да ли је професор у канцеларији?

    Can you tell me whether the professor is in the office?

    Word by Word: Can you me to-tell that whether is professor in office?

    Here, the sentence ends with a question mark strictly because the governing clause ('Можеш ли ми рећи...?') is a direct question.

  4. Питао ме је да ли радим овде.

    He asked me if I worked here.

    Word by Word: He-asked me has that whether I-work here.

    Notice the absence of tense backshifting: Serbian uses the present tense 'радим' to express an action simultaneous with the asking.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'ако' instead of 'да ли' for indirect questions.

    Питај га ако жели кафу.
    Питај га да ли жели кафу.

    'Ако' is exclusively conditional ('in the event that'). Indirect yes/no questions must be framed with 'да ли'.

  • Adding a question mark to an indirect question with a declarative main clause.

    Петар ме је питао да ли долазим сутра?
    Петар ме је питао да ли долазим сутра.

    Sentence punctuation is governed by the main clause. Since 'Петар ме је питао' is an assertion, it must end with a full stop.

  • Placing a noun subject between 'да ли' and an enclitic verb form.

    Не знам да ли Ана је положила испит.
    Не знам да ли је Ана положила испит.

    Clitics must follow second-position rules within the subordinate clause. Auxiliary 'је' must immediately follow 'ли' before any nominal subjects.

How It Connects

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да лиLevel 4Reporting a Yes or No Question

Learn This First

To report a yes/no question using 'да ли', learners must first understand how direct 'да ли' questions work, as well as the basic structure of indirect speech where clauses are embedded after reporting verbs without question marks.

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Words in This Pattern

лидада