If you've ever tried to learn how to ask questions in Russian, you might have found it a little confusing. But don’t worry! Changing a statement into a question is more about understanding patterns than memorizing rules. Once you learn how to do it, you’ll see that forming questions in Russian is pretty simple.

Let’s explore how to change statements into two types of questions: yes/no questions and open-ended questions, along with the important question words.

YES/NO QUESTIONS

One of the easiest ways to make a question in Russian is to change the statement by raising your voice at the end. For example, take the statement: Он читает книгу. (He is reading a book.) To ask a yes/no question, just raise your tone at the end: Он читает книгу? This change shows that you are looking for a yes or no answer.

You can also create a yes/no question by adding the word "ли" to your sentence. In our example, it would look like this: Он читает ли книгу? Here, "ли" helps to get a yes or no answer. This way can feel a bit more formal, but people understand it well.

OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS

If you want to find out more details, you’ll need to ask open-ended questions. This is where question words come in! Let’s look at some of them:

1. Кто? (Who?)
2. Что? (What?)
3. Где? (Where?)
4. Когда? (When?)
5. Почему? (Why?)
6. Как? (How?)

To make an open-ended question, just start with a question word and then follow it with the statement. For example, if you want to ask "What is he reading?" starting from "Он читает книгу," you would say: Что он читает?

Here’s another example: take the statement Она живёт в Москве. (She lives in Moscow.) To ask "Where does she live?", just change the start with the question word: Где она живёт?

You can mix and match these patterns to be creative! For instance, to ask "Why is he reading?" using Он читает книгу?, you would say: Почему он читает книгу?

USING MODALITIES IN QUESTIONS

You can add extra meaning to your questions by using modal verbs. For example, to ask "Can you help me?" you can change Ты можешь помочь мне. into a question by either changing your tone or adding "ли": Ты можешь помочь мне? or Можешь ли ты помочь мне?

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Now let’s practice with a few more examples:

1. Statement: Он учится на врача. (He is studying to be a doctor.)

   • Yes/No Question: Он учится на врача?
   • Open-Ended Question: На кого он учится? (Who is he studying to be?)

2. Statement: Они играют в футбол. (They are playing soccer.)

   • Yes/No Question: Они играют в футбол?
   • Open-Ended Question: В какую игру они играют? (What game are they playing?)

3. Statement: Я купила новую машину. (I bought a new car.)

   • Yes/No Question: Ты купила новую машину?
   • Open-Ended Question: Какую машину ты купила? (What car did you buy?)

The main point is that changing statements into questions in Russian focuses on how the words are arranged. Whether you use tone changes or question words, with some practice, you can get really good at this part of the language. Remember, it’s all about talking and connecting, so have fun with it! Enjoy learning how to ask questions in Russian and keep practicing!