Use of ли?

[crculver.livejournal.com]

How widespread is the enclitic interrogative particle ли in speech? I've gotten very used to using it in Bulgarian and Old Church Slavonic composition exercises, and I know that this originally South Slavonic deal spread into Russian through Church Slavonic, but except for quoting the cartoon Мистер Фикс, I don't know how popular it is and what rules govern its use.

Comments

[basile.livejournal.com]

It's the often method to transform an affirmative expression to interrogative.

[basile.livejournal.com]

"Так ли это?"
"Да, это так!"

[basile.livejournal.com]

"Это так!"
"Но так ли это?!"
from the outside...

[prosto-los.livejournal.com]

You have to (!) use it in sentences like "Я не знаю, придут ли они"
Hopefully someone here would give you a more formal explanation :)

[mytza.livejournal.com]

I noticed that on some forums the expression "Est li u kogo...?" is replaced by "Est u kogo...?". I suppose the last one is more colloquial, though I don't know how correct is to skip "li".

[oblomov-jerusal.livejournal.com]

I think in colloquial speech it is more common to mark question with intonation only than use ли e.g. Ты полил цветы? (Have you watered the flowers?) is far more natural in speech than Полил ли ты цветы? which would appear mostly in writing. However, as it is pointed above, ли is mandatory in indirect questions e.g. Спроси его, полил ли он цветы. (Ask him if he have watered the flowers.)

[kegarawashii.livejournal.com]

i.e. if/whether clauses.)

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

Долго ли, коротко ли, но они все же добрались до дома.
Хочу ли я или не хочу,- это не твое дело.
Here this particle ли is used to signify indifference to one(two) or more things or choices.