Short Forms of Russian Particles же, бы and ли

Did you know that some Russian particles have short forms? The short form of the particle же is ж, the short form of the particle бы is б, and the short form of the particle ли is ль. The first two short forms are widely used in colloquial speech, the last one is old-fashioned, it sounds bookish.

For example,

1. Я б поступил в университет, да не могу. I would enter university, but I can’t.
2. Ты ж сам мне говорил, что у тебя сегодня много работы. But if you told me that you had a lot of work today.
3. Ты ль меня не любила? Wasn’t it you who loved me?