In Russian, we use words like для[dlya](for), на[na](for), чтобы[SHTOby](in order to) to introduce a word or phrase that describes the purpose or goal of an action.
A of purpose + a noun phrase
Он копит на новую машину.
on KOpit na NOvooyu maSHEEnoo
He’s saving up for a new car.
A of purpose + a
Мы взяли кредит, чтобы сын мог учиться.
my VZYAli kriDEET SHTOby / dlya taVO SHTOby / shtop syn mok ooCHEEtsa.
We took out a loan so that our son could study.
In this post we’ll focus primarily on Russian prepositions of purpose – which ones exist and how to use them, but we’ll give you a brief introduction to conjunctions of purpose as well, and direct you to further resources.
Ready to learn more? Let’s have a look!
In Russian, prepositions of purpose are words that introduce a noun or noun phrase that represents the purpose or goal of someone’s action.
The most common preposition of purpose in Russian is для[dlya](for), which is generally followed by the genitive case.
However, there are others as well, and depending on which preposition you use, the noun may be in the genitive case, the accusative case, the dative case, or the instrumental case. Let’s go through some of the most common Russian prepositions of purpose.
The following Russian prepositions of purpose are followed by the genitive case.
Genitive prepositions of purpose | |
|---|---|
Preposition | Example |
для dlya for | Мне нужно больше времени для моего хобби. mnye NOOZHna BOLshe VRYEmini dlya maiVO KHObi I would like to have more time for my hobby. |
ради RAdi for the sake of, | На что вы готовы ради достижения поставленных целей? na shto vy gaTOvy RAdi dastiZHEniya paSTAVlinykh TSElyey What are you ready to do for the sake of achieving your goals? |
от at from, of, against, for | Купи, пожалуйста, какое-нибудь лекарство от головы. kooPEE paZHAlsta kaKOye-niBOOT liKArstva at galaVY Buy some headache medicine, please. lit. Buy some medicine for/against the head, please. |
в интересах v yntiRYEsakh in the interests of, | Некоторые ученые в интересах науки ставили эксперименты на самих себе. NYEkataryie ooCHOnyie v yntiRYEsakh naOOki STAvili ikspiriMYENty na saMIKH siBYE Some scientists conducted experiments on themselves for the benefit of science. |
во имя va EEmya in the name of | Многие сражались во имя свободы. MNOgiye sraZHAlis va EEmya svaBOdy Many were fighting in the name of liberty. |
во благо / на благо va BLAga / na BLAga for the benefit of → на благоis more frequently used | Этот фонд долго работал на благо общества. Etat fond DOLga raBOtal na BLAga OPshchistva This foundation was long working for the benefit of society. |
с целью / в целях s TSELyu / f TSElyakh with the purpose of → с целью is more frequently used | Многие переезжают в столицу с целью заработка. MNOgiye piriiZHAyut f staLEEtsoo s TSELyu ZArabatka Many move to the capital with the purpose of earning some money. |
в пользу f POLzoo in favor of, | В итоге они сделали выбор в пользу жизни за городом. v yTOgye aNEE ZDYElali VYbar f POLzoo ZHEEZni ZA garadam Eventually they made a choice in favor of life in the country. |
Here are a few notes about the prepositions above.
Для is the most common preposition of purpose in Russian.
Ради often implies some sort of sacrifice. It is also used in popular phrases:
Ради Бога
RAdi BOga
for God’s sake / please
Христа ради
khriSTA RAdi
for Christ’s sake / please
От is used when the purpose of something is to counteract the noun that follows it, so something is working against something else. This is mostly used to describe the purpose of a substances like medicines or creams. For example:
сироп от кашля
siROP at KASHlya
cough syrup
lit. syrup for/against a cough
крем от морщин
kryem at marSHCHEEN
wrinkle cream
lit. cream for/against wrinkles
Notice that the most natural translation into English often doesn’t use any preposition at all!
Only two prepositions of purpose in Russian are followed by the accusative case: на[na] and за[za].
The preposition на[na] is a bit more general, being used to describe the purpose of a variety of nouns and verbs:
Мы, наконец, получили разрешение на строительство дома.
my nakaNYETS palooCHEEli razriSHEniye na straEEtilstva DOma
We finally got the permission to build (lit. for building) the house.
Вот заявление на отпуск.
vot zaivLYEniye na OTpoosk
Here is my vacation request letter.
lit. Here is my application for vacation.
Он копит на новую машину.
on KOpit na NOvooyu maSHEEnoo
He’s saving up for a new car.
The combination за[za] + accusative is more restricted. It can only be used to introduce the goal or purpose of a fight, as in the examples below.
Завтра состоится бой за звание чемпиона мира.
ZAFTra sastaEEtsa boy za ZVAniye chempiOna MEEra
Tomorrow there is a World Champion title match.
lit. Tomorrow there is a fight for the title of World Champion.
“Они сражались за Родину”
aNEE sraZHAlis za ROdinoo
“They were fighting for the Motherland”
Here are the main the nouns and verbs whose purpose can be described with за[za] + accusative. They all mean “fight” or “a fight.”
Verbs | Nouns |
|---|---|
бороться baROtsa | борьба barBA |
биться BEEtsa | битва / бой BEETva / boy |
сражаться sraZHAtsa | сражение sraZHEniye |
драться DRAtsa | драка DRAka |
конкурировать kankooREEravat to compete in commerce | конкуренция kankooRYENtsiya commercial competition |
The preposition к[k] followed by the dative case refers to a goal of an action, for example:
Она готовится к экзамену.
aNA gaTOvitsa k igZAminoo
She’s preparing for an exam.
Стремление к победе - важная составляющая успеха.
strimLYEniye k paBYEdye VAZHnaya sastavLYAyushchiya oosPYEkha
Pursuit of victory is an important element of success.
The Russian preposition of purpose за[za](for) can sometimes be followed by the instrumental case. Though we saw above that за[za] + accusative is used to describe the purpose of a fight, за[za] + instrumental is used to introduce a person or object that needs to be obtained, gained, or delivered. For example:
Он ушёл в магазин за хлебом.
on ooSHOL v magaZEEN za KHLYEbam
He went to a store for bread.
Туристам пришлось обратиться за помощью.
tooREEStam priSHLOS abraTEEtsa za POmashchyu
The tourists had to call for help.
In some dialects of Russian по[pa](for) + accusative is used after the verbs of motion идти[iTEE](to go) and ходить[khaDEET](to go) to express purpose instead of за[za](for) + instrumental. You’re most likely to hear this in the common phrases:
Ходить по грибы
khaDEET pa griBY
go (to the forest) to pick mushrooms
Ходить по ягоды
khaDEET pa YAgady
go (to the forest/fields) to pick berries
Another common way to talk about a purpose in Russian is with the use of the conjunction чтобы[SHTOby](so that; in order to) + a clause.
The clause that follows чтобы should always be in the subjunctive in Russian, so the verb should only be an infinitive or past tense form, regardless of when you expect the goal to be achieved.
For example:
Я позвонил тебе вчера, ... ya pazvaNEEL tiBYE fchiRA I called you yesterday… | + | infinitive …чтобы всё рассказать. SHTOby fsyo raskaZAT …in order to tell you everything. |
Я звоню тебе сейчас, ... ya zvaNYU tiBYE siCHAS I am calling you now… | past tense (subjunctive) …чтобы ты рассказал мне о своей новой работе. SHTOby ty raskaZAL mnye a savYEY NOvay raBOtye …so that you (could) tell me about your new job. | |
Я позвоню тебе завтра, ... ya pazvaNYU tiBYE ZAftra I will call you tomorrow… |
Apart from чтобы, there are other conjunctions of purpose, meaning “so that / in order to”:
чтоб[shtop] (colloquial form of чтобы)
для того, чтобы[dlya taVO SHTOby]
ради того, чтобы[RAdi taVO SHTOby]
с тем, чтобы[s tyem SHTOby]
затем, чтобы[zaTYEM SHTOby]
лишь бы[leesh by]
только бы[TOLka by]
The grammar after them is the same as after чтобы. To learn more about these, you can check out our post on conjunctions of reason, purpose, result, and concession in Russian!
We have looked at different prepositions and conjunctions of purpose and the grammar used around them.
Use after для, ради, в целях and a number of other prepositions of purpose.
Use accusative after на and за meaning purpose.
Use dative after к and instrumental after за.
Use infinitive or subjunctive form of verbs in clauses of purpose after чтобы.
Now, download the exercises below to practice what you’ve learned! Or keep learning more about expressing purpose in Russian from our post on conjunctions of purpose!
