Breakdown of Терморегулятор настроили, с тем чтобы центральное отопление работало.
с
with
работать
to work
тот
that
настроить
to set/adjust
Questions & Answers about Терморегулятор настроили, с тем чтобы центральное отопление работало.
Why is настроили in the plural past tense if there is no explicit subject?
This is a very common Russian pattern. The verb in 3rd person plural past can be used when the people who did the action are unknown, unimportant, or not named.
So настроили literally means they set/adjusted, but in natural English it often corresponds to:
- someone adjusted
- they adjusted (indefinite they)
- the thermostat was adjusted depending on context
In this sentence, the focus is on the result, not on who did it.
Why is настроили used instead of настраивали?
This is about aspect.
- настроили = perfective
- настраивали = imperfective
Here, настроили is used because the sentence presents the adjustment as a completed action with a result: the thermostat was set, and because of that, the heating would work.
If you used настраивали, it would sound more like:
- they were adjusting it
- they used to adjust it
- they were engaged in the process of adjusting it
So настроили fits better because the sentence is about a completed setup done for a purpose.
What does с тем чтобы mean, and how is it different from just ?