Breakdown of Я добавляю разные специи в блюдо, чтобы улучшить вкус.
я
I
в
to
чтобы
in order to
улучшить
to improve
блюдо
the dish
разный
different
добавлять
to add
специя
the spice
вкус
the taste
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Questions & Answers about Я добавляю разные специи в блюдо, чтобы улучшить вкус.
What is the aspect of добавляю, and why is this form used instead of добавлю?
добавляю is in the imperfective aspect (несовершенный вид). It expresses an ongoing or habitual action—“I am adding” or “I add.” The perfective counterpart добавлю would signal a single, complete action (“I will add it once”), which doesn’t fit here because the sentence describes the general process of seasoning.
What case is разные специи in, and why does it look like the nominative?
разные специи is in the accusative plural case (винительный падеж) as the direct object of добавляю. Since специи is an inanimate feminine noun, its accusative plural form coincides with the nominative plural—hence no visible change.
Why is the preposition в used with блюдо, and why is блюдо in the accusative case?
The preposition в can take either the accusative (for motion or direction into something) or the prepositional case (for location). Here we’re talking about placing spices into the dish, so it’s dynamic—hence в + accusative (в блюдо).
What role does чтобы play in this sentence?
чтобы is a subordinating conjunction meaning “in order to.” It introduces a purpose clause explaining why the action is done (“to improve the taste”).
Why is улучшить in the infinitive, and why not conjugated?
After чтобы, the verb normally appears in the infinitive when the subject of both the main clause and the subordinate clause is the same (here, “I”). Conjugation would require a new subject or mood (e.g., subjunctive).
Why is улучшить (perfective) used instead of the imperfective улучшать?
The perfective infinitive улучшить emphasizes the result—a completed improvement of taste. The imperfective улучшать would suggest an ongoing or repeated process (“to be improving”), which is less natural when stating a clear purpose.
Could I rephrase the purpose clause with для + noun instead of чтобы + verb?
Yes. A common alternative is для улучшения вкуса, using для + genitive noun:
Я добавляю разные специи в блюдо для улучшения вкуса.
This is slightly more formal or abstract but perfectly correct.
Why is вкус in the accusative case, and does it change form?
вкус is the direct object of улучшить, so it takes the accusative case. Because вкус is masculine and inanimate, its accusative form is identical to the nominative (вкус).
Why is the adjective разные used here instead of различные or another synonym?
Both разные and различные can mean “various” or “different,” but разные is more colloquial and common in spoken contexts. различные feels a bit more formal or literary. Here разные специи simply conveys “a variety of spices.”
Can I move the purpose clause чтобы улучшить вкус to the beginning of the sentence?
Yes. If you front it, just add a comma:
Чтобы улучшить вкус, я добавляю разные специи в блюдо.
This puts emphasis on the purpose.