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Я положу флешку в сумку, чтобы не потерять её.

Я положу флешку в сумку, чтобы не потерять её.
I will put the flash drive in my bag so that I don’t lose it.

Breakdown of Я положу флешку в сумку, чтобы не потерять её.

я
I
в
in
не
not
потерять
to lose
сумка
the bag
положить
to put
её
it
чтобы
so that / in order to
флешка
the flash drive
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Questions & Answers about Я положу флешку в сумку, чтобы не потерять её.

Why is it положу and not кладу?

Положу is the future form of the perfective verb положить (to put as a completed action). It implies one completed placement (you’ll put it in and it will be there).

Кладу is the present tense of the imperfective класть and usually means:

  • кладу = I’m putting (right now) / I put (habitually)
    To talk about the future with the imperfective, you’d use буду класть (I will be putting / I will put repeatedly), which sounds different in meaning.
How do I know this is future tense if there’s no буду?

In Russian, many perfective verbs form the future by using present-tense endings with future meaning. So:

  • положу (perfective “present-form”) = I will put
    This is standard and very common.
Why is флешку in that form?

Because it’s the direct object of the verb (to put what?). Флешка is feminine, and in the accusative singular it becomes флешку.

Pattern (feminine nouns ending in -а/-я):

  • nominative: флешка
  • accusative: флешку
Why is it в сумку and not в сумке?

Because в + accusative expresses motion/direction into something:

  • в сумку = into the bag

в + prepositional expresses location in something:

  • в сумке = in the bag (already there)

Here you’re describing the action of putting it into the bag, so в сумку is correct.

What does чтобы do here, grammatically?

Чтобы introduces a purpose clause: in order to / so that.
Structure:

  • main clause + , чтобы
    • infinitive (often with не if negative)

So …, чтобы не потерять её = …, in order not to lose it.

Why is there a comma before чтобы?

In Russian, a чтобы-clause is a subordinate clause, so it is normally separated by a comma:

  • Я положу…, чтобы…

This comma is standard in writing.

Why is потерять an infinitive and not a conjugated verb?

After чтобы, Russian commonly uses the infinitive, especially when the subject is the same in both parts (here it’s still я):

  • Я положу… чтобы не потерять… = I’ll put… so as not to lose…

If the subject changes, Russian often uses a finite verb:

  • Я положу флешку в сумку, чтобы она не потерялась. (…so that it doesn’t get lost.)
Why is it её and not её with some other ending (or его)?

Её means her / it (feminine singular) and doesn’t change form by case (it’s indeclinable). It refers to флешка (feminine), so её is correct.

Его would refer to a masculine/neuter noun.

Can I omit её?

Often yes, if it’s obvious from context:

  • Я положу флешку в сумку, чтобы не потерять.

But keeping её can make the sentence clearer, especially if there are multiple possible things you might lose.

Is флешка standard Russian?

Yes—флешка is very common colloquial Russian for a USB flash drive. In more formal/technical contexts you might also see:

  • флеш-накопитель
  • USB-накопитель But in everyday speech, флешка is the default.
Is the word order fixed here? Could I move things around?

Russian word order is flexible, but changes emphasis. Your sentence is neutral and natural.

Possible variants:

  • Чтобы не потерять её, я положу флешку в сумку. (emphasizes the purpose first)
  • Я положу в сумку флешку, чтобы не потерять её. (emphasizes the location в сумку)

All are grammatically fine; they just sound slightly different in focus.