Expressing Desire (чтобы)
In English, when you want someone else to do something, you usually use an infinitive: "The ambassador wants the delegation to leave."
In Russian, when the person wanting the action and the person doing the action are different, you cannot use an infinitive. Instead, you must use a clause starting with чтобы followed by the past tense.
[Subject 1] + [Verb of desire] + чтобы + [Subject 2] + [Past Tense Verb]
Even though the desired action hasn't happened yet, the verb after чтобы always takes the past tense form, matching the gender and number of the new subject.
| The ambassador wants the delegation to leave. | Посол хочет, чтобы делегация уехала. |
| The president wants them to end the official negotiations. | Президент хочет, чтобы они закончили официальные переговоры. |
Requests and Demands
This same чтобы + past tense structure is required after verbs of requesting or demanding, such as просить (to ask/request) and требовать (to demand).
| The minister asked that the ambassador return. | Министр попросил, чтобы посол вернулся. |
| The minister demands that we begin the negotiations. | Министр требует, чтобы мы начали переговоры. |
Notice how the past tense verb in the чтобы clause always agrees with the subject performing the requested action:
| The state requires that you sign the agreement. | Государство требует, чтобы вы подписали соглашение. |
| The official representative asked that we leave. | Официальный представитель попросил, чтобы мы ушли. |
Diplomacy in Action
This structure is highly common in international relations, where states and their representatives frequently negotiate terms and make demands of other parties.
| We want the state to sign a peace treaty. | Мы хотим, чтобы государство подписало мирный договор. |
| We want the ambassador to sign a peace agreement. | Мы хотим, чтобы посол подписал мирное соглашение. |
