Breakdown of Анна хочет сделать карьеру, чтобы получать большую зарплату.
большой
big
хотеть
to want
Анна
Anna
сделать
to do (perfective) / to make (perfective)
получать
to receive
чтобы
in order to
карьера
career
зарплата
salary
Questions & Answers about Анна хочет сделать карьеру, чтобы получать большую зарплату.
Why is чтобы followed by the infinitive получать?
When the subject of the main action (Anna) is the exact same person performing the purpose action (Anna getting the salary), чтобы is followed by an infinitive verb. It translates nicely to "in order to [do something]".
Why use the perfective verb сделать but the imperfective verb получать?
Сделать (perfective) focuses on the completion or the final result of building a career. Получать (imperfective) is used for the salary because receiving a salary is an ongoing, repeated action—she wants to regularly receive a large salary, not just get it one single time.
Does сделать карьеру literally mean "to make a career"?
Yes, literally it translates as "to make a career." While in English we usually say "to build a career" or "to have a successful career," Russians use the verb сделать (to do/make) for this set phrase.
Why do the words большая зарплата change to большую зарплату here?
They are the direct object of the verb получать (to receive), so they must be in the accusative case. For feminine singular words ending in -а, the noun changes to -у, and the matching adjective changes from -ая to -ую.
Why is there a comma before чтобы? We wouldn't use one in English.
Russian punctuation rules are stricter than English ones. You must always put a comma before dependent clauses—parts of the sentence that start with conjunctions like что, если, or чтобы.
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