Breakdown of Сначала мы пойдём в магазин, чтобы купить палатки для базы.
мы
we
в
in / to (direction)
магазин
store, shop
сначала
first
купить
to buy (perfective)
пойти
to go (perfective, on foot) / to start (of rain, snow)
для
for
чтобы
in order to
база
base
палатка
tent
Questions & Answers about Сначала мы пойдём в магазин, чтобы купить палатки для базы.
Why does пойдём mean "will go" if it looks like a present tense verb?
The prefix по- added to the unidirectional verb идти (to go by foot) creates the perfective verb пойти. In Russian, when you conjugate a perfective verb, it automatically expresses the future tense. Here, it specifically focuses on the planned start of the trip ("we will set off").
Why do we need the word чтобы before купить?
In English, you can just say "go to the store to buy", using the infinitive directly. In Russian, when you want to express the purpose of an action (meaning "in order to"), you must use the conjunction чтобы followed by the infinitive of the verb.
Why is в магазин in the accusative case here instead of the prepositional case?
Because the sentence involves a verb of motion (пойдём) directed towards a destination. When expressing motion to a place, the preposition в takes the accusative case. Since магазин is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form looks exactly like its dictionary form.
What case is базы and why did the ending change from -а?
It is in the genitive case. The preposition для (for) always requires the genitive case. For feminine nouns ending in -а like база (base), the ending changes to -ы in the genitive.
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