Breakdown of Зачем нужен этот документ?
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
документ
document
нужен
needed (short form)
зачем
why, what for
Questions & Answers about Зачем нужен этот документ?
Why does this sentence use зачем instead of почему?
Зачем specifically asks "for what purpose" or "what for." Почему asks "for what reason" or "why did this happen?" Since this lesson focuses on purpose, зачем is the exact question word you use to ask for a goal.
How would you answer this question using the word чтобы from our current lesson?
Since зачем asks about purpose, you can answer it directly with a чтобы (in order to) phrase. For example: Чтобы получить визу (In order to get a visa) or Чтобы работать (To work).
Why is it нужен here instead of the familiar word нужно?
The word нужен (needed) acts like an adjective here and must match the gender of the noun it describes. Because документ is a masculine noun, we use the masculine form нужен. You use нужно when talking about an action (like мне нужно идти - I need to go) or with neuter nouns.
Is the word order strict? Could I say: Зачем этот документ нужен?
Russian word order is flexible, so Зачем этот документ нужен? is also correct and means the same thing. However, in questions, it is very natural to put the state word (нужен) right after the question word (зачем).
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