Breakdown of Нам нужно топливо, чтобы полететь на остров.
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
нам
to us
нужен
needed (short form)
полететь
to fly
остров
island
чтобы
in order to
топливо
fuel
Questions & Answers about Нам нужно топливо, чтобы полететь на остров.
Why is нужно in the neuter form here?
The short adjective нужен agrees with the thing that is needed, which is the grammatical subject of the sentence. Since топливо (fuel) is a neuter noun, we must use the neuter form нужно.
Why does the sentence start with Нам instead of Мы?
In Russian, expressing necessity uses a different structure than English. The person who needs something is put in the Dative case (to us = нам), and the thing needed is the subject. Literally, the first clause translates to 'To us is needed fuel.'
Why do we use чтобы before полететь?
The word чтобы means 'in order to' or 'so that.' When you explain the purpose of an action and the same people are doing the action in both halves of the sentence, you use чтобы followed directly by an infinitive verb like полететь.
Why is it на остров and not в остров?
In Russian, islands are treated as open spaces or surfaces, so they pair with the preposition на (onto) rather than в (into). Because this indicates motion toward a destination, остров takes the Accusative case.
Why use the perfective verb полететь here instead of an imperfective verb?
The perfective verb полететь focuses on the specific, one-time action of setting off on a trip to the island. You are talking about getting this specific journey done, rather than the general process or habit of flying.
Learn Нам нужно топливо, чтобы полететь на остров and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free