Breakdown of Чтобы не страдать, нужно лечить хроническую болезнь.
не
not
нужно
it is necessary
чтобы
in order to
болезнь
illness, disease
лечить
to treat, to cure
страдать
to suffer
хронический
chronic
Questions & Answers about Чтобы не страдать, нужно лечить хроническую болезнь.
The lesson is about the word болеть (to hurt/ache). Why did we use страдать (to suffer) here instead?
The verb болеть in the у меня болит construction means a specific body part physically aches. Страдать means to suffer in a more general or continuous sense. You could say чтобы не болеть (in order not to be sick), but страдать emphasizes the overall suffering caused by the illness.
Why is the infinitive страдать used directly after чтобы?
When you use чтобы (in order to) to express purpose, it is followed by a verb in the infinitive if the subject is the same in both halves of the sentence, or if it is a general impersonal statement like this one.
Who is supposed to be doing the treating? There is no word for 'one' or 'you'.
This is an impersonal construction. By using нужно (it is necessary) plus the infinitive лечить without pointing to a specific person in the Dative case (like вам нужно for 'you need'), it acts as a general rule that applies to anyone.
Why does the adjective change to хроническую but the noun болезнь looks like it didn't change?
Болезнь is the direct object of the verb лечить, so it is in the Accusative case. Because болезнь is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign, its Accusative form looks exactly the same as its Nominative form. The adjective still follows the standard feminine Accusative rule, changing from хроническая to хроническую.
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