Breakdown of Мы работаем над своим стартапом с целью привлечь инвесторов.
мы
we
работать
to work
с
with (also со)
свой
one's own
над
above / on (working on something)
цель
goal
стартап
the startup
привлечь
to attract
инвестор
the investor
Questions & Answers about Мы работаем над своим стартапом с целью привлечь инвесторов.
Why use с целью here instead of just чтобы?
Both mean 'in order to,' but с целью (literally 'with the aim') is more formal and often used in business, academic, or professional contexts like talking about a startup. Using чтобы would also be grammatically correct but sounds more everyday and conversational.
Does с целью always take an infinitive like привлечь?
Yes, when expressing purpose this way, с целью is followed directly by an infinitive. Unlike для того, чтобы, you cannot use it with a past tense verb to introduce a new subject. It is used exclusively when the subject of the main clause is also the one performing the action in the infinitive.
Why is the noun phrase своим стартапом in the Instrumental case?
The phrase follows the preposition над. In Russian, to express 'working on' something, you use the construction работать над plus the Instrumental case.
Since the subject is Мы, could I use нашим instead of своим?
Yes, you could say над нашим стартапом, and it would be perfectly understood. However, Russian strongly prefers the reflexive possessive pronoun свой (in this case, своим) whenever the possessor is the active subject of the clause.
Why use the perfective verb привлечь instead of the imperfective привлекать?
The perfective привлечь is used because the startup's goal is the successful, completed result of securing investors. If you used привлекать, it would emphasize the ongoing, continuous process of trying to attract them, rather than the intended final outcome.
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