Breakdown of Он уехал на год, чтобы работать как настоящий профессионал.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
работать
to work
год
year
уехать
to leave (by vehicle, pf)
чтобы
in order to
настоящий
real
как
as (in comparisons)
на
for (a period of time)
профессионал
professional
Questions & Answers about Он уехал на год, чтобы работать как настоящий профессионал.
The current lesson is about по мере того как (as). Could we use that here instead of just как?
No. По мере того как strictly translates to 'as' only in the sense of a gradual, proportional progression over time (like 'as he grew older'). Here, как means 'like' or 'in the manner of'. You are comparing how he works to a professional, not describing a process developing over time.
Why is настоящий профессионал in the nominative case? Shouldn't we use the instrumental for professions?
When как means 'like' to make a comparison, the noun following it takes the same case as the noun it is compared to—in this sentence, the subject Он (nominative). If you dropped как and used the instrumental (работать настоящим профессионалом), it would mean his official job title is literally 'real professional', rather than just meaning he works like one.
Why use на год for 'for a year'? Why not just the accusative год?
You use на + accusative to express the intended duration of a departure or a resulting state. He left with the intention of being away for a year. If you used год without a preposition, it would imply the physical action of leaving itself took a whole year to complete.
Why do we use the infinitive работать after чтобы?
When the subject of the main clause (Он) is exactly the same as the subject of the purpose clause, you must use чтобы + infinitive. You only use чтобы + past tense when the subjects are different (for example, 'He left so that they could work').
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