Breakdown of Этот специалист слишком квалифицирован, чтобы работать здесь.
здесь
here
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
работать
to work
специалист
specialist, expert
чтобы
in order to
слишком
too, excessively
квалифицированный
qualified
Questions & Answers about Этот специалист слишком квалифицирован, чтобы работать здесь.
Why do we need чтобы here instead of just using the infinitive like in the English 'too qualified to work'?
In Russian, expressing excess or sufficiency involving an action requires a subordinate clause. You cannot link слишком directly to an infinitive. You must use the conjunction чтобы (in order to) plus the infinitive. Literally, it translates closer to 'too qualified in order to work here.' Also, note the mandatory comma before чтобы!
Why is квалифицирован in the short form rather than the long form квалифицированный?
Short form adjectives are frequently used in the predicate to describe a state, especially when modified by degree adverbs like слишком (too) or достаточно (enough). While the long form wouldn't be grammatically incorrect, the short form квалифицирован sounds much more natural and professional for a factual assessment like this.
Why is the imperfective verb работать used here?
Работать is imperfective because it refers to a continuous, ongoing state (being employed at this place in general). You would use a perfective verb in a слишком... чтобы construction only if referring to a single, completed action, such as being too qualified to complete one specific task (чтобы сделать эту задачу).
If the specialist we are talking about is a woman, do специалист or квалифицирован change to feminine forms?
No, специалист is a masculine noun that is used for both men and women. Because the noun is grammatically masculine in the sentence, the modifying pronoun (Этот) and the short-form adjective (квалифицирован) must also stay masculine. However, if you dropped the noun entirely and just used a pronoun, it would change: Она слишком квалифицирована.
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