Breakdown of Чтобы стать мастером, он практикуется годами.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
год
year
стать
to become
чтобы
in order to
мастер
the stylist / master / craftsperson
практиковаться
to practice
Questions & Answers about Чтобы стать мастером, он практикуется годами.
Why is годами in the instrumental case here, and how does it differ from just saying много лет?
Using the bare instrumental plural of time nouns like годами (for years) or часами (for hours) emphasizes an extended, continuous duration. While много лет simply states a quantity of time (many years), годами stresses the ongoing, repetitive, and impressive scale of the time spent practicing.
Why is мастером in the instrumental case rather than the nominative (мастер)?
The verb стать (to become) strongly requires its complement to be in the instrumental case. When talking about a change in state, acquiring a new profession, or reaching a new status, Russian uses the instrumental to show what the person is turning into.
Why use the reflexive verb практикуется instead of just практикует?
Практиковать (without -ся) is a transitive verb, meaning it needs a direct object (like practicing a specific method or law). Практиковаться is used when practice is a general, intransitive action focused on the subject's own skill development, which perfectly fits this sentence where no specific object is mentioned.
Why do we use the infinitive стать after чтобы instead of a conjugated verb?
When the person performing the action in the чтобы (in order to) clause is the exact same person doing the action in the main clause (here, он), you must use the infinitive. If a different person were involved (e.g., 'He practices so that his son becomes a master'), you would use the past tense in the чтобы clause.
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