Breakdown of Они отдадут много денег, лишь бы избавиться от проблемы.
они
they
много
a lot
проблема
problem
деньги
money
от
from
отдать
to give back (perfective) / to hand over, present
лишь бы
if only / as long as
избавиться
to get rid of
Questions & Answers about Они отдадут много денег, лишь бы избавиться от проблемы.
Why do we use the infinitive избавиться after лишь бы here?
The particle лишь бы expresses a strong desire or a minimum condition, like 'just to' or 'as long as'. When the person performing the action is the same in both halves of the sentence (they pay the money, they get rid of the problem), we follow лишь бы with an infinitive. If the subjects were different, you would use the past tense instead.
Could I use чтобы instead of лишь бы in this sentence?
Yes, but you would lose the sense of desperation. Using чтобы simply means 'in order to get rid of the problem'. Using лишь бы emphasizes that they are willing to do whatever it takes, translating closer to 'if only to' or 'just to'.
Why did they choose the verb отдадут instead of заплатят (will pay) or дадут (will give)?
While заплатят would make perfect sense, отдадут (from отдать, meaning to give away or part with) highlights the sacrifice. It emphasizes that they are willing to part with their own money to make the problem go away.
I see проблемы is in the genitive case. Is that because of the verb or the preposition?
It is because of the preposition от (from/of), which always forces the following noun into the genitive case. The verb избавиться (to get rid of) is almost always paired with от to express what you are freeing yourself from.
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