Breakdown of Зачем они пошли непроходимой тайгой?
они
they
пойти
to go (perfective, on foot) / to start (of rain, snow)
зачем
why, what for
тайга
taiga
Questions & Answers about Зачем они пошли непроходимой тайгой?
Why is непроходимой тайгой in the instrumental case without a preposition like через?
This uses the Bare Instrumental of Route. You can use the instrumental case on its own to describe the physical space or path along which a movement happens. Here, it means they went 'through' or 'by way of' the taiga.
Is there a difference in meaning if I say через непроходимую тайгу instead?
Yes, a slight one. Using через with the accusative case emphasizes crossing from one side to the other and is more common in everyday speech. The bare instrumental (непроходимой тайгой) sounds a bit more literary or epic, focusing on the journey being enveloped by the environment itself.
Why does the sentence start with Зачем instead of Почему? Both mean 'Why'.
Зачем asks for the purpose or goal ('For what purpose did they go?'), whereas Почему asks for the cause or reason ('What caused them to go?'). Choosing to walk through an impassable taiga is a deliberate, if questionable, action, so the speaker is asking what their goal was in taking that specific route.
Why use the perfective verb пошли rather than the imperfective шли?
Пошли (from пойти) focuses on the departure or the single completed action of taking that route. The speaker is questioning the initial decision they made when they set off. If you used шли, the focus would shift to the ongoing process in the middle of the action: 'Why were they walking through the taiga?'