Breakdown of Они подошли к лузе, чтобы проверить сукно.
они
they
к
towards, to
подойти
to approach, to come up to
проверить
to check (perfective)
чтобы
in order to
сукно
baize
луза
pocket (billiards)
Questions & Answers about Они подошли к лузе, чтобы проверить сукно.
Why do we use the preposition к and the Dative case лузе here instead of в or на?
The prefix под- on verbs of motion (like подойти) means "to approach" or "to walk up to." It almost always pairs with the preposition к + Dative case to indicate moving toward an object's boundary without actually entering or getting on top of it.
Since this lesson is about без того, чтобы не, how would we change this sentence to mean "They didn't approach the pocket without checking the baize"?
You would add a negative to the main verb and replace the simple purpose clause with the new structure: Они не подошли к лузе без того, чтобы не проверить сукно. This double-negative construction highlights that the second action inevitably accompanied the first.
Why is the verb проверить in the infinitive form here?
In Russian purpose clauses using чтобы (in order to), you use the infinitive when the subject of both halves of the sentence is the same. Since "they" are the ones approaching and "they" are the ones checking, проверить stays in the infinitive. If they approached so that someone else could check it, you would use a new subject and the past tense (for example, чтобы он проверил).
What exactly are луза and сукно in this context?
These are specific billiards or pool terms. Луза is a billiard pocket, and сукно refers to the baize—the distinctive felt-like woven cloth that covers the playing surface of a billiard table.
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