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I could not find a similar question, though I find it hard to search for "for noun stackexchange Russian"...

There are prepositions and/or cases that are used together to say the English equivalent of “for”, but always with a following noun - “for” + noun - e.g. 

I want to walk to the store for bread. 
Я хочу́ идти́ в лавку/магазин за хлебом. ('for' <-> за + instrumental)

I bought the watch as a gift for my sister. 
Я купил часы в подарок для моей сестры. ('for' <-> для + genitive)

and others - for example from this website: https://www.alphadictionary.com/rusgrammar/for.html

But how to say in Russian the “for” + verb construct? 

I want to buy shoes for running. 

I need to buy supplies for camping.

In some sense, in admittedly certain situations, I realize that the verb is unnecessary, e.g. 

'I want to go to the store for bread.', 
versus, 
'I want to go to the store to buy bread'.

Here a noun is used...

Па́рень име́ет тала́нт к та́нцам.
The guy has a knack for dancing.

Here again a noun is used (I think similar to слушание, чтение, мышленеи, написание, поднятие,...)

Учи́тель наказа́л ученика́ за разгово́ры на уро́ке. 
The teacher punished the student for talking during class.

I also realize some Russian verbs seemingly (via the dictionary anyway) incorporate the 'dangling preposition' 'for' in the definition, e.g. 

болеть - to root for
Я болею за TEAM-A. 
I root for TEAM-A.

or with the English preposition 'on',

наступи́ть - to step on
Он извини́лся, что наступи́л колле́ге на ногу.
He apologized for stepping on his colleague's foot.

But I imagine there is a way to deal with the "for + verb" in Russian... or does it just never happen?

PS. Possibly "for + verb" is also bad English.... I never realized how little grammar I knew of English until I started learning Russian.

nate
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  • There is only one actual question in your question: "But how to say in Russian the “for” + verb construct?" and indeed you give examples like 'for camping', where camping is not exactly a verb. Please consider doing some more research and perhaps edit the question to make it more specific. Gerund – tum_ Oct 01 '19 at 15:40
  • yeah, actually I completely forgot about some constructs that answer my question. I will probably close this question so it doesn't pollute the pool.. :) – nate Oct 01 '19 at 16:01
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    I have also crashed into this question once as a student. Actually we are talking about nominalizations rather than verbs, i.e. nouns (or adjectives) that are created from verbs. E.g. плавать -> плавание, готовить -> готовка, etc.. – M.P Oct 01 '19 at 16:12
  • "I will probably close this question" - it's totally up to you but at least one person upvoted the question, so someone has found it interesting :) – tum_ Oct 01 '19 at 16:14
  • well i have had questions about participles and gerunds before, as well as nouns like M.P. mentioned (often with suffixes -ка, -ание, -ение,...) but I specifically was looking for a "for + verb" (thinking along the lines of ',чтобы'). Btw, what would you call "camping"? or "glamping"? – nate Oct 01 '19 at 16:22

2 Answers2

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Russian language does not have a Gerund. "For + [verb]-ing" construction does depend on a gerund. To express similar meaning, Russian either use "for + [noun]" or "for the purpose of [verb]" or "for doing + [noun]"

  • buy shoes for running - "купить обувь для бегания" - WRONG
  • for + [noun]: "купить обувь для бега" - BETTER
  • for the purpose of [verb]: "купить обувь для того, чтобы бегать" - OK
  • for doing + [noun]: "купить обувь для занятий бегом" - PROBABLY THE BEST (in this particular case)

Note that this issue here exist only for as long as there is no Russian word corresponding to a gerund, like "running" - "бегание" (understandable, but wrong). If such a word exist, translation is straightforward, for example:

  • to buy a cap for swimming - "купить шапочку для плавания"
Alexander
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  • In some (marginal) constructs the Russian infinitive does fill nominal valencies, thus resembling a gerund: "как насчет выпить?", "перерыв на покурить", etc. So theoretically one could say "обувь на побегать" :) http://www.rusgram.ru/%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3#241 – Sergey Slepov Oct 02 '19 at 18:19
  • @Sergey Slepov - yes, this is another option, but more colloquial one. – Alexander Oct 02 '19 at 18:34
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That’s actually a very good question.

You have two main options: take the verb you are thinking of and turn it into a noun or an adjective:

  • о́бувь для та́нцев / танцева́льная о́бувь (shoes for dancing / dancing shoes)
  • еда́ для похо́да / похо́дная еда́ (supplies for camping / camping supplies)
  • бассе́йн для пла́вания / пла́вательный бассе́йн (pool for swimming / swimming pool)

These options are not entirely equivalent and some may sound better than others in certain situations.

There is also option 1b where the noun gets pluralized: о́бувь для та́нцев VS о́бувь для бе́га (NOT: для бего́в). «О́бувь для та́нца» (singular) would mean shoes made for a particular kind of dance.

Sometimes it’s not possible to form an adjective so noun is your only option: пры́гать с парашю́том (‘to skydive’) -> снаряже́ние для прыжко́в с парашю́том (‘skydiving gear’).

Neither option is easy because the way nouns and adjectives are formed depends on a particular word:

  • бе́гать -> бег, бегово́й
  • пла́вать -> пла́вание, пла́вательный (NOT *плав OR *плавовой)
  • рабо́тать -> рабо́та, рабо́чий (NOT *работание OR *работательный)
  • танцева́ть -> та́нцы, танцева́льный
  • ходи́ть в похо́д -> похо́д, похо́дный

(You thought case ending were the hardest thing to learn, eh?)

Sometimes there are multiple adjectives to go with different words:

  • игра́ть -> игра́, игрово́й (стол), игра́льный (ко́сти), игри́вый, игри́стый...

Sometimes there is no adjective at all for no apparent reason:

  • отдыха́ть -> о́тдых, ??
  • пры́гать -> прыжки́, ?? (occasionally, *пры́гательный is possible but it's not a real word)

So you’re stuck with the noun option again:

  • ко́мната (для) о́тдыха (a room for rest / NOT a restroom!)
Sergey Slepov
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