How to use conjunctions of reason, purpose, result, and concession in Russian?

Conjunctions of reason, purpose, result, and concession are types of subordinating conjunctions. We use these in Russian when there is a real or intended cause-and-effect relationship between the main clause and the dependent clause. The type of subordinating conjunction you use determines what kind of relationship the two clauses have. Here are some examples.

So, what conjunctions can you use to talk about reason, purpose, result, or concession? Let’s find out!

Conjunctions of reason (sometimes called conjunctions of cause) are words like “because” that are used at the beginning of a dependent clause that gives a reason for what happens in the main clause.

The most common Russian conjunctions of reason are listed below.

• потому что (transcribed pataMOO shta, meaning “because”) is the most common conjunction of reason and is stylistically neutral.

  Я купил новый телефон, потому что старый сломался.

  Transcription: ya kooPEEL NOvyi tiliFON pataMOO shta STAryi slaMALsya.

  Translation: I bought a new phone because the old one got broken.

  Normally this cannot be used at the beginning of a sentence, but only after the main clause. So, you can’t translate a sentence like, “Because I was hungry, I ate some cake,” unless you reorder it to “I ate some cake because I was hungry.”

  You can only use потому что at the beginning of a sentence if it’s a response to the question “why?”

  Speaker A:

  Почему ты купил новый телефон?

  Transcription: pachiMOO ty kooPEEL NOvyi tiliFON?

  Translation: Why did you buy a new phone?

  Speaker B:

  Потому что старый сломался.

  Transcription: pataMOO shta STAryi slaMALsya.

  Translation: Because my old one got broken.

• Так как (transcribed TAK kak) and поскольку (transcribed paSKOLkoo) have the same meanings “as,” “since,” “because” or “given.” These are both more formal than потому что.

  • Телефон не подлежит гарантийному ремонту, так как срок гарантии истёк.

    Transcription: tiliFON ni padliZHYT garanTEEYnamoo riMONtoo TAk kak srok gaRANtii isTYOK.

    Translation: The phone is not subject to warranty repair because the warranty period has expired.
  • Поскольку срок гарантии истёк, телефон не подлежит гарантийному ремонту.

    Transcription: paSKOLkoo srok gaRANtii isTYOK tiliFON ni padliZHYT garanTEEYnamoo riMONtoo.

    Translation: Since the warranty period has expired, the phone is not subject to warranty repair.

  Notice that clauses of reason introduced by так как or поскольку can be placed either before or after the main clause!

Conjunctions of purpose introduce clauses that describe a desired outcome. Because of that, you need to use the subjunctive mood in the subordinate clause of purpose.

Here are the most important Russian conjunctions of purpose:

• Чтобы (transcribed SHTOby), для того чтобы (transcribed dlya taVO SHTOby), and чтоб (transcribed shtop) are all fairly basic conjunctions of purpose, and can be translated as “to,” “in order to,” “so,” or “so that.”

  Мы взяли кредит, чтобы / для того чтобы / чтоб сын мог учиться.

  Transcription: my VZYAli kriDEET SHTOby / dlya taVO SHTOby / shtop syn mok ooCHEEtsa.

  Translation: We took out a loan so that our son could study.

  Чтобы is the most common conjunction of purpose and is stylistically neutral while для того чтобы is slightly more formal and чтоб is a colloquial variant of чтобы.

• лишь бы (transcribed LEESH by) and только бы (transcribed TOLka by) are used when maximum effort might be needed to achieve the goal described in the dependent clause. They’re usually translated with phrases like “as long as,” “just so that,” or “I just hope.”

  Мы взяли кредит, лишь бы / только бы заплатить за обучение.

  Transcription: my VZYAli kriDEET LEESH by / TOLka by zaplaTEET za abooCHEniye.

  Translation: We took out a loan in an effort to / just so that we could pay for the education.

These conjunctions are used at the beginning of a dependent clause which describes the consequences of the events in the main clause.

The following are the most important Russian conjunctions of result. Normally, they only come after the main clause.

• поэтому (transcribed paEtamoo, meaning “that's why; so”) is the most common word acting as conjunction of result. It is technically considered an adverb or connective word in Russian grammar.

  В комнате было темно, поэтому я не видел лица людей.

  Transcription: f KOMNatye BYla timNO paEtamoo ya nye VEEdyel LEEtsa lyuDYEY.

  Translation: It was dark in the room, that's why I didn’t see people’s faces.

• потому (transcribed pataMOO, meaning “that's why; so”) is synonymous with поэтому, but less common. Like “so” it is often preceded by the Russian conjunctions и (transcribed i, meaning “and”) or а (transcribed a, meaning “and”).

  В комнате было темно, и потому я не видел лица людей.

  Transcription: f KOMNatye BYla timNO pataMOO ya nye VEEdyel LEEtsa lyuDYEY.

  Translation: It was dark in the room, and so I didn’t see people’s faces.

• так что (transcribed tak shto, meaning “therefore; and so; thus”) is often used to introduce a summary or a major/general conclusion.

  В комнате было темно, так что я едва видел лица людей.

  Transcription: f KOMNatye BYla timNO tak shto ya yidVA VEEdyel LEEtsa lyuDYEY.

  Translation: It was dark in the room so I could barely see people’s faces.

  This conjunction can be split into pieces as так/такой… , что… (transcribed tak/taKOY shto, meaning “so/such… that…”), to add some intensity. For example:

  В комнате было так темно, что я едва видел лица людей.

  Transcription: f KOMNatye BYla tak timNO shto ya yidVA VEEdyel LEEtsa lyuDYEY.

  Translation: It was so dark in the room that I could barely see people’s faces.

  Notice that что introduces the result.

• а то (transcribed a TO) and а не то (transcribed a ni TO) both introduce threatened or undesirable results, and translate to “or” or “or else.”

  Выключи свет, а то / а не то он нас увидит!

  Transcription: VYklyuchi svyet a to / a ni to on nas ooVEEdit!

  Translation: Turn the light off, or he’ll see us!

• в силу чего (transcribed f sEEloo chVO, meaning “by virtue of; whereby”) and вследствие чего (transcribed FSLYEtstvii chiVO, meaning “which is why”), literally, “in consequence of which” are less common, and aremostly found in academic writing or official documents.

  Электричество было отключено, в силу чего / вследствие чего поиск выхода оказался затруднён.

  Transcription: iliktREEchistva BYla atklyuchiNO f SEEloo chiVO / FSLYEtstvii chiVO POisk VYkhada akaZALsya zatroodNYON.

  Translation: The electricity was off, which is why the search for the exit turned out to be difficult.

Conjunctions of concession, like “even though,” describe a potential obstacle that could have stopped or interfered with the situation in the main clause, but did not.

We use concession clauses to reflect back on conditional (“if-then”) sentences that were proven wrong. We had imagined that a conditional sentence of the form “if x happens, then y won’t happen,” was true, but then y happened even though x happened.

There are numerous conjunctions of concession in Russian, each slightly different in meaning and use.

• хотя (transcribed khaTYA) and хоть (transcribed khot) mean “although” or “even though.” These are the most common conjunctions of concession. Хоть is colloquial, while хотя is stylistically neutral.

  Они поехали в горы, хотя / хоть погода (и) была плохая.

  Transcription: aNEE paYEkhali v GOry khaTYA / khot paGOda (i) byLA plaKHAya.

  Translation: They went to the mountains, even though the weather was bad.

  Both хотя and хоть are often used before a clause containing и in the dependent clause.

  If the main clause comes after the dependent clause, it often contains phrases like всё-таки (transcribed FSYOtaki), всё же (transcribed FSYO zhe), тем не менее (transcribed tyem ni MYEniye), all of which mean “yet / nonetheless / anyway”.

• несмотря на то что (transcribed nismatRYA na TO shta) and невзирая на то что (transcribed nivziRAya na TO shta) are more formal alternatives to хотя (transcribed although / despite the fact that)

  Они поехали в горы, несмотря на то что погода была плохая.

  Transcription: aNEE paYEkhali v GOry nismatRYA na TO shta paGOda byLA plaKHAya.

  Translation: They went to the mountains, despite the weather being bad.

  Like хотя, these conjunctions introduce a real situation.

• в то время как (transcribed f to RYEmya kak), между тем как (transcribed MYEZHdoo tyem kak), and тогда как (transcribed tagDA kak) are used in cases where something happened in defiance of a norm or the usual way that something happens.

  Они поехали в горы, в то время как / между тем как / тогда как большинство людей предпочитают отдыхать на море.

  Transcription: aNEE paYEkhali v GOry f to RYEmya kak / MYEZHdoo tyem kak / tagDA kak balshinstVO lyuDYEY pritpachiTAyut odyKHAT na MOrye.

  Translation: They went to the mountains, whereas most people prefer to spend their vacations at the sea.

  Notice that the main clause is a surprise because usually something else would happen.

  A couple more notes:

  • Тогда как and между тем как are less common and sound fancier than в то время как.

  • Note that the conjunction в то время как can also function as the conjunction of time meaning “while.”

• Только (transcribed tagDA kak) and правда (transcribed tagDA kak), meaning, “yet,” “but,” “mind you,” or “though” are used to show that the situation in the main clause is somewhat worsened by whatever the dependent clause describes.

  Они поехали в горы, только / правда без гида.

  Transcription: aNEE paYEkhali v GOry TOLka / PRAVda byes GEEda.

  Translation: They went to the mountains, without a guide though.

• пусть (transcribed poost) and пускай (transcribed poosKAY) mean “even if” or “even though” and are used in sentences that say that something should take place regardless of the possible situation in the dependent clause.

  Мы все равно хотим поехать в горы, пусть / пускай ненадолго.

  Transcription: my fsyo ravNO khaTEEM paYEkhat v GOry poost / poosKAY ninaDOLga.

  Translation: We want to go to the mountains anyway, even if only for a short time.

  Пускай is more colloquial than neutral пусть. Both are often used with a particle всё равно (transcribed fsyo ravNO, meaning “anyway”) in the main clause.

In this post, we looked at four types of subordinating conjunctions:

1. Conjunctions of reason, like потому что (transcribed pataMOO shta, meaning “because”), which give reasons for what happens in the main clause.

2. Conjunctions of purpose, like чтобы (transcribed SHTOby, meaning “to”), which describe the purpose of the actions in the main clause.

3. Conjunctions of result, like поэтому (transcribed paEtamoo, meaning “that’s why”), which connect the main clause to the dependent one describing its consequences.

4. Conjunctions of concession, like хотя (transcribed khaTYA, meaning “although”), which describe a limitation or unfavorable condition for the events in the main clause.

To practice what you’ve learned, download our Russian cause and effect activities or the subordinating conjunctions master sheet below! Happy learning!