"What did she buy the photographs of Moscow for?"
Translation:Зачем она купила фотографии Москвы?
9 Comments
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зачем is about the reason for the purchase, для чего about the intended use of the pictures.
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AIUI, Russian has two different sorts of 'why': почему, 'because of what?', and 'зачем', 'for what purpose?'. So the slightly awkward English is to show that it's the second meaning.
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In other/the most cases "зачем" means "for what purpose", and "почему" - "for what reason".
But in this sentence differences between "зачем" and "почему" are such insignificant.
Thererfore both shoud be considered acceptable.
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Wouldnt зачем mean why did she buy them, rather than what did she buy them for?
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This is improper english -- should be "for what did she buy pictures of moscow"
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It is improper English if you are trying to write literature or academia. If you are trying to sound like a normal person speaking it is correct.
