Complex Sentences: Using 'Который' in all cases

The relative pronoun 'который' (which, who, that) is essential for building complex sentences in Russian. It links a main clause to a subordinate clause that provides more information about a noun in the main clause.

Mastering 'который' requires understanding two fundamental rules:

1️⃣ Agreement in Gender and Number:
'Который' must always agree in gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) and number (singular, plural) with the noun it refers to in the main clause.

• masculine: который
• feminine: которая
• neuter: которое
• plural: которые

2️⃣ Case determined by the Subordinate Clause:
The case of 'который' (Nominative, Genitive, etc.) depends on its grammatical role within the subordinate clause. Ask a question to 'который' inside its own clause to determine the correct case.

Let's break it down by case:

➡️ Nominative Case (Именительный падеж)
Answers the question: кто? что? (who? what?)
Use the nominative case when 'который' is the subject of the subordinate clause.

🔹 Это дом, который стоит на горе. (This is the house which stands on the hill.)

• 'дом' is masculine, so we use 'который'.
• In the second clause, what stands on the hill? The house ('который'). It's the subject, so we use the nominative case.

🔹 Это девушка, которая говорит по-русски. (This is the girl who speaks Russian.)

• 'девушка' is feminine -> 'которая'.
• Who speaks Russian? The girl ('которая'). Subject -> nominative.

➡️ Genitive Case (Родительный падеж)
Answers the question: кого? чего? (of whom? of what?)
Used for possession, absence, or after prepositions like у, без, для, около, etc.

🔹 Я знаю человека, у которого есть машина. (I know a person who has a car. lit: at whom there is a car)

• 'человек' is masculine -> 'которого'.
• The construction 'у... есть' requires the genitive case.

🔹 Это книга, без которой мне скучно. (This is a book without which I am bored.)

• 'книга' is feminine -> 'которой'.
• The preposition 'без' requires the genitive case.

➡️ Dative Case (Дательный падеж)
Answers the question: кому? чему? (to whom? to what?)
Used when 'который' is the indirect object, often with verbs like нравиться, помогать, давать, звонить.

🔹 Вот мой друг, которому я звонил вчера. (Here is my friend whom I called yesterday.)

• 'друг' is masculine -> 'которому'.
• The verb 'звонить' (to call) takes the dative case. I called to whom? To my friend ('которому').

➡️ Accusative Case (Винительный падеж)
Answers the question: кого? что? (whom? what?)
Used when 'который' is the direct object of the verb in the subordinate clause. Remember that for inanimate masculine nouns, the accusative form is the same as the nominative.

🔹 Это фильм, который мы смотрели. (This is the film which we watched.)

• 'фильм' is masculine, inanimate -> 'который'.
• We watched what? The film ('который'). It's the direct object -> accusative.

🔹 Я видел девушку, которую ты знаешь. (I saw the girl whom you know.)

• 'девушка' is feminine -> 'которую'.
• You know whom? The girl ('которую'). Direct object -> accusative.

➡️ Instrumental Case (Творительный падеж)
Answers the question: кем? чем? (by whom? with what?)
Used with the preposition 'с' (with) or after verbs like интересоваться, гордиться, заниматься.

🔹 Это ручка, которой я пишу. (This is the pen with which I write.)

• 'ручка' is feminine -> 'которой'.
• I write with what? With the pen ('которой'). Instrumental case.

🔹 Я познакомился с человеком, с которым мы сейчас работаем. (I met a person with whom we now work.)

• 'человек' is masculine -> 'которым'.
• The preposition 'с' requires the instrumental case.

➡️ Prepositional Case (Предложный падеж)
Answers the question: о ком? о чём? (about whom? about what?)
Used after prepositions like о, в, на. The preposition always comes before 'который'.

🔹 Это город, в котором я живу. (This is the city in which I live.)

• 'город' is masculine -> 'котором'.
• The preposition 'в' requires the prepositional case.

🔹 Мы говорили о книге, о которой все знают. (We were talking about the book about which everyone knows.)

• 'книга' is feminine -> 'которой'.
• The preposition 'о' requires the prepositional case.

To summarize, always ask yourself two questions:

1. What is the gender and number of the noun being described? (This gives you the base form: который, которая, которое, которые).
2. What is the role of 'который' in its own clause? (This tells you which case ending to add).