который

Relative Pronoun Который

Level 3Sounds Like kotoryj

The relative pronoun который is the most common way to connect a main clause to a descriptive clause. It functions like English 'who', 'which', or 'that' and must agree with the noun it describes in gender and number, while its case is determined by its role in its own clause.

How It Works

To become proficient in using который, follow the Two-Step Logic:

1. Look Left (Gender and Number): The pronoun must match the gender and number of the noun it refers to (the antecedent). Use который (masculine), которая (feminine), которое (neuter), or которые (plural).

2. Look Right (Case Selection): The case is determined by the pronoun's grammatical role within its own relative clause:

  • Subject: Use the nominative case.
  • Direct Object: Use the accusative case. For feminine singular nouns, this is always которую. For masculine singular and all plural nouns, the form depends on animacy: inanimate matches the nominative, while animate matches the genitive (которого/которых).
  • Possession: To say 'whose', use the genitive case (которого/которой/которых). The possessed noun always precedes the pronoun (e.g., 'the house, the windows of which...').
  • Prepositions: If the clause requires a preposition, it must be placed immediately before the pronoun. See prepositional relative clauses.

3. Mandatory Use: Unlike English, you cannot omit the relative pronoun. You must always include it to link the clauses.

4. Punctuation: Relative clauses must be set off by commas. You must place a comma before the clause starts and a closing comma if the main sentence continues after the relative clause ends.

Examples (5)

  1. Студент, который сидит там, мой брат.

    The student who is sitting there is my brother.

    Word by Word: Student, who sits there, my brother.

    Here, 'который' is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the verb 'сидит' (sits).

  2. Вот книга, которую я купил вчера.

    Here is the book that I bought yesterday.

    Word by Word: Here book, which I bought yesterday.

    The noun 'книга' is feminine, so we use the feminine form. It is in the accusative case (которую) because it is the object of the verb 'купил' (bought).

  3. Фильм, о котором мы говорили, очень скучный.

    The movie about which we were talking is very boring.

    Word by Word: Movie, about which we talked, very boring.

    The preposition 'о' requires the prepositional case, so we use 'котором'. Note that the preposition comes before the pronoun.

  4. Я знаю людей, которые живут в этом доме.

    I know the people who live in this house.

    Word by Word: I know people, who live in this house.

    Since 'люди' is plural, we use the plural form 'которые'.

  5. Это женщина, сын которой работает в банке.

    This is the woman whose son works at a bank.

    Word by Word: This woman, son of-whom works in bank.

    To express 'whose', we use the genitive case (которой). Note that in Russian, the possessed noun 'сын' comes before the relative pronoun.

Common Mistakes

  • Matching the case of 'который' to the antecedent instead of its role in the clause.

    Я вижу человека, которого живёт здесь.
    Я вижу человека, который живёт здесь.

    Even though 'человека' is in the accusative case in the main clause, 'который' is the subject of the second clause ('lives here'), so it must be in the nominative case.

  • Stranding a preposition at the end of the clause.

    Девушка, которую я гулял с.
    Девушка, с которой я гулял.

    In Russian, the preposition must always precede the relative pronoun. You cannot end a sentence with 'с' (with).

How It Connects

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которыйLevel 3Relative Pronoun Который

Learn This First

To learn the relative pronoun который, a learner must first understand how Russian adjectives agree with nouns in gender and number. Additionally, since который changes its case based on its role within the relative clause, the learner must be familiar with the basic functions of the oblique cases, particularly the Accusative for direct objects and the Dative for indirect objects.

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который