Preposition + который

Prepositional Relative Clause

Level 3Sounds Like predlog + kotoryj

Use preposition + который to add specific details to a noun. Unlike English, the preposition must always stay right before the pronoun.

How It Works

This pattern is essential for building complex sentences in Russian. It functions similarly to formal English 'the person with whom' or 'the house in which'.

1. The Agreement Rule:
The pronoun который follows a 'split' logic:

  • Gender and Number: These must match the antecedent (the noun in the main clause being described).
  • Case: This is determined by the preposition and the verb inside the relative clause.

2. Word Order:
In Russian, you cannot 'strand' a preposition at the end of a sentence. The preposition must stand immediately before the relative pronoun. For example, you cannot say 'the man I talked with'; you must say 'the man with whom I talked'.

3. Punctuation:
Russian relative clauses are always set off by commas. The comma is placed before the preposition that starts the clause.

4. People vs. Things:
Unlike English, which distinguishes between 'who' and 'which', Russian uses который for both people and inanimate objects.

Examples (4)

  1. Дом, в котором я живу, очень старый.

    The house in which I live is very old.

    Word by Word: House, in which I live, very old.

    'Дом' is masculine singular. The preposition 'в' (location) requires the prepositional case, so 'который' becomes 'котором'.

  2. Девушка, с которой он танцевал, — моя сестра.

    The girl with whom he was dancing is my sister.

    Word by Word: Girl, with whom he danced, — my sister.

    'Девушка' is feminine singular. The preposition 'с' (accompaniment) requires the instrumental case, so 'который' becomes 'которой'.

  3. Это те вопросы, на которые мы не знаем ответов.

    These are the questions to which we do not know the answers.

    Word by Word: This those questions, on which we not know answers.

    'Вопросы' is plural. The verb 'отвечать на' (to answer) uses 'на' + accusative, so 'который' becomes 'которые' (inanimate plural accusative).

  4. Город, из которого он приехал, очень красивый.

    The city from which he came is very beautiful.

    Word by Word: City, from which he arrived, very beautiful.

    'Город' is masculine singular. The preposition 'из' requires the genitive case, so 'который' becomes 'которого'.

Common Mistakes

  • Stranding the preposition at the end of the clause.

    Человек, которого я работал с.
    Человек, с которым я работал.

    In Russian, the preposition must always precede the relative pronoun. You cannot put it at the end of the sentence like in casual English.

  • Matching the case of the pronoun to the antecedent instead of the preposition.

    Я видел человека, с которого я работал.
    Я видел человека, с которым я работал.

    Even though 'человека' is in the accusative case, the pronoun 'который' must be in the instrumental case ('которым') because it is governed by the preposition 'с'.

  • Omitting the relative pronoun.

    Книга я читал была интересная.
    Книга, которую я читал, была интересная.

    In English, you can say 'The book I read'. In Russian, you need a relative word, most often «который»: «Книга, которую я читал».

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Preposition + которыйLevel 3Prepositional Relative Clause

Learn This First

To learn 'предлог + который', a learner must first be comfortable with the basic relative pronoun 'который'. Since 'который' functions grammatically like an adjective, knowledge of adjective case endings is essential. Finally, the learner must understand how prepositions govern cases (e.g., 'в' with the prepositional case for location) to correctly decline 'который' within the relative clause.

Words in This Pattern

который