Grammar: Pronouns (Demonstratives, Interrogatives, Relatives)

Russian Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns in Russian are used to indicate specific people or things. They are divided into near (this) and far (that) categories.
The near demonstratives are этот (masculine), эта (feminine), это (neuter) and эти (plural).
The far demonstratives are тот, та, то, те in the same genders and numbers.
Demonstrative pronouns agree in gender, number and case with the nouns they replace or modify.
For example, этот стул (this chair) uses the masculine form to match with the masculine noun стул.

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions in Russian. The main ones are кто (who) and что (what).
Both кто and что change forms based on case: кого, кому, кем, ком and чего, чему, чем, чем respectively.
Use кто for people and что for things or abstract concepts.
Notice that in order to form the genitive, dative, accusative, and instrumental cases of кто and что, the endings of the masculine singular forms of the corresponding cases are added to the stem of these pronouns.

Relative pronouns in Russian are used to connect clauses together. The main ones are который (which), какой (what kind of).
Который changes to agree with the noun it relates, and it has forms for gender, number, and case: который, которая, которое, которые.
For example: Книга, которую я читаю (The book that I am reading). Here, которую agrees with книга in gender (feminine) and case (accusative).
Какой is used more to ask and describe than to relate clauses, but it’s often included in lists of relative pronouns.

The use of pronouns in sentences is important for maintaining clarity and avoiding repetition.
While personal pronouns often replace nouns, demonstrative and relative pronouns can stand alone or modify nouns.
Always make sure the pronoun agrees with the noun it refers to in gender, case and number.
Learning the changes in form for different cases is crucial for correct usage of pronouns in Russian.
For example: Тот человек, который говорит по-русски (That person who speaks Russian). Here, тот and который both agree with человек (a masculine noun) in gender and case.