Russian sentence structure, from simple to complex.

Word order in a simple sentence

The neutral order is subject, verb, object, the same as English. Endings show who did what, so you can move the words around. The rule for moving them: the new information goes last.

Three things stay put. A preposition goes right before its noun (в Москве, in Moscow). Не goes right before the word it negates. Ли goes right after the word you're asking about. The grammar overview has more word order examples.

13 words that join two clauses

A complex sentence is two simple sentences with a joining word between them. Each half keeps its own subject and its own verb. These 13 cover most of what you'll say in a long sentence at A2 and B1.

А or но?

Both can come out as "but" or "and" in English, and learners mix them up all the time. А puts two different things side by side: Я живу в Москве, а брат живёт в Казани. Но says the second part goes against what you'd expect from the first: Я устал, но пошёл на работу - I was tired, but I went to work.

The comma always goes in

Russian separates clauses with a comma every time: before что, чтобы, потому что, который and ли, and after a когда or если clause that opens the sentence. English writes "I know he's home". Russian writes Я знаю, что он дома, and a teacher marks the missing comma as a grammar error. The commas help you read, too: each one in a long sentence marks where a new clause, with its own verb, starts.

Который, the word English leaves out

English drops the joining word: "the book I read". Russian always keeps it: книга, которую я прочитал (kniga, kotoruyu ya prochital). Который means "who", "which" or "that", and it declines like an adjective. Two questions pick the form:

• Which noun does it point back to? That gives the gender and number.
• What job does it do in its own clause? That gives the case.

One example for each case. Look at the job который does inside its own clause:

• Это друг, который живёт рядом. - This is a friend who lives nearby. (он живёт: subject, nominative)
• Это книга, которую я читаю. - This is the book I'm reading. (я читаю её: object, accusative)
• Это девушка, у которой есть собака. - This is the girl who has a dog. (у неё есть: genitive after у)
• Это человек, которому я звонил. - This is the man I called. (звонить кому: dative)
• Это друг, с которым я работаю. - This is the friend I work with. (с ним: instrumental)
• Это город, о котором я говорил. - This is the city I talked about. (о нём: prepositional)

In books and news you'll also see participles doing the same job: прочитанная мной книга (the book read by me) instead of книга, которую я прочитал. At B1 you need to recognize them, and you can keep using который when you speak. The participles guide shows how to spot them.

Что or чтобы

Что (chto) reports a fact or what someone said. Чтобы (chtoby) is for goals and wishes. Чтобы is что plus бы, the particle of the conditional mood, which is why the verb after it goes into the past tense. Two letters change the whole sentence:

Who does the action decides what follows чтобы:

• Same person: чтобы + infinitive. Я пришёл, чтобы помочь. - I came to help.
• Different people: чтобы + past tense. Я хочу, чтобы ты пришёл. - I want you to come.

The present and future tenses never follow чтобы. Я хочу, чтобы ты придёшь is a mistake every teacher has seen a thousand times.

Tense and aspect after когда and если

English says "if you come" and "when I finish" in the present tense, even when both are about tomorrow. Russian uses the future, because that's when the action happens:

In the past, aspect tells you the order of events:

• Когда я читал письмо, позвонила мама. - While I was reading the letter, Mom called. Imperfective: the reading was going on in the background.
• Когда я прочитал письмо, я позвонил маме. - When I had read the letter, I called Mom. Perfective: one action finished, then the next one started.

For a habit, use the imperfective present: Когда я читаю, я пью чай - When I read, I drink tea. The verbal aspect guide covers the whole system.

Build a long sentence in 4 steps

Long Russian sentences are short ones stacked together. Here's one built a clause at a time.

Check yourself

6 sentences, one gap each. Tap an answer to see why.

How to move past simple sentences

When learners get stuck at simple sentences, the cause is usually the grammar inside each clause: the case of который, the tense after чтобы, the aspect after когда. Here's the order we'd work in.

1. Make cases and aspect automatic

Every который needs a case, and every когда or если clause needs an aspect. If each choice takes you 5 seconds, a sentence with 3 clauses takes 15, and the conversation has moved on. Drill the 6 cases and aspect until they take no thought. This is the part Slova trains: the words you learn come back in case, tense and aspect drills.

2. Add one joining word a week

Pick one word from the table above. Write 5 sentences about your own day with it, then say them out loud. Start with потому что and когда, then который, then чтобы. Each word then comes with sentences you've already said.

3. Read and listen at your level, and copy the shapes

Native speakers reuse a small set of sentence shapes. When you meet a useful one in a graded reader or a slow podcast, write it down and swap in your own nouns. Our list of Russian books for beginners is a good place to find them. Ready-made Russian phrases work the same way: take one apart and reuse the frame.

4. Get your sentences corrected

A tutor or a language exchange partner will catch a wrong который in seconds. Send 3 of your own sentences a day and ask for corrections only. You learn more from your own sentence fixed than from a new one written for you.

Common mistakes

Leaving out который

Это книга, я читаю. Right: Это книга, которую я читаю. English can drop "that" or "which". Russian needs который every time.

Using если for "whether"

Я не знаю, если он придёт. Right: Я не знаю, придёт ли он. Если is only for conditions. "If" in the sense of "whether" is ли.

Present tense after если and когда

Если ты приходишь завтра... Right: Если ты придёшь завтра... Tomorrow is the future, so the verb goes in the future.

Что after хотеть

Я хочу, что ты пришёл. Right: Я хочу, чтобы ты пришёл. A wish about someone else always takes чтобы.

Leaving the preposition at the end

Это город, который я живу в. Right: Это город, в котором я живу. English puts the preposition last ("the city I live in"). Russian puts it before который, and который takes that preposition's case.

Frequently asked questions

What is the basic sentence structure in Russian?

The neutral order is subject, verb, object, as in English: Мама купила хлеб (Mom bought bread). Case endings show who does what, so Russian can move words around. The new or important information usually goes at the end. In the present tense Russian drops "to be": Он врач means "He is a doctor."

Is Russian word order free?

Mostly. You can reorder subject, verb and object to change what the sentence stresses, because the endings keep the meaning clear. A few things stay fixed: a preposition comes right before its noun, не comes right before the word it negates, and ли comes right after the word in question. Each clause in a long sentence also starts with its joining word.

How do you form complex sentences in Russian?

Join two simple sentences with a joining word and a comma: что (that), чтобы (so that), потому что (because), когда (when), если (if), хотя (although) or который (who, which). Each clause keeps its own subject and verb. Я знаю (I know) + он дома (he's home) = Я знаю, что он дома.

How does который change?

Который declines like an adjective. It takes its gender and number from the noun it points back to, and its case from its job inside its own clause. In "the book I'm reading", книга is feminine and is the object of читаю, so the form is feminine accusative: книга, которую я читаю. In "the city I live in", the clause needs в + prepositional: город, в котором я живу.

When do you use чтобы instead of что?

Use что to report a fact or what someone said: Я знаю, что ты пришёл (I know you came). Use чтобы for a goal or a wish. If the same person does both actions, чтобы takes an infinitive: Я пришёл, чтобы помочь (I came to help). If the people differ, чтобы takes the past tense: Я хочу, чтобы ты пришёл (I want you to come).

Why does Russian use the future tense after если and когда?

Russian puts the verb in the tense of the real time. "If you come tomorrow" is about the future, so Russian says Если ты придёшь завтра, with the future tense. English uses the present here, and English speakers carry that habit into Russian. Когда works the same way: Когда я закончу, я позвоню (When I finish, I'll call).

What level do you need for complex sentences in Russian?

Most courses teach что, потому что, когда and если at A2. Который in all 6 cases and чтобы with the past tense usually come at B1, because they depend on the case system and the past tense. Participles and verbal adverbs, the written alternatives to these clauses, are mostly B2 reading material.