Once you can build single clauses, the next leap is joining them — saying not just "I'm going home" but "I'm going home because I'm tired", "when the rain stops", "so that the children can sleep". Russian does this with subordinating conjunctions that attach a dependent clause to a main one. This page is a hub: it surveys the main types of subordinate clause and their connectors, then drills the two rules that English speakers most often break — the obligatory comma before every subordinator, and the future-tense rule inside time and conditional clauses. For the deep dive on the two most slippery connectors, see что vs что́бы; for the full inventory of time words, see Temporal Clauses.
Object clauses: что and чтобы
An object clause fills the slot of a noun — it is what you say, think, or want. Russian splits this slot between two connectors:
- что ("that") reports a fact — after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, seeing. The verb in the clause stays in its natural tense.
- что́бы ("that / in order to / so that") introduces a wished-for or non-factual situation — after verbs of wanting, asking, demanding. Crucially, что́бы forces the past-tense form of its verb (a quirk of the construction, even when the meaning is present or future).
Я ду́маю, что он прав.
I think (that) he's right. (что reports a fact; ordinary present tense)
Я хочу́, что́бы ты прие́хал за́втра.
I want you to come tomorrow. (что́бы expresses a wish; verb in the past form прие́хал despite future meaning)
Note the comma before both что and что́бы — and notice that English collapses these into one word that (or drops it entirely), while Russian forces the fact-versus-wish choice.
Time clauses: когда́, пока́, как то́лько and friends
Time clauses anchor one event relative to another. The core connectors:
| Connector | Meaning | Example fragment |
|---|---|---|
| когда́ | when | когда́ я прие́ду… |
| пока́ | while / as long as | пока́ ты спал… |
| пока́ не | until | жди, пока́ не верну́сь |
| как то́лько | as soon as | как то́лько начнётся… |
| по́сле того́ как | after | по́сле того́ как мы пое́ли… |
| пе́ред тем как | just before | пе́ред тем как уйти́… |
| до того́ как | before | до того́ как стемне́ло… |
Как то́лько он вошёл, все замолча́ли.
As soon as he came in, everyone fell silent. (как то́лько; both past)
Подожди́, пока́ я не зако́нчу рабо́ту.
Wait until I finish the work. (пока́ не = 'until'; note future зако́нчу — see the future rule below)
Reason, condition, concession, purpose, result
The remaining clause types each have their signature connectors:
- Reason — потому́ что ("because", the everyday choice, placed after the main clause), так как ("since / as", slightly more formal, can open the sentence).
- Condition — е́сли ("if").
- Concession — хотя́ ("although"), несмотря́ на то что ("despite the fact that", formal).
- Purpose — что́бы ("in order to / so that").
- Result — так что ("so / and so", stating a consequence).
Я оста́лся до́ма, потому́ что заболе́л.
I stayed home because I got sick. (reason; потому́ что follows the main clause)
Хотя́ бы́ло по́здно, мы реши́ли продолжа́ть.
Although it was late, we decided to keep going. (concession; хотя́ opens the sentence)
Я встал ра́но, что́бы успе́ть на по́езд.
I got up early in order to catch the train. (purpose; что́бы + infinitive, same subject)
Шёл си́льный дождь, так что матч отмени́ли.
It was raining hard, so the match was cancelled. (result; так что introduces the consequence)
Rule 1: a comma before every subordinator
Russian punctuation is grammatical. A subordinate clause is always separated from the main clause by a comma — before что, что́бы, когда́, потому́ что, е́сли, хотя́, так что, and all the rest. This is not optional or style-dependent the way English commas often are. If the subordinate clause sits in the middle of the sentence, it is fenced by commas on both sides.
A subtle point: in multi-word connectors the comma usually goes before the whole phrase (, потому́ что; , по́сле того́ как), so do not place it inside.
Я зна́ю, что ты за́нят.
I know you're busy. (comma before что, even though English drops 'that' and uses no comma)
Когда́ зазвони́л телефо́н, я спал.
When the phone rang, I was asleep. (fronted time clause — comma after it, before the main clause)
Rule 2: the future tense in time and conditional clauses
This is the rule that catches every English speaker. In English, after when and if referring to the future, we use the present tense: "When I am in Moscow, I'll call." Russian does the logical thing instead: if the event is in the future, the verb is in the future. So both verbs come out future.
Когда́ я бу́ду в Москве́, я тебе́ позвоню́.
When I'm in Moscow, I'll call you. (бу́ду = future in the когда́-clause; позвоню́ = future in the main clause — BOTH future)
Е́сли пойдёт дождь, мы оста́немся до́ма.
If it rains, we'll stay home. (пойдёт = future after е́сли; оста́немся = future)
Как то́лько он придёт, мы начнём.
As soon as he arrives, we'll begin. (придёт = future; начнём = future)
The English instinct to write когда́ я в Москве́ (present) for a future trip is the number-one error here. Russian reasons: the trip hasn't happened yet, so use the future — in the subordinate clause too. The full treatment of this is on The Future in Subordinate Clauses.
How this differs from English
Three habits transfer badly. (1) Punctuation: English commas before subordinators are optional and often omitted ("I know you're busy"); Russian commas are mandatory ("Я зна́ю, что…"). (2) Tense in future when/if-clauses: English uses the present ("when I arrive"); Russian uses the future ("когда́ я прие́ду"). (3) The fact/wish split: English uses one word that for both reporting and wishing ("I think that…", "I want that…"); Russian forces что for facts versus что́бы for wishes, and что́бы even rewrites its verb into the past form. Internalize these three and most of your complex sentences will come out right.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я ду́маю что он прав.
Missing comma — Russian requires a comma before что (and every subordinator): Я ду́маю, что он прав.
✅ Я ду́маю, что он прав.
I think he's right.
❌ Когда́ я бу́ду в Москве́, я тебе́ звоню́.
Wrong tense in the main clause — a future plan needs the future: позвоню́, not звоню́.
✅ Когда́ я бу́ду в Москве́, я тебе́ позвоню́.
When I'm in Moscow, I'll call you.
❌ Когда́ я прихожу́ домо́й ра́но, я пригото́влю у́жин.
Present prihozhu after когда́ for a future event — Russian needs the future: Когда́ я приду́ домо́й ра́но, я пригото́влю у́жин.
✅ Когда́ я приду́ домо́й ра́но, я пригото́влю у́жин.
When I get home early, I'll make dinner. (both future)
❌ Я хочу́, что ты прие́дешь.
Wrong connector — a wish takes что́бы + past form, not что + future: Я хочу́, что́бы ты прие́хал.
✅ Я хочу́, что́бы ты прие́хал.
I want you to come.
Key Takeaways
- Subordinate clauses attach via subordinating conjunctions: object (что / что́бы), time (когда́, пока́, как то́лько, по́сле того́ как…), reason (потому́ что, так как), condition (е́сли), concession (хотя́), purpose (что́бы), result (так что).
- Rule 1 — a comma before every subordinator is obligatory (both sides if the clause is embedded).
- Rule 2 — future tense in future time/condition clauses: after когда́ and е́сли, both verbs are future (Когда́ я бу́ду…, я позвоню́), unlike English's present.
- что = fact (ordinary tense); что́бы = wish/purpose (forces the past form, or infinitive with one subject).
- Purpose (что́бы, the aim) contrasts with result (так что, the consequence).
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- Subordinating: Что and ЧтобыA2 — Что and чтобы look alike but do opposite jobs. Что (that) reports a fact after verbs of speaking, thinking, and knowing — and, unlike English 'that', it can never be dropped. Чтобы (in order to / that) introduces a goal or a wish, taking an infinitive when the subject stays the same and the past tense when it changes. This page draws the factual/volitional line and nails the obligatory comma.
- Temporal Conjunctions: когда, пока, после того как, как толькоB1 — Conjunctions of time tell you when one event happens relative to another: когда́ (when), пока́ (while) and пока́…не (until), как то́лько (as soon as), and the compound after/before pairs по́сле того́ как, пе́ред тем как, до того́ как, с тех пор как. The headline rule for English speakers: когда́- and пока́-clauses about the future take the FUTURE tense, where English uses the present.
- Relative Clauses with КоторыйB1 — Кото́рый ('who/which/that') is the workhorse relative pronoun of Russian. It agrees in GENDER and NUMBER with its antecedent — the noun it points back to — but takes its CASE from its own role inside the relative clause. A comma before кото́рый is obligatory. This page teaches the two-question method that gets the form right every time and shows кото́рый across all six cases.
- Future Tense in Subordinate ClausesB1 — English says 'when I arrive [present], I'll call'. Russian puts BOTH clauses in the future: Когда́ я прие́ду, я тебе́ позвоню́. After когда́, е́сли, как то́лько, пока́ referring to a future event, the subordinate verb must be future — writing a present there (*Когда́ я приезжа́ю…*) is one of the most systematic English-transfer errors.
- Topic, Focus, and the Given-New PrincipleB2 — Russian word order is not free — it is governed by information structure. The known, given material (the theme/те́ма) goes first; the new, informative material (the rheme/ре́ма) goes last. The same words reorder to answer different implicit questions, to mark 'a' versus 'the', and to front contrastive elements. This page shows how to read and build Russian sentences as packages of given-then-new.