Это самая большая корзина, которую я видел.

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Breakdown of Это самая большая корзина, которую я видел.

• это: this
• который: which
• видеть: to see

Questions & Answers about Это самая большая корзина, которую я видел.

Why is there no verb to be in this sentence?

In Russian the present-tense copula is usually omitted. A phrase like Это самая большая корзина literally reads “This the biggest basket.” The meaning “this is” is understood without adding есть or another form of быть in the present tense.

How is самая большая formed?

Russian uses the analytical superlative самый + adjective. Самый agrees with the noun in gender, number and case. Here корзина is feminine singular nominative, so you get самая большая (“the biggest”). You can also use the synthetic superlative with the prefix наи-, e.g. наибольшая корзина.

What case is корзина in, and why?

It’s in the nominative singular feminine. In a nominal sentence introduced by Это, the noun that follows stays in the nominative because it functions as a predicate nominative (it renames это).

Why is there a comma before которую?

Которую я видел is a subordinate relative clause introduced by the pronoun который. In Russian, clauses introduced by relative pronouns are typically separated from the main clause by a comma.

Why do we use instead of to introduce the relative clause?