Пейзаж, который я видел, останется в моей памяти навсегда.

The landscape I saw will stay in my memory forever.

Breakdown of Пейзаж, который я видел, останется в моей памяти навсегда.

• я: I
• мой: my
• в: in
• который: which

Questions & Answers about Пейзаж, который я видел, останется в моей памяти навсегда.

What is the function of который in this sentence?

который is a relative pronoun introducing the subordinate clause который я видел (“which I saw”). It refers back to пейзаж (masculine, singular) and carries the same gender, number, and case as its role inside the clause. Here it functions as the direct object of видел.

Why is который not declined as которого?

Because пейзаж is inanimate. In Russian, the accusative form of inanimate masculine nouns is identical to the nominative. Since который stands for the object of видеть, it appears in the accusative, which for inanimate nouns looks like the nominative: который.

Why is пейзаж in the nominative case at the beginning? Shouldn’t it be accusative because it’s what “I saw”?

The noun пейзаж is the subject of the main clause (“Пейзаж … останется …”). In the embedded clause “я видел …” the object role is filled by который, not by пейзаж itself. Therefore пейзаж remains in the nominative case as the head of the entire sentence.

What case is used in в моей памяти, and why does память change to памяти?