Breakdown of Электричество — это ресурс, который нам очень нужен.
это
this / it is
мы
we
очень
very
нужен
needed (short form)
Questions & Answers about Электричество — это ресурс, который нам очень нужен.
Why is который in the masculine form here, even though электричество is a neuter noun?
The word который (which/that) always agrees in gender and number with the noun it directly replaces. Here, it refers back to the noun right before it: ресурс (a masculine noun), not the earlier word электричество.
Why is который in the Nominative case in this sentence?
In the second half of the sentence, the resource (represented by который) is the grammatical subject. Literally, the clause translates to "which is necessary to us." Since it acts as the subject of its own clause, it takes the Nominative case.
Why do we use the Dative word нам (to us) instead of мы (we)?
To say "we need [something]" in Russian, the structure is flipped to "[something] is necessary to us." The person who needs the item is the receiver, so they are put into the Dative case (нам).
Why use the short form нужен instead of the regular adjective нужный?
When expressing need using this "is necessary to someone" structure, Russian requires short-form adjectives. Нужен is the masculine short form, chosen here because it must agree with the masculine subject который.
Why is there a dash and the word это in the first part of the sentence?