Breakdown of Мы знаем историка, которого вы видели в архиве.
мы
we
вы
you (plural)
знать
to know
в
in / to (direction)
видеть
to see
который
which / who / that (relative pronoun)
историк
historian
архив
archive
Questions & Answers about Мы знаем историка, которого вы видели в архиве.
Why is the word for 'whom' которого here instead of который?
Которого refers back to the historian. In the second part of the sentence, the pronoun acts as the direct object of видели (you saw whom?), meaning it must be in the Accusative case. Because историк is a masculine animate noun (a living person), its Accusative form looks exactly like its Genitive form: которого.
Why does the first part of the sentence use историка instead of the dictionary form историк?
Just like the pronoun, историк is the direct object of a verb—in this case, знаем (we know). This puts it in the Accusative case. Since it is a masculine animate noun, it takes the ending -а, making it историка.
Could I say в архив instead of в архиве at the end?
No, because в архиве is in the Prepositional case, which is used to describe a static location (where the seeing happened). If you used the Accusative case (в архив), it would imply direction or movement into the archive, as if you were walking to the archive.
Is the comma before которого strictly necessary?
Yes! Unlike in English, where commas before 'who' or 'that' depend on the exact type of clause, Russian grammar has a very strict rule: you must always place a comma before a relative clause starting with который.
Learn Мы знаем историка, которого вы видели в архиве and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free