Breakdown of Мы не хотим покупать дом, в котором плохой ремонт.
дом
house
не
not
мы
we
плохой
bad
хотеть
to want
в
in / to (direction)
покупать
to buy
который
which / who / that (relative pronoun)
ремонт
renovation
Questions & Answers about Мы не хотим покупать дом, в котором плохой ремонт.
Why does the sentence use в котором instead of just который?
Который (which) has to match the gender of the noun it refers back to, which is the masculine noun дом (house). However, its case depends on its role in its own part of the sentence. Because we want to say "in which", we use the preposition в followed by the Prepositional case form, котором.
Why is there no verb like "is" or "has" after в котором?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" is almost always left out. Instead of saying "in which there is a bad renovation", Russian simply says "in which bad renovation" (в котором плохой ремонт).
What does ремонт mean when talking about a house?
While ремонт literally means "repair", in the context of apartments and houses it refers to the interior condition, finish, or renovation. A house with плохой ремонт means the inside is in poor shape or needs remodeling.
Is the word дом in the Nominative case here?
No, it is in the Accusative case because it is the direct object being bought. For inanimate masculine nouns like дом, the Accusative case form looks exactly the same as the Nominative (dictionary) form.
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