Breakdown of Я не вижу палитру, с которой он создавал этот шедевр.
не
not
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
я
I
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
видеть
to see
с
with (also со)
создавать
to create
который
which / who / that (relative pronoun)
палитра
the palette
шедевр
the masterpiece
Questions & Answers about Я не вижу палитру, с которой он создавал этот шедевр.
Why do we use с которой instead of с которым here?
The relative pronoun который has to match the gender of the noun it refers back to. Since палитра (palette) is feminine, we need the feminine form. The preposition с (with) requires the instrumental case, making it с которой.
I thought negated verbs take the genitive case. Why is it не вижу палитру (accusative) instead of палитры?
Although negative verbs often trigger the genitive case, using the accusative case (палитру) is perfectly natural when you are talking about a specific, concrete physical object. If it were an abstract concept or something whose existence was being denied, the genitive would be more strictly expected.
Why is the verb создавал (imperfective) used instead of the perfective создал?
Using the imperfective focuses on the continuous process of his work. The English translation reflects this nicely with 'was creating.' He was using the palette continuously during that ongoing process, rather than the sentence just pointing to the finished result.
Why doesn't этот шедевр change its ending if it is the direct object?
It actually is in the accusative case, but шедевр (masterpiece) is a masculine inanimate noun. For inanimate masculine nouns, the accusative case takes the exact same form as the nominative (dictionary) form, so both этот and шедевр look completely unchanged.
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