Breakdown of Тот, кто здесь работает, требует, чтобы министр уехал.
здесь
here
кто
who / whoever
работать
to work
тот
that
уехать
to leave (by vehicle, pf)
чтобы
in order to
требовать
to demand
министр
the minister
Questions & Answers about Тот, кто здесь работает, требует, чтобы министр уехал.
Why is уехал in the past tense if the demand is happening now and the leaving is in the future?
This is how Russian expresses commands or desires when two different people are involved. The first subject (the worker) wants the second subject (the minister) to do something. In this structure, you always use чтобы followed by the past tense for the second verb, regardless of when the action actually happens.
Why do we say Тот, кто instead of just Человек, который?
You could definitely say Человек, который (The person who), but Тот, кто (literally 'That one, who') is a very common and elegant Russian formula for 'He who' or 'The one who'. Russian uses 'pointer' words like Тот in the main clause to anchor the question word кто in the relative clause.
I learned the verb 'to demand' is требовать. Where did the -ова- go in требует?
This is a handy earlier rule to remember: verbs ending in -овать or -евать usually drop that ending and replace it with -у- in the present tense. That is why требовать becomes я требую, он требует, and so on.
Could we use поехал or ехал instead of уехал here?
Not if you want to accurately translate 'leave'. The prefix у- on a verb of motion specifically means moving away from a location (to depart or leave). Поехал simply means to set off, and ехал describes the process of traveling. Because the demand is for the minister to leave the premises, уехал is required.
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