Relative (Interrogative) Pronouns

Nom Akk Dat Gen Prep Instr
tko
(who)		 koga
(whom)		 komu(e)
(to whom)		 kog(a)
(of whom)		 na,o,u..komu(e)
on,at, in whom		 s kim(e)
(with whom)
što
(what)		 što
(what)		 čemu
(to what)		 čeg(a)
(of what)		 na,o,u..čem(u)
on,at,in what		 čim(e)
(with what)

 

 

 

 

Tko je na vratima?  -  who's at the door?

S kim si putovala?  -  Who did  you travel with?

Kod koga ste prenoćili?  -  At whose place did you spend the night?

Što ste kupili?  -  What did you buy?

Čega se boji?  -  What's he afraid of? (bojati se + G)

O Čemu se radi?  -  What's it about?

The indefinite pronouns - netko (someone) and nitko (no one) - are declined like tko; nešto (something) and ništa (nothing) are declined like sto.

Razgovarala je s nekim  -  She was talking to someone

Sjetila sam se nečega  -  I've remembered something

Nikoga nismo vidjeli  -  We didn't see anyone

Nisu se ničega sjećali  -  They couldn't remember anything

NB: But where negative compound pronouns occur with prepositions, the preposition is placed between the component parts:

Ne vida se ni s kim  -  He doesn't see anyone

Ni od koga nemamo vijesti  -  We've no news from anyone

Uzrujavaš se ni zbog čega  -  You're getting upset about nothing


 
m (Singular) n (Singular) f (Singular) m (Plural) n (Plural) f (Plural)
tko          
ško          
koji (which) koje koja koji koja koje
čiji (whose) čije čija čiji čija čije
kakav (what kind of) kakvo kakva kakvi kakva kakve
koliki koliko kolika koliki kolika kolike

 

 

 

 

 

Tko and što have only one form for all three genders. These pronouns have a special declension

N tko što  
G kog(a) čeg(a)  
D P kom(u) čem(u)  
A kog(a) što  
V - -  
I (s) kim(e)   (s) čim(e)

 

 

 

 

 

Declension of Relative (Interrogative) pronouns

  Singular Plural
m. nt. f. m. nt. f.
N koji koje koja koji koja koje
G kojeg(a) / kog(a)    koje kojih kojih kojih
D P kojem(u) / kom(u)    kojoj kojim(a) kojim(a) kojim(a)
A N or G koje    koju koje koja koje
I (s) kojim (s) kojom (s) kojim(a) (s) kojim(a) (s) kojim(a)

 

 

 

 

 

Notice that the declension is very similar to that of moj.

  Singular Plural
m. nt. f. m. nt. f.
N kakav kakvo kakva kakvi kakva kakve
G kakva / kakvog(a) kakve kakvih kakvih kakvih
D P kakvu / kakvom(u)    kakvoj kakvim(a) kakvim(a) kakvim(a)
A N or G kakvo    kakvu kakve(a) kakva kakve
I (s) kakvim (s) kakvom kakvim kakvim kakvim

 

 

 

 

 

 

Čiji and koliki are declined as koji / G. only čijeg(a), D. čijem(u) / and koliki / G. only kolikog(a), D. kolikom(u), etc/

koji, koje, koja (who, which)

It is important to distinguish between the interrogative pronoun tko and the relative pronoun koji.  This is not alway easy in practise as in some parts of the country genitive and dative of koji (masculine and neuter) are identical to genitive and dative of tko.  It is awkward also because English uses 'who' for both functions.

The relative pronoun cannot be omitted, as tends to occur in English, particularly when it is used as an object: 'the man I saw, The town you visited'.  In Croatian and Serbian these must always be present:

the man whom I saw čovjek kojeg sam vidio
the town which you visited grad koji ste posjetili

 


Examples:

Tko je ta dama s kojom sam vas vidio sinoć?   -   Who is that lady I saw you with last night?

To je moj prijatelj iz Engleske o kome sam ti pričao - That's my friend from England I told you about

Vlak kojim su oni putovali kasnio je pola sata  -  The train they travelled by was half an hour late

NB:  When you have to translate such English sentences as the above, first establish whether a relative pronoun has been omitted and then use the appropriate form of koji.

In certain circumstances što can be used as a relative pronoun, and it must be used after neuter indefinite pronouns: ovo, to, ono, nešto, ništa, jedino, prvo, sve.

Sviđa mi se ono što sam vidjela   -   I like what I have seen

Imate li sve što trebate?   -   Have you got all you need?

Ima nešto o čemu moram s vama govoriti  -  There is something I must speak to you about

Nisu razumjeli ni riječ od onoga što smo im rekli  
They didn't understand a word of what we told them

   čiji, čije, čija (whose)

Čiji is declined like koji, agreeing in all respects with the noun which follows it:

Čiji je taj lijepi šešir?   -   Whose is that nice hat?

Znaš li čije su te naočale?   -   Do you know whose those glasses are?

Čijim ste autom došli?   -   Whose car did y ou come in?

U čijoj smo kući bili?   -   Whose house were we in?

Gdje

Gdje asks where something is (being stationary).
Kamo asks to where something goes (being in motion).
In answering a question with gdje you use dative.
In answering a question with kamo you use accusative.

Gdje živite? Where do you live?
Kamo idete? Where are you going?

 

 

Koliko

Koliko means how much or how many. It is followed by the genitive case like other words of quantity (such as mnogo). Eg, Koliko imate godina?

  • what
    • - What are they doing? - Što rade?

  • kako - how

  • kada - when

    • Kakav

    Kakav is an adjective, so, it changes its ending according to the noun. It has two meanings:

    a) What kind of..?

    Kakav naslonjač stoji u dnevnoj sobi?
    What kind of an armchair stands in the living room?

    Kakvu juhu više volite?
    What kind of soup do you prefer?

    Kakve knjige su na stolu?
    What kind of books are on the table?

    b) What a ... !

    Kakav čovjek! - What a person!
    Kakva kuća! - What a house!