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The pronouns кто (who), что (what), какой, который (which), чей (whose), сколько (how much/many/long) and насколько (for how much/long) are used to interconnect the parts of a compound sentence.
They are called relative pronouns because they express relations between the main and dependent clauses of a compound sentence. You can listen to the pronunciation of the relative pronouns below.
Take a look at the following examples:
Use the table below to practice your pronunication of the Russian relative pronouns.
Audio | Russian word | English translation | Pronunciation |
кто | who | ktoh | |
что | what | shtoh | |
какой | which | kah-KOY | |
который | which one | kah-TOH-riy | |
чей | whose | chey | |
сколько | how much/many | SKOHL'-kah | |
насколько | for how much/long | nah-SKOHL'-kah |
The relative pronouns кто, что, сколько change by cases in the same manner as their interrogative counterparts кто, что and сколько.
The pronouns какой, какая, какое, какие; который, которая, которые; чей, чья, чьё, чьи change by gender, number and cases (see the table). The gender and number of a pronoun should be the same as the gender and number of the noun it refers to. The choice of the case depends on the verb related with the pronoun. Let's consider an example.
In both sentences, the pronouns которая and которую are singular feminine, because they refer to the singular feminine noun книга. However, they have different cases. The nominative case of the pronoun которая is determined by the verb продаётся (она продаётся — nominative). Similarly, the accusative pronoun которую agrees with the verb купила (купила её — accusative).
Table: Changes in relative pronouns
Study how relative pronouns change by case, gender and number.
Case | singular masculine | singular feminine | singular neuter | plural, all genders |
Nominative | какой | какая | какое | какие |
Genitive | какого | какой | какого | каких |
Dative | какому | какой | какому | каким |
Accusative (animate/inanimate) |
какого/ какой |
какую | какое | каких/ какие |
Instrumental | каким | какой | каким | какими |
Prepositional | (о) каком | (о) какой | (о) каком | (о) каких |
The relative pronouns can be used in couple with the demonstrative pronouns тот, та, то, те, столько. The main clause must include a relative pronoun, while the corresponding demonstrative pronoun is to be placed in the dependent clause.
Ask them in the Russian Questions and Answers — a place for students, teachers and native Russian speakers to discuss Russian grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and other aspects of the Russian language.
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