што
Question Word Што
Што means "what": Што гэта? (What is this?), Што ты робіш? (What are you doing?).
How It Works
Што asks about anything that is not a person or an animal: objects, actions, events and ideas. For people and animals, use хто.
Case forms. Што keeps its form as a subject or a direct object: Што гэта?, Што ты робіш? Otherwise it changes:
- чаго (genitive): Чаго ты баішся? (What are you afraid of?)
- чаму (dative). This form looks exactly like the question word чаму (why), and the context tells them apart.
- чым (instrumental): Чым ты пішаш? (What are you writing with?)
- (аб) чым (locative).
After пра (about), which takes the accusative, што keeps its form: Пра што гэты фільм? (What is this film about?)
Agreement. Што takes a singular verb, and in the past the verb is neuter: Што здарылася? (What happened?) This neuter ending is spelled -ла when it is unstressed; see neuter past endings.
Што also works as the conjunction "that": Я ведаю, што ты заняты. See што meaning "that".
Examples (6)
- Што гэта?
What is this?
- Што ты робіш?
What are you doing?
- Чым ты пішаш? — Ручкай.
What are you writing with? With a pen.
Чым is the instrumental form.
- Пра што гэты фільм?
What is this film about?
Пра takes the accusative, which for што is што.
- Чаго ты баішся?
What are you afraid of?
Баяцца takes the genitive, so што becomes чаго.
- Што здарылася?
What happened?
The past verb is neuter singular after што.
Common Mistakes
Using a masculine past form after што.
Што здарыўся?Што здарылася?Што takes neuter agreement in the past. Здарыўся is masculine.
Using the locative form after пра.
Пра чым гэты фільм?Пра што гэты фільм?Пра takes the accusative, and the accusative of што is што. Чым is the instrumental form, and also the locative form in аб чым, so it never follows пра.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Што follows хто.
Related Patterns
- гэта + NounIdentifying with Гэта
Што гэта? is answered with Гэта + a noun.
Level 1 - чамуQuestion Word Чаму
Чаму (why) looks like the dative form of што.
Level 1 - што заWhat Kind of with Што За
Што за asks what kind of thing something is.
Level 4 - што in Content ClausesContent Clauses with Што
Што also means "that" after verbs like ведаць.
Level 3 - Neuter Past Tense -ла/-лоNeuter Past Tense -ла and -ло
Explains the neuter past ending in Што здарылася?
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice што in Bubblegum
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