ko / šta

Who and What

Level 1

Ko = who, šta = what. The verb agrees with a singular subject.

How It Works

Bosnian splits "who" and "what" into two small words.

  • ko asks about a person: Ko je to? Who is that?
  • šta asks about a thing: Šta je ovo? What is this?

Even if you expect several people, ko stays singular in the question: Ko dolazi večeras? (Who is coming tonight?). The answer can be one name or many.

The words change in other cases. The accusative of ko is koga, as in Koga voliš? The accusative of šta stays šta: Šta voliš? You will learn the other forms (koga, kome, čega, čemu) later.

The same words give you "someone" and "something": neko and nešto. In Bosnia people use ko and šta in daily life; the forms tko and što as question words belong to Croatian. Bosnian keeps što for linking, as in zato što, ono što and sve što.

Examples (5)

  1. Ko je to?

    Who is that?

    Ko asks about a person.

  2. Šta je ovo?

    What is this?

    Šta asks about a thing.

  3. Ko živi u Tuzli?

    Who lives in Tuzla?

    Ko is the subject, so the verb is third person singular.

  4. Šta Lejla pije?

    What is Lejla drinking?

    Šta is the object here.

  5. Koga čekaš?

    Whom are you waiting for?

    Koga is the accusative form of ko.

Common Mistakes

  • Using šta for a person.

    Šta je on?
    Ko je on?

    Use ko when you want to know who a person is. Šta je on? would ask about his job or kind.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ko / štaLevel 1Who and What

Learn This First

Ko and šta are question words.

Words in This Pattern

košta