кого / кому

Whom and to Whom

Level 3Sounds Like kogo; komu

Use кој for the person doing the action, кого for the person it is done to, and кому or на кого for the person who receives something: Кого бараш? · Кому му го даде?

How It Works

Nouns in Macedonian do not change for case, but the question word кој (who) keeps special forms, just like the personal pronouns do.

The three forms:

  • кој — the person doing the action: Кој дојде? (Who came?)
  • кого — the person the action is done to: Кого бараш? (Who are you looking for?)
  • кому — the person who receives something: Кому му го даде клучот? (Who did you give the key to?)

After prepositions always use кого: Со кого одиш? · За кого е ова? · Од кого го доби? The preposition comes first, never at the end of the question.

Кому and на кого: кому sounds a little formal. In everyday speech people usually say на кого: На кого му се јави? (Who did you call?) Both are correct. Either way, the short pronoun му normally stands before the verb, as it does whenever a person receives something (see кратки заменки: ми; ти; му; ѝ; ни; ви; им). In the question it stays му even if the answer turns out to be a woman, because the person is not known yet.

People only: these forms ask about people. To ask about a thing, use што: Што бараш? (What are you looking for?)

The same forms also link clauses to nouns, as in човекот со кого работам (see со кого; за кој; на кого).

Examples (6)

  1. Кого бараш?

    Who are you looking for?

    Word by Word: Whom you-look-for?

  2. Кому му го даде клучот?

    Who did you give the key to?

    Word by Word: To-whom to-him it you-gave key-the?

    Му goes with кому. It stays му because the person is still unknown.

  3. На кого му се јави вчера?

    Who did you call yesterday?

    Word by Word: To whom to-him yourself you-called yesterday?

    На кого is the everyday alternative to кому.

  4. Со кого одиш на кино?

    Who are you going to the cinema with?

    Word by Word: With whom you-go to cinema?

  5. За кого е овој подарок?

    Who is this present for?

    Word by Word: For whom is this present?

  6. Од кого го доби писмото?

    Who did you get the letter from?

    Word by Word: From whom it you-got letter-the?

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the preposition at the end of the question, as in English.

    Кого зборуваш со?
    Со кого зборуваш?

    A preposition cannot end a Macedonian question. It goes first, directly before кого.

  • Using кому after a preposition.

    Со кому зборуваше?
    Со кого зборуваше?

    After any preposition the form is кого. Кому is used on its own to mean to whom.

How It Connects

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кого / комуLevel 3Whom and to Whom

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Whom and to whom build on relatives and indirect objects.

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