колку е убаво / каков убав ден
Exclamations
Question words can start exclamations: Колку е убаво! (How nice it is!) and Каков убав ден! (What a nice day!)
How It Works
Колку + adjective or adverb. A form of сум comes right after колку: Колку е убаво! (How nice it is!), Колку е убава оваа куќа! (How beautiful this house is!). You can also leave the verb out: Колку убаво!
Колку + noun. It means "so many" or "so much": Колку луѓе! (So many people!), Колку работа! (So much work!)
Каков + noun. Каков agrees in gender and number with the noun, as in questions with каков:
- Каков ден! What a day!
- Каква жена! What a woman!
- Какво време! What weather!
- Какви луѓе! What people!
An adjective can come between them: Каков убав ден! The noun stays without the article: say Каков ден!, not каков денот.
Како + verb. Како starts an exclamation about how something is done: Како пее! (How beautifully she sings!)
Good or bad? The words only show that the feeling is strong. The situation tells you which feeling: Какво време! can praise sunshine or complain about a storm.
Question or exclamation? The same words ask questions: Колку е часот? Каков е филмот? See question words. In speech, the voice falls at the end of an exclamation. In writing, it ends with !
Examples (6)
- Колку е убаво!
How nice it is!
Word by Word: How-much is nice!
- Каков убав ден!
What a beautiful day!
Word by Word: What-kind nice day!
- Каква убава куќа!
What a beautiful house!
Word by Word: What-kind nice house!
Куќа is feminine, so каков and убав become каква and убава.
- Колку луѓе!
So many people!
Word by Word: How-many people!
- Колку си пораснал!
How you've grown!
Word by Word: How-much you-are grown!
Си пораснал means "you have grown".
- Какви глупости!
What nonsense!
Word by Word: What-kind nonsense-things!
Common Mistakes
Not making каков agree with the noun.
Каков убава куќа!Каква убава куќа!Каков changes like an adjective: каков for masculine, каква for feminine, какво for neuter and какви for plural nouns.
Adding the article to the noun after каков.
Каков убав денот!Каков убав ден!In exclamations with каков, the noun has no article.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Exclamations build on каков.
Related Patterns
- кој / што / каде / кога / како / зошто / колкуQuestion Words
Колку and како are ordinary question words that can also start exclamations.
Level 1 - многу / малкуA Lot and a Little
Колку луѓе! means the same as "многу луѓе", but with strong feeling.
Level 1 - Surprise With the L-Form
Another way to show surprise: Ова било вкусно! (This is delicious!)
Level 5 - нов / нова / ново / новиAdjective Agreement
Каков and the adjective after it change their endings in the same way.
Level 1