со кого / за кој / на кого
Relatives After Prepositions
English can end a clause with a preposition (the man I work with), but Macedonian puts it first: Човекот со кого работам е од Струга.
How It Works
Many relative clauses need a preposition: the house I live in, the job we talked about. In Macedonian the preposition can never be left at the end. It always comes first, directly before the relative word.
For people: кого. The object form кого does not change for gender: човекот со кого работам (the man I work with), човекот за кого ти зборував (the man I told you about). With plural people the agreeing form is more usual: пријателите со кои патувам. The agreeing forms are also common with a single person: жената со која работам. Both are correct.
For things: кој, која, кое, кои. The form agrees with the noun: работата за која зборувавме (feminine), градот во кој живеам (masculine), селото од кое доаѓам (neuter), книгите за кои пишував (plural).
Што after a preposition is used when the clause refers back to тоа, нешто, сѐ or ништо, or to a whole idea: Тоа е нешто за што не сакам да зборувам. With an ordinary noun, prefer the agreeing form.
На кого with a to-someone verb: when the verb takes a to-someone object, such as верува (trust) or дава (give), a short pronoun (му, ѝ, им) still stands before the verb: човекот на кого најмногу му верувам (see на + лице за индиректен објект).
Examples (6)
- Човекот со кого работам е од Струга.
The man I work with is from Struga.
Word by Word: Man-the with whom I-work is from Struga.
- Работата за која зборувавме е веќе завршена.
The job we talked about is already finished.
Word by Word: Job-the about which we-talked is already finished.
- Ова е куќата во која пораснав.
This is the house I grew up in.
Word by Word: This is house-the in which I-grew-up.
- Пријателите со кои патувам се од Скопје.
The friends I travel with are from Skopje.
Word by Word: Friends-the with whom I-travel are from Skopje.
- Тоа е нешто за што не сакам да зборувам.
That is something I do not want to talk about.
Word by Word: That is something about what not I-want to I-talk.
Што follows the preposition because it refers back to нешто.
- Тој е човекот на кого најмногу му верувам.
He is the person I trust most.
Word by Word: He is man-the to whom most to-him I-trust.
Верува takes a to-someone object, so му stands before the verb.
Common Mistakes
Leaving the preposition at the end of the clause, as in English.
Човекот кој работам со е од Струга.Човекот со кого работам е од Струга.A Macedonian preposition cannot stand at the end. Move it to the front of the clause, directly before the relative word.
Not matching the relative word to the noun.
Куќата во кој живеам е стара.Куќата во која живеам е стара.Куќата is feminine, so the relative word after во is која.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Relatives after prepositions build on relative кој.
Related Patterns
- кого / комуWhom and to Whom
Кого and кому are also the question forms: Со кого зборуваш?
Level 3 - Relative штоRelative Clauses with Што
Што is the unchanging relative word; after a preposition it refers back to тоа, нешто or сѐ.
Level 3 - на + PersonIndirect Objects with На
На кого keeps the short to-someone pronoun before the verb, as на does with any person.
Level 2 - помага / веруваVerbs with To-Someone Objects
Verbs like верува take a to-someone object, which explains на кого му верувам.
Level 3 - зависи од / се грижи заVerbs with Fixed Prepositions
Verbs that need a fixed preposition bring it into the relative clause: работата за која се грижам.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice со кого / за кој / на кого in Bubblegum
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