कसलाई / कसले / कसको

Asking Who with Postpositions

Level 2Sounds Like kasalā'ī, kasalē ra kasakō

को is who. Before an ending it becomes कस.

How It Works

को means who. It changes before a joined ending, just as यो changes to यस.

FormMeaning
कोwho (the subject)
कसकोwhose
कसलाईwhom, to whom
कसलेwho (the doer in the past)
कससँगwith whom
कसबाटfrom whom

को by itself is the subject of a sentence: को आयो? (who came?). Once a postposition follows, the word becomes कस.

Note that कसले asks about a doer, most often in the past: कसले चिया बनायो? (who made the tea?). The verb agrees with the one who did it.

The plain को does not take these endings, so कोको for whose and कोले are mistakes. The hyphenated को-को is a different word that asks who all: को-को आए?

Examples (5)

  1. यो किताब कसको हो?

    Whose book is this?

    कसको asks about the owner.

  2. तिमीले कसलाई भन्यौ?

    Whom did you tell?

    कसलाई asks about the person told.

  3. कसले फोन गर्‍यो?

    Who called?

    कसले asks about the doer.

  4. तपाईं कससँग जानुहुन्छ?

    Who are you going with?

    कससँग means with whom.

  5. यो चिया कसले बनायो?

    Who made this tea?

    The verb stays in the plain past.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding an ending to को.

    कोले फोन गर्‍यो?
    कसले फोन गर्‍यो?

    को becomes कस before an ending.

How It Connects

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

कसलाई / कसले / कसकोLevel 2Asking Who with Postpositions

Learn This First

Asking who with postpositions joins को and the endings.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.