кто
Who Question
Кто is the Russian word for 'who'. It is used to identify animate beings, which includes people and animals. Grammatically, it is always treated as masculine singular, and its pronunciation is irregular in certain forms.
How It Works
The pronoun кто is a fundamental tool for identification in Russian.
1. Animacy: Russian grammar distinguishes between animate and inanimate nouns. Use кто for humans and animals (e.g., Кто там? - Who is there?). Note that plants, such as trees and flowers, are considered inanimate and require что (what).
2. Grammatical Agreement: Кто is always grammatically masculine singular, regardless of the expected answer.
- In the past tense, the verb must take the masculine singular form, which usually ends in -л: Кто пришёл? (Who came?).
- In the present tense, use the third-person singular: Кто знает? (Who knows?).
3. Pronunciation Notes: Pay attention to how these high-frequency words sound in speech:
- In что, the ч is pronounced like ш (shto).
- In the form кого (whom), the г is pronounced like в (kavo).
4. Case Changes: In Level 1, you will primarily use the Nominative (кто) for subjects and the Accusative/Genitive (кого) for direct objects or after certain prepositions.
Examples (5)
- Кто это?
Who is this?
Word by Word: Who this?
A standard identification question using это.
- Кто там?
Who is there?
Word by Word: Who there?
Used when hearing a knock at the door or seeing someone in the distance.
- Кто хочет чай?
Who wants tea?
Word by Word: Who wants tea?
Note that the verb 'хочет' is in the singular form, even if asking a group of people.
- Кто это? Это мой кот.
Who is this? This is my cat.
Word by Word: Who this? This my cat.
Demonstrates that кто is used for animals because they are animate.
- Кто вчера пришёл?
Who came yesterday?
Word by Word: Who yesterday came?
Shows past tense agreement where the verb 'пришёл' must be masculine singular.
Common Mistakes
Using a plural verb with 'кто'.
Кто здесь живут?Кто здесь живёт?Even if you are asking about multiple people, кто always requires a singular verb.
Using 'что' when you already know it is a living being.
Different MeaningЧто это? Это собака.Кто это? Это собака.The sentence is correct when you do not yet know what the thing is. Once you know you are asking about a person or an animal, use 'кто': Кто это? Это собака.
Using feminine verb agreement when asking a woman.
Кто звонила?Кто звонил?In most questions, 'кто' takes a masculine verb in the past. If you already know it is a woman, speakers may also use the feminine, but the masculine is the safe standard: Кто звонил?
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand the question word 'кто' (who), a learner needs to be able to read Cyrillic script and understand the basic concept of a subject in the nominative case, as 'кто' typically asks about the subject of a sentence.
Related Patterns
- чтоWhat Question
The inanimate counterpart to кто, used for objects and abstract concepts.
Level 1 - это + NominativeIdentification with Это
Used together with кто to identify people or animals (e.g., 'Кто это?').
Level 1 - он/она + -ет/-итPresent Third-person Singular Verb
Кто follows the same third-person singular conjugation patterns as 'он' and 'она'.
Level 1 - -л/-ла/-лоPast Tense Gender Agreement
Кто always triggers the masculine singular past tense ending (-л).
Level 2 - которыйRelative Pronoun Который
While кто asks for identity, который asks 'which one' from a specific group.
Level 3
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice кто in Bubblegum
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