чији

Possessive Relative Clauses

Level 4Sounds Like čiǰi u odnosnoǰ rečenici

чији introduces a relative clause meaning whose or of which.
Key rule: unlike English 'whose' or German 'dessen', чији does not agree with the antecedent (the possessor). Instead, it behaves like an adjective and agrees completely in gender, number, and case with the possessed noun inside its own clause.

How It Works

In complex sentences, чији у односној реченици connects two clauses by expressing a broad possessive relationship, which covers not only literal ownership and belonging, but also interpersonal connections, family relations, kinship, part-whole associations, authorship, and inherent characteristics.

1. Declension and Agreement
Because чији has a soft stem ending in -ј-, it declines using the soft adjectival/pronominal paradigm (just like the interrogative чији; чија; чије):
• Nominative: чији (m.), чије (n.), чија (f.)
• Genitive: чијег(а) (m./n.), чије (f.)
• Dative/Locative: чијем(у) (m./n.), чијој (f.)
• Accusative: чији (inan. m.) / чијег(а) (anim. m.), чије (n.), чију (f.)
• Instrumental: чијим (m./n.), чијом (f.)
• Plural forms: чији (m. nom.), чије (f. nom.), чија (n. nom.); чије (m. acc.), чије (f. acc.), чија (n. acc.); чијих (gen.); чијим(а) (dat./loc./inst.)

2. Animate vs. Inanimate Referents
While older prescriptive sources discouraged using чији for inanimate objects, standard contemporary Serbian regularly uses чији for both people and things: предузеће чији су приходи порасли (the company whose revenue grew) or књига чије поглавље анализирамо (the book whose chapter we are analyzing).

3. Standard vs. Colloquial Structures
In formal writing and educated speech, чији is standard without resumptive clitics. Another fully standard structure is који with the sympathetic possessive dative (човек коме се кућа срушила). In informal conversation, native speakers often use hypotactic relative constructions using the invariant subordinator што with a resumptive clitic pronoun (човек што му се кућа срушила).

Examples (4)

  1. Упознао сам аутора чији су романи преведени на десет језика.

    I met the author whose novels have been translated into ten languages.

    Word by Word: I-met AUX author whose AUX novels translated into ten languages.

    The antecedent is masculine singular ('аутор'), but 'чији' takes masculine plural nominative form because it agrees with the possessed subject 'романи'.

  2. То је професор чију смо књигу сви прочитали.

    That is the professor whose book we all read.

    Word by Word: That is professor whose AUX book all read.

    Even though the professor is masculine ('професор'), 'чију' is feminine singular accusative to agree with the direct object 'књигу'.

  3. Посетили смо село у чијем се центру налази стара црква.

    We visited a village in whose center an old church is situated.

    Word by Word: We-visited AUX village in whose REFL center is-situated old church.

    When governed by a preposition ('у'), the preposition always precedes 'чији'. 'чијем' is masculine singular locative agreeing with 'центру'.

  4. Радимо на проблему чије решење још тражимо.

    We are working on a problem whose solution we are still seeking.

    Word by Word: We-work on problem whose solution still we-seek.

    Demonstrates that 'чији' naturally refers to inanimate antecedents ('проблем'). 'чије' agrees with neuter singular accusative 'решење'.

Common Mistakes

  • Matching 'чији' to the antecedent (possessor) instead of the possessed noun inside the clause.

    То је жена чија сина познајем.
    То је жена чијег сина познајем.

    Learners often make 'чији' feminine because 'жена' is feminine. However, 'чији' must agree with the possessed noun in its own clause: 'сина' is masculine animate accusative, requiring 'чијег'.

  • Adding an unnecessary resumptive pronoun clitic inside the relative clause.

    То је писац чију смо му књигу прочитали.
    То је писац чију смо књигу прочитали.

    Because 'чију' already marks possession, adding the resumptive dative clitic 'му' is redundant and ungrammatical in standard Serbian.

  • Placing a preposition between 'чији' and the noun rather than before 'чији'.

    Ово је село чијем у центру стоји споменик.
    Ово је село у чијем центру стоји споменик.

    Prepositions must stand at the very beginning of the relative constituent: 'Preposition + чији + Noun'.

How It Connects

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

чијиLevel 4Possessive Relative Clauses

Learn This First

To use 'чији' in relative clauses (meaning 'whose'), you need to know how Serbian relative clauses are structured (like with 'који'), how the interrogative/possessive stem 'чији' functions, and how adjectival pronouns decline to match the noun being possessed inside the clause.

Words in This Pattern

чији