што

Relative Sto

Level 4Sounds Like što u odnosnoǰ rečenici

Што functions as an invariant relative marker ('that', 'which'). Unlike који, it does not inflect for case, gender, or number. It is standard when referring back to a whole clause (..., што нас је изненадило) or neuter pronouns (све што знам). When modifying nominal heads in spoken Serbian, oblique roles require a resumptive clitic pronoun (човек што сам га видео).

How It Works

Understanding the syntactic behavior of што in relative clauses (односне реченице) is essential to build fluency in Serbian.

1. Sentential Relatives
When a relative clause comments on an entire preceding statement rather than a single noun, standard Serbian uses што (preceded by a comma) when the clause requires a nominative or accusative relation:
• Отишао је без поздрава, што нас је све изненадило. (He left without saying goodbye, which surprised us all.)
Note that using *које here under English influence is non-standard. However, when the relative clause requires an oblique or prepositional relation to the entire clause, inflected forms based on the pronoun paradigm are used instead (such as чега, чему, or prepositional phrases like за шта, о чему, због чега):
• Није дошао на састанак, због чега смо морали да одложимо договор. (He didn't come to the meeting, because of which we had to postpone the agreement.)

2. Neuter Correlative Pronouns
When qualifying indefinite or demonstrative neuter heads such as оно што, то што, or све, што is standard and preferred:
• Урадићу све што могу. (I will do everything that I can.)

3. Modifying Nouns and Resumptive Pronouns (Conversational Register)
In formal writing, nominal antecedents take the inflected relative pronoun који. In spoken Serbian and folk narrative, speakers frequently use што instead. In this construction, што functions as an invariable relativizer (an uninflected conjunction-like connective) rather than an inflecting pronoun. As a result, the grammatical role of the modified noun within the clause is marked via resumptive personal pronouns:
• Subject (Nominative): No resumptive pronoun is used.
Човек што седи тамо је мој комшија. (The man that is sitting there...)
• Direct, Indirect, and Genitive Objects: Unstressed clitic pronouns (accusative, dative, or short genitive) provide agreement with the noun.
Књига што сам је прочитао... (The book that I read...)
Комшија што си му помогао... (The neighbor that you helped...)
Комшија што си га се плашио... (The neighbor that you were afraid of...)
• Prepositional Objects: Prepositions cannot take clitics, so a stressed/full personal pronoun (full pronoun) is required instead.
Човек што причамо о њему... (The man that we are talking about...)

4. Clitic Placement
When a resumptive clitic is used, it forms part of the subordinate clause's enclitic cluster right after што. It strictly follows standard Serbian rules for clitic ordering: pronominal clitics come after auxiliary forms like сам, си, смо, сте, су, but crucially precede the auxiliary је (e.g., човек што смо га упознали, but човек што га је видео).

Examples (4)

  1. Није се јавио на телефон, што ме је веома забринуло.

    He didn't answer the phone, which worried me a lot.

    Word by Word: Not self he-answered on phone, what me is very worried.

    Sentential relative modifying the whole preceding action. 'Што' is standard here and cannot be replaced by 'које'.

  2. Рећи ћу ти све што знам о том догађају.

    I will tell you everything that I know about that event.

    Word by Word: Tell will-I to-you all what I-know about that event.

    'Што' pairs naturally and standardly with neuter indefinite pronouns like 'све' and 'оно'.

  3. Срео сам човека што смо га јуче упознали.

    I met the man that we met yesterday.

    Word by Word: Met am man what are-we him yesterday met.

    Conversational nominal relative: since 'човек' is the masculine singular direct object of 'упознати', the resumptive clitic 'га' is required.

  4. То је она иста кућа што смо поред ње прошли.

    That is that same house that we passed by.

    Word by Word: That is that same house what are-we by her passed.

    When a preposition is required ('поред'), invariant 'што' retains the prepositional phrase with a tonic pronoun ('поред ње') in spoken style.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the resumptive pronoun when using 'што' with an oblique nominal antecedent.

    То је девојка што сам видео у граду.
    То је девојка што сам је видео у граду.

    Unlike 'коју' (which carries the accusative feminine ending), invariant 'што' cannot indicate case. You must insert the resumptive clitic 'је' in spoken relative clauses.

  • Using the neuter inflected relative 'које' instead of 'што' to refer to a whole clause.

    Отишао је рано, које нас је све изненадило.
    Отишао је рано, што нас је све изненадило.

    In standard Serbian, sentential modification ('..., which...') requires invariant 'што', not the adjectival relative 'које'.

  • Inserting an unnecessary resumptive pronoun in subject position (Nominative).

    То је човек што он ради у банци.
    То је човек што ради у банци.

    Subject relativization with 'што' has a gap; resumptive personal pronouns are never added for the nominative subject.

How It Connects

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штоLevel 4Relative Sto

Learn This First

To learn the indeclinable relative marker 'што', learners must already understand how relative clauses connect to a head noun (standardly introduced by 'који') and how enclitic pronouns supply case information (such as accusative or dative) that 'што' cannot express on its own.

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што