ten, kto / to, čo
Whoever and Whatever
To, čo hovoríš, je pravda. (What you say is true.) Ten, kto príde prvý, vyhrá. (Whoever comes first wins.)
How It Works
Naming by a clause. English says what or whoever. Slovak usually uses two words: to, čo (the thing that, what) and ten, kto (the one who, whoever). The relative clause always stands between commas.
- To, čo hovoríš, je pravda. (What you say is true.)
- Ten, kto príde prvý, vyhrá. (Whoever comes first wins.)
Two cases. Each word does a job in its own clause:
- ten / to takes the case the main clause needs: Nerozumiem tomu, čo hovoríš. (rozumieť + dative), Hovorím o tom, čo sa stalo. (o + locative), Pomôž tomu, kto to potrebuje.
- kto / čo takes the case the relative clause needs: Pozvi, koho chceš. (Invite whoever you want: koho is the object of chceš.)
Leaving out ten or to. When the demonstrative would be in the nominative or accusative, it is often left out, especially in sayings: Kto nepracuje, nech neje. (Whoever does not work shall not eat.) Rob si, čo chceš. (Do whatever you want.) See also nech.
Agreement. Kto takes a masculine singular verb: Kto prišiel prvý, vyhral. For a known, specific person, use a noun with ktorý instead: ten muž, ktorý tam stojí. In the plural, careful Slovak says tí, ktorí: Tí, ktorí prišli neskoro, musia počkať.
Register. In relaxed speech you will hear ten, čo for a person (ten, čo tam stojí). Standard Slovak prefers ten, kto or ten, ktorý. See colloquial čo for ktorý. After všetko, niečo and nič, use relative čo.
Examples (6)
- To, čo hovoríš, je pravda.
What you say is true.
Word by Word: That, what you-say, is truth.
- Ten, kto príde prvý, vyhrá.
Whoever comes first wins.
Word by Word: That-one, who will-come first, will-win.
- Kto nepracuje, nech neje.
Whoever doesn't work shouldn't eat.
Word by Word: Who not-works, let not-eat.
A well-known saying. Ten is left out because it would be in the nominative.
- Nerozumiem tomu, čo hovoríš.
I don't understand what you're saying.
Word by Word: Not-I-understand to-that, what you-say.
Rozumieť takes the dative, so to becomes tomu.
- Pomôž tomu, kto to potrebuje.
Help whoever needs it.
Word by Word: Help to-that-one, who it needs.
- Rob si, čo chceš.
Do whatever you want.
Word by Word: Do for-yourself, what you-want.
Common Mistakes
Keeping ten or to in the nominative.
Nerozumiem to, čo hovoríš.Nerozumiem tomu, čo hovoríš.Rozumieť needs the dative, so to changes to tomu. The main verb decides the case of ten or to.
Keeping kto in the nominative when it is an object.
Pozvi, kto chceš.Pozvi, koho chceš.In the relative clause, the person is the object of chceš, so kto becomes koho.
Leaving out the commas.
To čo hovoríš je pravda.To, čo hovoríš, je pravda.A relative clause is closed off by commas on both sides.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Whoever and Whatever, learn Relative čo After všetko and niečo and That One by Gender. ten, kto and to, čo are relative clauses with kto and čo. ten and to point to the clause.
Related Patterns
- Relative Pronoun ktorý
Use ktorý when the clause describes a specific noun.
Level 3 - kto / čoWho and What
Gives the case forms of kto and čo that appear in the relative clause.
Level 1 - Colloquial čo for ktorý
Explains the colloquial ten, čo for a person.
Level 6 - čo (Referring to a Whole Clause)Which, Referring to a Whole Clause
Another use of čo, referring back to a whole clause.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice ten, kto / to, čo in Bubblegum
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