18.6 - Interrogative and relative pronouns
These two types of pronoun (and also exclamatory pronouns) are presented together on one page, as the same words are used to denote the different functions.
Interrogative pronouns
хто? (who?), що? (what?)
| Nom. | хто? | що? |
| Gen. | кого? | чого? |
| Dat. | кому? | чому? |
| Acc. | кого? | що? |
| Instr. | ким? | чим? |
| Loc. | кому? | чому (чім)? |
скільки? how much (many)?
This declines like стільки:
| Nom. | скільки |
| Gen. | скількох |
| Dat. | скільком |
| Acc. | скільки/скількох |
| Instr. | скількома |
| Loc. | скількох |
який? (what kind of?), котрий? (which?), чий? (whose?)
These all decline like adjectives, and were presented on page 17.4.
Interrogative sentences
It is possible to ask a question just by using a question mark at the end of a written sentence, or interrogatory intonation when speaking:
| Маєш гроші.* | You have money. |
| Маєш гроші? | Do you have (any) money? |
* This word is plural in Ukrainian.
Interrogative pronouns are used to extend the range of questions which can be asked:
| Хто має гроші? | Who has (any) money? |
| Що маєш? Гроші? | What do you have? Money? |
| Скільки маєш грошей? | How much money do you have? |
| Чиї це гроші? Богданові? | Whose money is that? Bohdan's? |
Indirect questions
Sometimes we quote or report what someone asks, that is, we ask an indirect question. In Ukrainian this is easy to do, as the direct question is subordinated to (incorporated into) the main part of the sentence, without too many changes. Note the use of the conjunction чи to mean if/whether, and the comma before the indirect clause:
| Максим запитав, | Maksym asked |
| чи я маю гроші. | whether I had (any) money. |
| хто має гроші. | who had (any) money. |
| що я маю і чи це гроші. | what I had and whether it was money. |
| скільки я маю грошей. | how much money I had. |
| чиї це гроші і чи вони Богданові. | whose money that was and whether it was Bohdan's. |
Exclamatory pronouns
Some interrogatory pronouns can also be used in exclamations:
| Що за погода! | What weather (we're having)! |
| Який ти мудрий! | How clever you are! |
Relative pronouns
All the above interrogatory pronouns double up as relative pronouns (introducing relative clauses which modify nouns or pronouns):
| хто | Сьогодні той, хто володіє інформацією, володіє світом. | Today he who has information rules the world. |
| що | Він зробив усе, що можна було зробити. | He did everything which could be done. |
| який | Це – фільм, який треба пережити. | This is a film which has to be experienced. |
| котрий | Це – історія про кота, котрий залюбки їсть кавуни. | This is a story about a cat who loves eating watermelons. |
| чий | Співчуваю жінці, чий чоловік став безробітним. | I'm sorry for the woman whose husband has lost his job. |
N.B. In relative clauses що is sometimes used to replace який.