A1 Questions 1 min read Facile

Using Possessive Pronouns in Questions

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Use the interrogative pronoun 'čiji' (whose) which must agree in gender and number with the object you are asking about.

  • Use 'čiji' for masculine singular objects: 'Čiji je ovo auto?'
  • Use 'čija' for feminine singular objects: 'Čija je ovo torba?'
  • Use 'čije' for neuter singular objects: 'Čije je ovo dijete?'
Čiji/a/e + je + [Noun]?

Nominative Case Agreement

Gender Pronoun Example
Masculine
Čiji
Čiji je ovo mobitel?
Feminine
Čija
Čija je ovo torba?
Neuter
Čije
Čije je ovo pismo?
Plural (M)
Čiji
Čiji su ovo prijatelji?
Plural (F)
Čije
Čije su ovo knjige?
Plural (N)
Čija
Čija su ovo djeca?

Meanings

The pronoun 'čiji' is used to ask about ownership or possession of an object.

1

Direct Possession

Asking who owns a specific item.

“Čiji je ovo mobitel?”

“Čija je ovo jakna?”

Reference Table

Reference table for Using Possessive Pronouns in Questions
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Čiji/a/e + je + [Noun]
Čija je ovo olovka?
Plural
Čiji/a/e + su + [Noun]
Čiji su ovo ključevi?
Indirect
Ne znam + čiji/a/e + je + [Noun]
Ne znam čija je ovo torba.
Past
Čiji/a/e + je + bio/bila/bilo + [Noun]
Čija je bila ova ideja?
Future
Čiji/a/e + će + biti + [Noun]
Čija će ovo biti odgovornost?
Negative
Čiji/a/e + nije + [Noun]
Čija nije ova knjiga?

Spectre de formalité

Formel
Čija je ovo torba, molim vas?

Čija je ovo torba, molim vas? (General)

Neutre
Čija je ovo torba?

Čija je ovo torba? (General)

Informel
Čija je ovo torba?

Čija je ovo torba? (General)

Argot
Čija je ovo torba?

Čija je ovo torba? (General)

Gender Agreement Map

Čiji (Whose)

Masculine

  • Čiji M. Sing.

Feminine

  • Čija F. Sing.

Neuter

  • Čije N. Sing.
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Exemples par niveau

1

Čiji je ovo auto?

Whose car is this?

2

Čija je ovo torba?

Whose bag is this?

3

Čije je ovo dijete?

Whose child is this?

4

Čiji su ovo ključevi?

Whose keys are these?

1

Čija je ovo olovka i gumica?

Whose pencil and eraser is this?

2

Čije je ovo pismo na stolu?

Whose letter is on the table?

3

Čiji je ovo pas koji laje?

Whose dog is barking?

4

Čija su ovo djeca u vrtu?

Whose children are in the garden?

1

Ne znam čija je ovo jakna.

I don't know whose jacket this is.

2

Čijeg ste vi sina vidjeli?

Whose son did you see?

3

Čijoj se majci zahvaljujete?

Whose mother are you thanking?

4

Čijim autom putujete u Split?

Whose car are you traveling to Split in?

1

Pitam se čija bi ovo mogla biti ideja.

I wonder whose idea this could be.

2

Čije li su ovo riječi?

Whose words are these, I wonder?

3

Čijega li se uspjeha toliko boje?

Whose success are they so afraid of?

4

Nije jasno čija je ovo odgovornost.

It is not clear whose responsibility this is.

1

Čijim god putem krenuli, stići ćete do cilja.

Whichever path you take, you will reach the goal.

2

Čija god da je ovo krivnja, moramo je riješiti.

Whosever fault this is, we must solve it.

3

Čijega li se to glasa čuje u daljini?

Whose voice is that heard in the distance?

4

Čijim se to argumentima služe?

Whose arguments are they using?

1

Čijega li se to imena ne smije spomenuti?

Whose name must not be mentioned?

2

Čijim god zaslugama to pripisali, rezultat je isti.

To whomever's merits you attribute this, the result is the same.

3

Čija god da je to bila zamisao, bila je briljantna.

Whosever idea that was, it was brilliant.

4

Čijoj li se to sudbini smijemo?

Whose fate are we laughing at?

Facile à confondre

Using Possessive Pronouns in Questions vs Tko vs. Čiji

Learners mix up 'who' and 'whose'.

Using Possessive Pronouns in Questions vs Čiji vs. Moj/Tvoj

Learners confuse the question word with the possessive pronoun.

Using Possessive Pronouns in Questions vs Singular vs. Plural

Learners use singular 'čiji' for plural nouns.

Erreurs courantes

✗

Čiji je torba?

✓

Čija je torba?

Torba is feminine, so it needs the feminine form.
✗

Čija je auto?

✓

Čiji je auto?

Auto is masculine.
✗

Čiji torba?

✓

Čija je torba?

Missing the verb 'je'.
✗

Čije su auto?

✓

Čiji je auto?

Auto is singular.
✗

Čiji su ovo ključ?

✓

Čiji su ovo ključevi?

Plural noun requires plural verb.
✗

Čija je ovo dijete?

✓

Čije je ovo dijete?

Dijete is neuter.
✗

Čiji je ovo pismo?

✓

Čije je ovo pismo?

Pismo is neuter.
✗

Čiji je ovo brata?

✓

Čijeg je ovo brata?

Genitive case required.
✗

Čiji je ovo majci?

✓

Čijoj je ovo majci?

Dative case required.
✗

Čiji je ovo autom?

✓

Čijim je ovo autom?

Instrumental case required.
✗

Čiji god da je ovo krivnja

✓

Čija god da je ovo krivnja

Krivnja is feminine.
✗

Čijega li se to glasa čuje

✓

Čijega li se to glasa čuje

Correct genitive.
✗

Čijim god putem krenuli

✓

Čijim god putem krenuli

Correct instrumental.

Structures de phrases

Čiji/a/e je ovo ___?

Čiji/a/e su ovo ___?

Ne znam čiji/a/e je ovo ___.

Čiji/a/e je ovo bila ___?

Real World Usage

Classroom very common

Čija je ovo olovka?

Office common

Čiji je ovo mobitel?

Texting common

Čija je ovo ideja?

Travel occasional

Čija je ovo torba?

Social Media common

Čije je ovo dijete?

Food Delivery rare

Čija je ovo narudžba?

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💡

Check the Noun

Always look at the noun *after* the pronoun to decide which form to use.
⚠️

Don't forget the verb

Always include 'je' for singular objects.
🎯

Practice with objects

Point at things in your room and ask 'Čiji/a/e je ovo?'
💬

Be direct

It's perfectly fine to ask 'whose' something is in Croatia.

Smart Tips

Identify its gender first.

Čiji je torba? → Čija je torba?

Use 'su' instead of 'je'.

Čiji je ovo ključevi? → Čiji su ovo ključevi?

Check the noun ending.

Čiji je ovo pismo? → Čije je ovo pismo?

Use the full sentence structure.

Čija torba? → Čija je ovo torba?

Prononciation

/tʃiːji/

Čiji

The 'č' is a soft 'ch' sound like in 'church'.

Question intonation

Čija je ovo torba? ↗

Rising pitch at the end indicates a question.

Mémorise-le

Moyen mnémotechnique

Remember: 'Čiji' is like a chameleon, it changes its skin (ending) to match the noun it sits next to.

Association visuelle

Imagine a giant 'Čiji' sign holding a mirror. When it looks at a car (auto), it turns into 'Čiji'. When it looks at a bag (torba), it turns into 'Čija'.

Rhyme

Masculine ends in -i, Feminine in -a, Neuter in -e, that's the way!

Story

I walked into a room and saw a pile of items. I picked up a pen and asked, 'Čija je ovo olovka?' Then I picked up a phone and asked, 'Čiji je ovo mobitel?' Finally, I picked up a letter and asked, 'Čije je ovo pismo?'

Word Web

ČijiČijaČijeOvoJeSuVlasnikPripada

Défi

Go around your room, pick up 5 items, and ask 'Čiji/a/e je ovo [item]?' for each one.

Notes culturelles

Croatians are direct when asking about ownership. It is not considered rude to ask 'whose' something is if you find it.

The word 'čiji' comes from the Proto-Slavic *čьjь.

Amorces de conversation

“

Čija je ovo olovka?

“

Čiji je ovo mobitel?

“

Čija je ovo ideja?

“

Čiji su ovo ključevi?

Sujets d'écriture

Describe 3 items on your desk and ask whose they are.
Write a short dialogue where you find a lost item.
Reflect on a group project and whose ideas were used.
Write a story about finding a mysterious object.

Erreurs courantes

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

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Test Yourself

Fill in the correct form of 'čiji'.

___ je ovo auto?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čiji
Auto is masculine.
Choose the correct sentence. Choix multiple

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čiji je ovo mobitel?
Mobitel is masculine.
Correct the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Čija je ovo auto?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čiji je ovo auto?
Auto is masculine.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

Arrange the words in the correct order:

All words placed

Click words above to build the sentence

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čija je ovo torba?
Standard word order.
Translate to Croatian. Traduction

Whose letter is this?

Answer starts with: Čij...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čije je ovo pismo?
Pismo is neuter.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: ___ je ovo torba? B: To je moja torba.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čija
Torba is feminine.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Use 'ključevi' (keys).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čiji su ovo ključevi?
Ključevi is masculine plural.
Sort by gender. Grammar Sorting

Sort 'auto', 'torba', 'pismo'.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: M, F, N
Auto is M, Torba is F, Pismo is N.

Score: /8

Exercices pratiques

8 exercises
Fill in the correct form of 'čiji'.

___ je ovo auto?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čiji
Auto is masculine.
Choose the correct sentence. Choix multiple

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čiji je ovo mobitel?
Mobitel is masculine.
Correct the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Čija je ovo auto?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čiji je ovo auto?
Auto is masculine.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

ovo / je / torba / Čija / ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čija je ovo torba?
Standard word order.
Translate to Croatian. Traduction

Whose letter is this?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čije je ovo pismo?
Pismo is neuter.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: ___ je ovo torba? B: To je moja torba.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čija
Torba is feminine.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

Use 'ključevi' (keys).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Čiji su ovo ključevi?
Ključevi is masculine plural.
Sort by gender. Grammar Sorting

Sort 'auto', 'torba', 'pismo'.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: M, F, N
Auto is M, Torba is F, Pismo is N.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

It changes to agree with the gender and number of the object it describes.

You should learn the gender of nouns as you learn the words themselves.

No, use 'tko' for people.

No, it's very common and helpful.

Use 'su' and the plural form of 'čiji'.

Yes, it declines in all seven cases.

Yes, in indirect questions.

Using the masculine form for everything.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish partial

de quién

Croatian changes the pronoun based on the object's gender.

French low

à qui

Croatian 'čiji' acts as an adjective.

German low

wessen

Croatian 'čiji' must agree with the noun.

Japanese low

dare no

Croatian is an inflected language.

Arabic low

liman

Croatian uses gender-based agreement.

Chinese low

shéi de

Croatian uses gender-based agreement.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Distinguishing Njegov/Njezin from Svoj

Related Grammar Rules

A0

Asking 'How are you?' (Kako ste/si?)
A0

Asking for the Price (Koliko košta?)
A1

Question Forms with 'Biti'
A1

Forming Information Questions (Gdje? Kada? Zašto?)
A1

Answering Questions (Da/Ne)
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