The relative pronoun in the genitive (kojeg, koje)

The relative pronoun 'koji' in the genitive

When you want to add extra information about a noun, you use the relative pronoun koji (who, which, that). Like an adjective, koji agrees in gender and number with the noun it refers to. However, its grammatical case is determined by its role inside the relative clause.

In this lesson, we are using the genitive case. The genitive is triggered by prepositions such as iz (out of, from), od (from), s (from, off), zbog (because of), bez (without), and pored (next to). It is also required as the object of certain reflexive verbs, like sjećati se (to remember) and bojati se (to be afraid).

Here are the genitive singular forms for the relative pronoun:

GenderGenitive Form
Masculinekojeg
Neuterkojeg
Femininekoje

For masculine and neuter nouns, use kojeg. Notice how it follows verbs that require the genitive, or prepositions like od and s:

Do you remember the boy from kindergarten whom we were afraid of?
Sjećaš li se dječaka iz vrtića kojeg smo se bojali?
That is an old friendship which I do not want to give up on.
To je staro prijateljstvo od kojeg ne želim odustati.
The attic is the place from which I recently brought the old album.
Tavan je mjesto s kojeg sam nedavno donio stari album.

For feminine nouns, the genitive form changes to koje:

This is the mistake because of which I am angry.
Ovo je pogreška zbog koje sam ljut.
I miss the house from which we moved long ago.
Nedostaje mi kuća iz koje smo se davno preselili.
This is a precious bracelet without which she never travels.
Ovo je dragocjena narukvica bez koje ona nikada ne putuje.
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