kterého

Kterého is a form of the Czech relative pronoun který (which/who/that). It is used to introduce a relative clause and refers to a masculine singular antecedent in the accusative case. In practice, kterého appears in sentences where the relative clause functions as the object of the action in the main clause.

The relative pronoun který is declined to match the gender, number, and case of its antecedent. Kterého is the accusative singular form for masculine singular in many standard contexts; the corresponding genitive form is typically jehož (often treated as a more formal or archaic variant), while nominative is který and other cases have their own forms (such as kterému in the dative and kterém in the locative). Feminine and neuter forms are different (např. která/ které/ kterou, depending on case).

Examples:

- Muž, kterého jsem viděl, byl profesor. (The man whom I saw was a professor.)

- To je autor, kterého obdivuji. (That is the author whom I admire.)

Usage notes:

- Kterého commonly appears in formal writing; in spoken Czech, a colloquial variant such as kterýho is frequent.

- It is one of several Czech relative pronouns derived from the interrogative který, and it agrees with the antecedent in gender, number, and case.

- In complex sentences, kterého can be combined with prepositions that govern the required case, such as o kterém (about which) or s kterým (with whom).

Etymology and classification:

- Phrases with který are descended from the Proto-Slavic interrogative form. Kterého, like other relative forms, serves to link a dependent clause to its antecedent, functioning similarly to English “which/that/who” in relative clauses.