We have been asked by one of our readers to explain the uses of что. This seemingly simple word has several applications. We will go over the most common uses of this word.

Forms

The primary meaning of что is “what.” Dictionaries will tell you that it is technically a местоименное существительное, a “pronominal noun.” What that means for us in practical terms is that, as most Russian nouns, что declines, which has several important consequences.

First, let us look at the declension table for что.

You are most likely to encounter что referring the direct object of the verb:

• Что ты де́лал вчера́? (What did you do yesterday?)
• Что подари́ть сестре́? (What should I give my sister?)
• Что вы лю́бите чита́ть? (What do you like reading?)

An identical form, the nominative case, refers to the subject of the sentence — the thing being asked about.

• Что так вку́сно па́хнет? (What smells so good?)
• Что бы́ло в конве́рте? (What was in the envelope?)
• Что тебе сни́тся, кре́йсер Авро́ра? (“What are you dreaming of, the cruiser Aurora?”; lyrics of a children’s song; note that что and not Аврора is the formal subject here)

The conventional translation of “what is…”/”what are…” is “что такое…”

• Что тако́е конституцио́нная мона́рхия? (What is a constitutional monarchy?)

The case of что is determined by the verb to which it refers. Unfortunately, there is often no logical explanation other than convention.

• Чего́ ты бои́шься? (What are you afraid of? – бояться is followed by the genitive case)
• О чём ты ду́маешь? (What are you thinking of?)

All of these forms can be used in subordinate clauses:

• Профе́ссор спроси́л, что мы ду́маем о кни́ге. (The professor asked what we though about the book.)
• Я не понима́ю, чего́ им не хвата́ет. (I don’t understand what they are missing.)

Introducing Dependent Clauses

Another major usage of что is to connect a dependent clause giving more information. In these cases, что is technically a conjunction, and the entire dependent clause is the object of the verb of the main clause.

• Я прочита́ла, что зако́н отмени́ли. (I have read that the law has been repealed.) – compare “Я прочитала статью”/”I read an article”
• Бы́ло ви́дно, что в до́ме никто́ не живёт. (You could tell no one was living in the house.)

In rare cases, you can have the same sentence with что the conjunction and что the pronoun — with different meanings.

• Я слы́шал, что они́ говори́ли о тебе́. (I heard that they were talking about you.)
• Я слы́шал, что́ они́ говори́ли о тебе́. (I heard what they were saying about you.)

The way to distinguish these sentences in print is that the “question” what (second example) will have an accent mark over the о in print, even for native speakers, while the first example will not. In speech, the question what will be emphasized for the second example, whereas the verb will be emphasized in the first example.

Что can also introduce subordinate clauses clarifying which object/subject is meant:

• Мы стоя́ли пе́ред стено́й, что окружа́ет за́мок. (We were standing in front of the wall surrounding the castle.)

This is an archaic/bookish usage; you are more likely to use a form of кото́рый.

• Мы стоя́ли пе́ред стено́й, кото́рая окружа́ет за́мок.

There are several other ways что is used. Is there any that is giving you a hard time?