Thread: кто

How would you say "somebody came to our house (walking)"

using кто-то as the subject?

and how would you say, "Who came here?" (again, by foot).

спасибо!

Кто-то пришел к нам домой.

Кто (тут) пришел?

Originally Posted by iCake

Кто (тут) пришел?

или Кто пришел сюда?

или Кто пришел сюда?

Both variants are correct. Your variant even are closer to the original.

P. S. Hmm... Should I move the word "even" to another place in my sentence or it's ok to put this word before the verb "are"?

Originally Posted by Звездочёт

P. S. Hmm... Should I move the word "even" to another place in my sentence or it's ok to put this word before the verb "are"?

Your variant is even closer to the original

Singular nouns and all that

Originally Posted by Звездочёт

Your variant even are closer

Я балда! Как это получилось?!

Кто к нам пришёл?
Кто нашу бабушку зарезал?

Originally Posted by Antonio1986

или Кто пришел сюда?

Ok so, if кто is a neuter subject, why is the verb conjugated for a masculine subject? why wouldn't it be кто пришло сюда?

Кто (тут) пришел?[/QUOTE]


Ok so, if кто is a neuter subject, why is the verb conjugated for a masculine subject? why wouldn't it be кто пришло сюда?

> if кто is a neuter subject
No, "кто" is masculine here.
"что" is neuter. so, "что пришло сюда?".

Originally Posted by Alex80

> if кто is a neuter subject
No, "кто" is masculine here.
"что" is neuter. so, "что пришло сюда?".

Is кто always masculine?
Is что always neuter?

Is кто always masculine?
Is что always neuter?

I can't recall situations in which it's not. So, yes, "кто" and words which derived from "кто" ("кто-то", "некто" and so on) are masculine, "что", "что-то", "нечто" are neuter.

However when you talk with russian natives you can hear sentences in which this rule doesn't work. It happens when speaker says "кто" but implies a woman.

For example: some woman has met a little girl and wish to make a compliment, to flatter. She can ask (factitiously):
- Кто это у нас тут такая нарядная? Кто такая красивая?

If my memory serves me, it's a mistake (in high, literary style), however in every day speech it happens often, very often.

«Кто такая…?» is not a mistake though.

Кто такой Андрей Зализняк? — Who is Andrey Zaliznyak? (the name is masculine so you suspect it’s a man)
Кто такая Светлана Савицкая? — Who is Svetlana Savitskaya? (the name is feminine so you suspect it’s a woman)

When you have no idea about the person’s gender, you can even be corrected by your interlocutor. E.g.:
— Кто такой Хоу Ифань? — Who is Hou Yifan?
— Не «такой», а «такая»! Это китайская шахматистка. — It’s not «такой», but «такая»! She’s a Chinese chess player.

«Кто такая…?» is not a mistake

... if predicate or modifier connect with a femail word. In your examples it's the name Светлана Савицкая.

The situation with "masculine" professions is same.
1) Врач вошёл в комнату. - Even if the doctor is a woman.
2) В комнату вошёл профессор, это была Светлана Савицкая. - The verb "быть" connect with Светлана Савицкая.
3) Автор Светлана Савицкая, уже известная любителям отечественной фантастики, недавно издала свой новый роман "На другом конце галактики". - Words "известный" and "издавать" connect with Светлана Савицкая. The word "автор" doesn't "work" here.