Language/Agarabi/Grammar/Questions
Hi Agarabi learners! ๐
In this lesson, we will study how to form and use questions in Agarabi. Learning how to ask and answer questions is an essential part of communication. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to ask basic questions and understand the answers. Let's get started!
Types of Questions
In Agarabi, there are two types of questions: yes/no questions and wh-questions.
Yes/No Questions
Yes/No questions are questions that we answer with either "yes" or "no". These questions are formed by changing the word order of a statement. For example:
| Statement | Yes/No Question | |
|---|---|---|
| ืืืจื ืืื | ืืืจื ืืืื ืืจืืฉ? (Madirakh mayim | Madirakh mayim ganrish?) |
In the above example, the statement means "the path has water." But to turn it into a yes/no question, we simply move the verb "has" to the beginning of the sentence and add a question mark at the end. The resulting question means "does the path have water?"
Here is another example:
| Statement | Yes/No Question |
|---|---|
| ืืื ืืืื ืคืืฆื | ืืื ืืืื ืคืืฆื? (Hu ochel piza) |
In the above example, the statement means "he is eating pizza." But to turn it into a yes/no question, we simply add a question mark at the end. The resulting question means "Is he eating pizza?"
Wh-Questions
Wh-questions are questions that begin with words like "what," "where," "when," "who," "why," etc. These questions require more information than just a simple "yes" or "no" answer. Here is an example:
| Statement | Wh-Question | |
|---|---|---|
| ืืชื ืืืืข ืืฉืืง ืื ืืก | ืื ืืชื ืืืืข ืืขืฉืืช? (Ata yodea le'sakay tenis | Ma ata yodea la'asot?) |
In the above example, the statement means "you know how to play tennis." But to turn it into a wh-question, we change the word "tennis" to "what" and add a question mark at the end. The resulting question means "What do you know how to do?"
Here is another example:
| Statement | Wh-Question | |
|---|---|---|
| ืืืกืขืื ื ืืฆืืช ืืจืืื ืืืืฉ | ืืืคื ืืืกืขืื ื ืืฆืืช? (Ha'mis'ada nimitsa be'khutz hahadash | Eifo ha'mis'ada nimitsa?) |
In the above example, the statement means "the restaurant is located on the new street." But to turn it into a wh-question, we change the word "street" to "where" and add a question mark at the end. The resulting question means "Where is the restaurant located?"
Question Words
Question words are words that we use to form wh-questions. Here are some common question words in Agarabi:
| Question Word | Pronunciation | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ืื | Ma | What |
| ืืชื | Matai | When |
| ืืื | Lema? | Why |
| ืืืคื | Eifo | Where |
| ืื | Mi | Who |
| ืืืื | Eizeh | Which |
| ืืื | Kamah | How much/many |
Using these question words, we can form wh-questions like the ones we saw in the previous section.
Forming Yes/No Questions
Yes/No questions are formed by changing the word order of a sentence. To make a yes/no question, we do the following:
1. Move the verb to the beginning of the sentence. 2. Add the subject after the verb. 3. Add a question mark at the end.
Let's look at an example:
Statement: ืืื ืืื ืื? (Ha'im hu ba?) Translation: Is he coming?
The literal translation of the statement is "is he coming?" However, to ask a yes/no question in Agarabi, we must begin the sentence with the verb, which in this case is "is". So, we move "is" to the beginning of the sentence, and we get:
Question: ืืื ืื? (Hu ba?) Translation: Is he coming?
Notice that the subject "he" comes after the verb in the question form.
Forming Wh-Questions
Wh-questions are formed by adding a question word to the beginning of a sentence. Let's look at an example:
Statement: ืืื ืืืื ืฉืคื ืืืฉื. (Hu lomed s'fa hadasha.) Translation: He is learning a new language.
To turn this statement into a wh-question, we add a question word to the beginning of the sentence. For example:
Question: ืื ืืื ืืืื? (Ma hu lomed?) Translation: What is he learning?
In this example, we added the question word "what" to the beginning of the sentence, and the rest of the sentence remained the same.
Practice
Here is a dialogue to help you practice making questions in Agarabi.
- Person 1: ืื ืืืื ืืกืคืจ? (Ma hovah ha'sefer?)
- Person 2: ืืกืคืจ ืืื ืืืืืืกืืืช ืจืืืื ืืื ืืงืืจืื. (Ha'sefer hu me'ukhalusi'at Robinson ve'kirva.)
- Person 1: ืืืื ืืืช ืกืคืจ ืื ืืืืืื ืื? (Eizeh beit sefer hem lomdim bo?)
- Person 2: ืื ืืืืืื ืืืืช ืืกืคืจ ืืคืจืื ืฉื ืจืืืื ืืื. (Hem lomdim be'beit ha'sefer ha'prati shel Robinson.)
- Person 1: ืืืคื ืืชืงืืื ืืืกืืื? (Eifo mitkayem ha'mesiba?)
- Person 2: ืืืกืืื ืืชืงืืืืช ืืื ืืขืืจ. (Ha'mesiba mitkayemet ba'gan ha'ir.)
Tips
Asking questions is a great way to practice speaking with native Agarabi speakers. To find native speakers, you can use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
For more Agarabi grammar lessons, you can visit the Grammar section of the Agarabi language page on the Polyglot Club website.
Sources