cws
Greetings Guest
home > library > journal > view_article
« Back to Articles » Journal
Forming Questions
0▲ 0 ▼ 0
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 6 Mar 2016, 21:28.

[comments]
?FYI...
This article is a work in progress! Check back later in case any changes have occurred.
Menu 1. Stative Questions 2. Verbal Questions 3. Wh- Questions

[top]Stative Questions

When asking a question about state (using verbs such as 'to be' or 'to live/reside at'), the question is simply formed by tonal inflection.

Bajtkibe rydad You live at this house
Bajtkibe rydad? Do you live at this house

Stative verbs in Nieren are verbs that describe a temporary quality or property of an object. As such, verbs like 'change (intr.)', 'live (permanent)', 'be', etc., are stative verbs.

[top]Verbal Questions

Transforming a verbal sentence into a question is a process much like that in English. Just as 'do' marks verbal questions, the same role is filled in Nieren by 'go . . . llo'.

These words surround the phrase:

Go jéhvllé śtonbe lonihad llo? Do you sing every day?
Go (śega raħil) (śen) lonihilov kabad llo? Do you want me to sing for you?

[top]Wh- Questions

Wh- questions are formed by placing the appropriate question word directly after the subject or directly before the verb.


(1) Iks núht iryhlmó kalevaj?
(2) Iks iryhlmó núht kalevaj?
(3) *Núht iks iryhlmó kalevaj
(4) *Iks iryhlmó kalevaj núht
When is mother going to the store?

Sentences (1) and (2) are grammatical, as the wh- question word 'núht' ("when"), directly follows the subject or precedes the verb. Sentences (3) and (4) are ungrammatical because wh- question words may not appear before a subject or after the main verb.

Here is a table of wh- question words in Nieren:

EnglishNieren
whotim
whosetimen
whatko
whennúht
whereśtónśkin
whykota

Comments
privacy | FAQs | rules | statistics | graphs | donate | api (indev)
Viewing CWS in: English | Time now is 29-Mar-24 10:44 | Δt: 914.6671ms