Language/Yoruba/Grammar/Questions

Yoruba Grammar - Questions

Hi Yoruba learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about questions in Yoruba. We will learn how to form basic questions and how to ask more complex questions. Remember, practice makes perfect, so don't be afraid to make mistakes. Let's get started!

Forming Basic Questions

In Yoruba, the word order of a statement and a question is the same. However, to indicate that it is a question, we add a question word or a question particle to the sentence. Let's look at some examples.

Yoruba	Pronunciation	English
Ṣe ọkùnrin ni ẹ̀?	ʃɛ ɔkunrin ni e?	Are you a man?
Ṣe ọkùnrin yẹn ni e?	ʃɛ ɔkunrin jɛn ni e?	Is that man a man?
Níbo ni wọ̀n jẹ́ ńkan tí ó jẹ?	nibo ni won je nkan ti o je?	Where are they eating?

The question particle "ṣe" is used to indicate a yes or no question while question words like "nibo" (where), "nikan" (what), "ọ̀wọ́" (how) etc. are used for complex questions.

Making Complex Questions

To form complex questions in Yoruba, we use a question word and we move the auxiliary verb or the verb to the beginning of the sentence. The sentence order for complex questions in Yoruba is therefore: auxiliary/verb + subject + verb/auxiliary + question word.

Let's see some examples below.

Yoruba	Pronunciation	English
Ṣe ọ lè ṣèdúró sí ara ẹ̀?	ʃɛ ɔ lɛ sɛduro si ara e?	Can you sit down?
Níbẹ̀ ni wọ̀n kí àwọn àkọ́lé tó bá jẹ́ láti ìgbàgbọ́ àwọn oúnjẹ̀?	nibẹ ni won ki awon akole to ba je lati igbagbo awon oyunje?	Is it here that they were told to taste the food?
Ó mọ̀ nípa àwọn ènìyàn tó wà ní Nigeria gan-an, ẹ̀yin láti ṣèyínti àwọn adipọ̀ ọdún tó wà ní orílẹ̀.	o mo nipa awon eniyan to wa ni Nigeria gan-an, eyin lati seyinti awon adipo odun to wa ni orile.	Do you know about Nigerians who immigrated, to commemorate the years they were in the country?

Note that in the last example, "mọ̀", which means "know", is the verb and it comes before the subject "ó" and the object "nìpa àwọn ènìyàn tó wà ní Nigeria gan-an" (about Nigerians who immigrated to Nigeria).

Putting it into Practice

To improve your Yoruba Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Now, let's practice by having a dialogue in Yoruba.

• Person 1: Báwo ni ọkùnrin yẹn ṣe n ṣín? (How is that man doing?)
• Person 2: Ó wà dúpẹ́. (He is fine, thank you.)

• Person 1: Níbẹ̀ ni ẹ̀ ti fẹ́ pa: hotel àti mọ́ òní pẹ̀lú ńkan tí o fà nǹkan tó lè ṣe ni ìlú? (Where would you like to go: a hotel or exploring the city today?)
• Person 2: Mo fẹ́ pa ìlú ni àti mọ́ àwọn tí wọn ṣe láti ṣèdúró fun, ṣé ṣe orílẹ̀-èdè Yorùbá ni wọn n wà, ṣùgbọ́n mo gba lórí àwon ìdámọ̀-kọ́nní naa lọ. (I would like to explore the city and see what they have to offer, are there any Yoruba cultural landmarks around here? I have only seen modern landmarks so far.)

Great job! Don't forget to practice your questions in Yoruba as much as possible.

Sources

• Yoruba Grammar
• Yoruba Language