Language/Yoruba/Grammar/Questions
Hi Yoruba learners! 😊
In today's lesson, we will be discussing how to ask questions in Yoruba. Asking questions is an important part of any language, and it can be tricky to get the grammar right. But don't worry, by the end of this lesson you will have a good understanding of how to ask questions in Yoruba.
Types of Questions
In Yoruba, there are two types of questions: yes/no questions and wh-questions.
Yes/No Questions
Yes/no questions are questions that can be answered with either "yes" or "no". In Yoruba, these questions are formed by adding the particle "bá" to the end of the sentence. For example:
- O dáa? - Is he coming?
- Ó ní ìyàwó? - Does she speak Yoruba?
Wh-Questions
Wh-questions are questions that begin with a question word such as "who", "what", "when", etc. In Yoruba, these questions are formed by adding the particle "ní" to the beginning of the sentence. For example:
- Ní ó sì jẹ́ kí o dáa? - Who is coming?
- Ní ó sì ní ìyàwó? - What does she speak?
Question Words
In Yoruba, there are several question words that can be used to form wh-questions. Here is a list of the most common ones:
- ní - who
- nítorí - why
- nípa - when
- níkan - where
- níwé - how
- nítorípé - how come
- níyí - what
- nítorípékí - why not
For example:
- Ní ó sì jẹ́ kí o dáa? - Who is coming?
- Nítorí ó sì jẹ́ kí o dáa? - Why is he coming?
- Nípa ó sì jẹ́ kí o dáa? - When is he coming?
- Níkan ó sì jẹ́ kí o dáa? - Where is he coming?
- Níwé ó sì jẹ́ kí o dáa? - How is he coming?
- Nítorípé ó sì jẹ́ kí o dáa? - How come he is coming?
- Níyí ó sì jẹ́ kí o dáa? - What is he coming for?
- Nítorípékí ó sì jẹ́ kí o dáa? - Why isn't he coming?
Negating Questions
In Yoruba, you can negate a question by adding the particle "kò" to the beginning of the sentence. For example:
- Kò ó dáa? - Isn't he coming?
- Kò ó ní ìyàwó? - Doesn't she speak Yoruba?
You can also use the particle "kò" to negate a wh-question. For example:
- Kò ní ó sì jẹ́ kí o dáa? - Who isn't coming?
- Kò ní ó sì ní ìyàwó? - What doesn't she speak?
Conclusion
That's it for today's lesson on how to ask questions in Yoruba. We hope you now have a better understanding of how to form yes/no questions and wh-questions in Yoruba.
If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎