Language/Tigrinya/Grammar/Question-Words
Asking questions is an essential part of communication. In Tigrinya, as in any language, there are specific question words that one must know to ask questions appropriately. In this lesson, you will learn the Tigrinya question words, such as who, what, when, where, why, and how, and how to use them in questions.
Tigrinya Question Words
Tigrinya question words are used to ask questions about people, places, things, actions, and reasons. They are:
- **ቀላል መንነት** (k'ala mennet): "what"
- **ምን** (mən): "what"
- **ምንጭ** (mənč'ə): "what kind of"
- **መምህር** (mamhər): "how"
- **ምንእን** (mənən): "why"
- **ምንምን** (mənmən): "why"
- **ብዝሒ** (bəzhə): "when"
- **በዓል** (bə'al): "where"
- **ሓበሬታ** (habereta): "who"
Examples
To understand how to use Tigrinya question words, let's look at some examples:
- What is your name? - **ስምም ምንክር ነይ?** (siməm mənkər nay)
- What do you want to eat? - **ምን'ባ ምዝጋብዎ ነይ?** (mən'ba mzgabgwo nay)
- What kind of music do you like? - **ምንጭ ሙዚቀኛ ዝሓት ዘይብሉ ንኽርስትያን?** (mənč'ə muzech'agn'a zihət zeyblu nək'ristyan)
- How are you? - **ንዕለት መጠንቀቕታ?** (nə'elti metsnk'wta)
- Why did you not come yesterday? - **ምንእን'ዩ። ቀደምቲ ድሕሪ ናትኩም?** (mənən'yū. qəddemti dehri natkum)
- When do you go to work? - **ብዝሒ ምድላው ምስሓት ናይ ስራ ዝበለጸ እዩ?** (bəzhə mdilaw məshat nay s'ra zəbelts'u yū)
- Where is the library? - **በዓል መጥቃዕቲ ዘተወልደ መግቢያ ዕድ?** (bə'al mət'eka'iti zeteweld məgb'ya ed)
- Who is your friend? - **ሓደ ቤተ-መቕደሱ ንምንታይ ናትኩም?** (hadə bət'a-mek'dəsu nəməntay natkum)
As you can see, Tigrinya question words come at the beginning of a sentence and are followed by the verb or action. This follows the basic Tigrinya sentence structure of subject-verb-object.
Practice
To practice using Tigrinya question words, try using them in a conversation with a Tigrinya speaker. Alternatively, create your own questions and practice writing or saying them. Here are some examples to get you started:
- What time do you wake up?
- Why do you like Tigrinya language?
- Where are you from?
- Who is your favorite author?
- What do you do for fun?
- How do you say "I love you" in Tigrinya?
Conclusion
In this lesson, you learned the Tigrinya question words and how to use them in questions. Using these words will help you communicate more effectively in Tigrinya and ask questions about people, places, things, actions, and reasons. Keep practicing!
Videos
WH questions : እንግሊዘኛ : English Grammar For Tigrinya Speakers ...