Language/Lingala/Grammar/Questions

MITUNA/QUESTIONS

There exist two kinds of questioons in lingala, just like in English. We can build by using the interrogative form of the verb or a question word.

Yes/No Questions

Lingala yes/no-questions do not swap the verb and the subject. We just add a question mark to the affirmative form and raise the voice to indicate the interrogative form

• Ayebi nga?: Does/she know me?
• Mike alobaka falanse?: Does Mike speak French?
• Boza malamu?: Are you all okay?
• Oza na nzala?: Are you hungry?
• Okoki kosalisa nga?: Can you help me?
• Boza bandeko?: Are you siblings?
• Ayebi nkombo nayo?: Does he/she know your name?
• Bovandaka esika moko?: Do you live together?
• Okoya lobi na pokwa?: Will you come tomorrow evening?
• Basilisi musala?: Have they finished working?

Question words

• Nini: What/Which
  • Olobi nini?: What do you say?
  • Eza nini?: What is it?
  • Lelo eza mukolo nini?: Which day are we today?

• Nani: Who/Whom
  • Eza ya nani?: To whom does it belong?
  • Wana nani?: Who is that?

• Wapi: Where
  • Saki nanga eza wapi?: Where is my bag?
  • Bavandaka wapi?: Where do they live?
  • Owuti wapi?: Where are you coming from?

• Tango nini/mukolo nini/ngonga nini: When
  • Tango nini makita ekobanda?: When will the meeting begin?
  • Bokoya tango nini?: When will you (all) come?
  • Likambo oyo ekosila mukolo nini?: When will this problem take an end?

• Boni: How many
  • Oza na bana boni?: How many children do you have?
  • Batu boni baza na kelasi nayo?: How many people are there in your class?

• Mutuya nini: How much(price)
  • Mutuka oyo eza mutuya nini?: How much is this car?
  • Telefoni naye eza mutuya nini?: How much does her phone cost?

• Mbala boni: How often
  • Oliaka mbala boni na mukolo?: How often do you eat a day?

• Pona nini: Why
  • Ozoyekola lingala pona nini?: Why are you learning lingala?
  • Asiliki pona nini?: Why is he/she angry?

NOTE: We can notice that lingala question words are most of the time used at the end of sentences while English ones are always at the beginning.