Language/Telugu/Grammar/Question-Formation

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Telugu → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Basic Sentence Structure → Question Formation

As a Telugu language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I am excited to help you learn how to form questions in Telugu using interrogative words and proper sentence structure. This lesson will help you ask questions and gather information in Telugu.

Finish this lesson and explore these related pages: Plurals & Nouns.

Interrogative Words in Telugu

To form a question in Telugu, you need to use interrogative words. Below are some common interrogative words used in Telugu:

• ఎవరు (Evaru) - Who
• ఏది (Edi) - What
• ఎక్కడ (Ekkada) - Where
• ఎలా (Elā) - How
• ఎన్ని (Enni) - How many
• ఎందుకు (Enduku) - Why
• ఎప్పుడు (Eppudu) - When

Question Formation in Telugu

In Telugu, to form a question, we usually need to switch the positions of the subject and the verb. Here is an example:

• Statement: నాన్న విద్యార్ధిని నవ్వుతున్నాడు (Nānnā vidyārdhini navvutunnādu) - My father is making my student laugh.
• Question: నవ్వుతున్నాడు నాన్న విద్యార్ధిని? (Navvutunnādu nānnā vidyārdhini?) - Is my father making my student laugh?

As you can see, we switched the positions of the subject (నాన్న) and the verb (నవ్వుతున్నాడు) to form a question. We also added a question mark at the end to indicate that it is a question.

Here is another example:

• Statement: నేను రైతులను కలుపుతున్నాను (Nēnu raitulanu kaluputunnānu) - I am gathering farmers.
• Question: నేను యారను కలుపుతున్నాను? (Nēnu yāranu kaluputunnānu?) - Who am I gathering?

In this example, we used the interrogative word "యారు (Yāru)" which means "who".

Word Order in Question Formation

In Telugu, the word order of a question is slightly different from a statement. Here's how the word order works in Telugu questions:

1. Interrogative word 2. Auxiliary verb (if applicable) 3. Subject 4. Main verb 5. Object (optional)

Let's look at an example to understand this better:

• Statement: కార్ స్నేహితుడు ఒక చిన్న కార్ క్రొత్త కార్ కొన్నాడు (Kār snēhituḍu oka chinnā kār krōtha kār konnaḍu) - A car friend bought a new car.
• Question: ఎవరు ఒక చిన్న కార్ క్రొత్త కార్ కొన్నాడు? (Evaru oka chinnā kār krōtha kār konnaḍu?) - Who bought a new car?

As you can see, we started the question with the interrogative word "ఎవరు (Evaru)" followed by the auxiliary verb "కొన్నాడు (Konnaḍu)" which means "bought". We then included the subject "ఒక చిన్న కార్ (Oka chinnā kār)" which means "a new car".

Practice Exercise

Now that you've learned how to form questions in Telugu, it's time to practice. Use the following prompts to form questions in Telugu:

• Statement: నేను ఆహారం తింటున్నాను (Nēnu āhāram tiṇṭunnānu) - I am eating food.
• Question: ___________________________

• Statement: మీరు ఎక్కడ ఉన్నారు? (Mīru ekkada unnāru?) - Where are you?
• Question: ___________________________

• Statement: నీ మొబైల్ టెల్లనిరిపోయింది (Nī mobail ṭellaniripōyindi) - Your phone is switched off.
• Question: ___________________________

Here are the answers:

• Statement: ఏది తిన్నావు? (Edi tinnāvu?) - What are you eating?
• Statement: మీరు ఎక్కడ ఉన్నారు? (Mīru ekkada unnāru?) - Where are you?
• Statement: నీ మొబైల్ టెల్లనిరిపోయింది? (Nī mobail ṭellaniripōyindi?) - Is your phone switched off?

Conclusion

Congratulations on completing this lesson on question formation in Telugu! You are now one step closer to becoming proficient in Telugu. Remember to practice forming questions using interrogative words and proper sentence structure to master this skill. I hope this lesson was helpful and informative. See you in the next one!

Impressive work on finishing this lesson! Explore these additional pages to enhance your understanding: Future Tense & Negation.

Table of Contents - Telugu Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Telugu Script

• Telugu Alphabet
• Vowel Signs

  ---

Basic Vocabulary

• Greetings and Introductions
• Numbers and Colors
• Days of the Week and Months

  ---

Basic Sentence Structure

• Subject, Object, and Verb
• Question Formation

  ---

Everyday Vocabulary

• Family and Relationships
• Food and Drink
• Travel and Transportation

  ---

Nouns and Pronouns

• Noun Gender and Number
• Personal Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns

  ---

Hobbies and Activities

• Sports and Exercise
• Entertainment and Media
• Arts and Crafts

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense

  ---

Telugu Culture and Traditions

• Festivals and Celebrations
• Food and Cuisine
• Arts and Entertainment

Other Lessons

• Gender
• Conjunctions
• Negation
• Pronouns
• Advanced Verbs
• Telugu Alphabet
• Future Tense
• Questions
• Conditional Mood
• Verbs

Sources

• Telugu language - Wikipedia
• 3 Ways to Learn Telugu - wikiHow
• Telugu grammar - Wikipedia

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