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Questions

The syntax & semantics of questions & responses.

There are three types of questions that need a special answer: polar questions, propositive questions, and pro-form questions. Each one is answered slightly differently.

Polar Questions​

A polar question (in English, these are often called yes-no questions) is one where you are offering a state or action and asking someone to indicate if that state or action is affirmed or not affirmed (i.e., true or false, respectively).

To answer a polar question, you can respond with the verb that was used in the question or the negatitive marker (yôk) or both.

 ke  mokon  ni  hoî  lono  uklo  ko. "Will you eat it tomorrow?"

 mokon. "Yes."

 nîmû  côûfon  ôfo  ko. "Did you cook this?"

 yôk. "No."

 nîmû  monodo  sî  nîo  bi ôhel  ko. "Have you met them before?"

 monodo  yôk. "I haven't"

Or, in the case of a subject complement sentence, you can respond with the nucleus of the complement, the verb for "to exist" (gô) or the negatitive marker (yôk).

 ke  li  gô  hoî  ôfo  hoî  lono  uklo  ko. "Will you be here tomorrow?"

 gô. "Yes"

 nîmû  li  cunyû  ko. "Are you cold?"

 cunyû. "Yes"

 umo Somiel  li  gô  hoî  ulyô  hoî  bitûn  ôfo  ko. "Was Samuel there tonight?"

 yôk. "No"

In either case, you can also respond with "true" (hokîkî) or "false" (hûdul).

 ôlê  zowo  mokon  êo  sî  hoî  bitûn  ôfo  ko. "Did the dog get fed tonight?"

 hûdul. "False."

For a more colloquial response, you may simply repeat the question particle (ko) to mean "Yes." For an emphatic response (similar to "Sure!" or "Indeed!"), you can use the confirmation word (lôîcôk) as an interjection.

Propositive Questions​

A propositive question (in English, these don't have a specific form but involve usage of specific sentence ending phrases like "agreed?" or "sound good?") is one where you are offering a state or action with an irrealis mood and requesting someone to indicate if they agree.

Like the polar questions, you can respond with the verb that was used in the question or the negatitive marker (yôk) or both.

 nîmû  mokon  ofek  noyo  hoî  lono  uklo  cî. "Does you eating with me tomorrow sound good?"

 mokon. "Yes."

 nûs  côûfon  ôfo  cî. "Let's cook this!"

 yôk. "No."

 nîmû  monodo  nîo  cî. "Do you agree to meet them?"

 monodo  yôk. "I don't."

Or, in the case of a subject complement sentence, you can respond with the nucleus of the complement, the verb "to agree" (wofok) or the negatitive marker (yôk).

 ke  li  gô  hoî  ôfo  hoî  lono  uklo  cî. "You will be here tomorrow, right?"

 wofok. "Agreed."

 nîmû  li  cunyû  cî. "You will be cold, okay?"

 cunyû. "Yes"

 umo Somiel  kûu  li  gô  hoî  ulyô  hoî  bitûn  ôfo  cî. "Samuel must be there tonight, right?"

 yôk. "No"

Unlike polar questions, you can't respond with "true" or "false" but you can make more formal approval setnences by making use of the verb "to agree".

 û  nîmû  ôlê  zowo  onô  mokon  êo  hoî  bitûn  ôfo  cî. "You will feed the dog tonight, sound good?"

 noyo  wofok  yôk  nênko  fos  noyo  kûu  li  nô  mût  dênêmêk  yê  zomo  kîôsô  noyo. "I do not agree because I must go to my team's practice."

Colloquially, you may simply respond with the particle (cî) to mean "Okay." To express strong agreement or certainty (like "Certainly!"), you may use the confirmation word (lôîcôk) as an interjection.

Pro-Form Questions​

A pro-form question (in English, these are called open questions) is one where the interrogative word (zik) is either a nucleus of a preposition (a noun) or a modifier.

 noyo  kûu  ôntôn  zik  mût  kôndodû  onô. "What clothes should I wear to the party?"

 û  cûdo  yê  umo  zik  li  dibo  zik. "Whose gifts are in which boxes?"

 nênko  zik  û  nîmû  gûwolo. "Why are you scratching?"