Making questions
ጥያቄ መሥራት (questions)
Yes/no questions, wh- questions, subject and object questions, polite indirect questions and question tags: in English the helper verb usually comes before the subject.
Yes/no and wh- questions
Amharic keeps the word order and changes the voice or adds a word: ትሠራለህ? ወይስ, ትሠራለህ እንዴ? English changes the order: the helper (be, do, have, or a modal) goes before the subject. In the present and past simple there is no helper, so add do, does or did, and the main verb goes back to its base form. A wh- word (what, where, when, who, why, how, which) goes at the front.
In Amharic
አማርኛ የቃላቱን ቅደም ተከተል ይዞ ድምፁን ይለውጣል ወይም ቃል ይጨምራል፦ ትሠራለህ? ወይም ትሠራለህ እንዴ? እንግሊዝኛ ግን ቅደም ተከተሉን ይለውጣል፦ ረዳቱ (be, do, have ወይም ሞዳል) ከባለቤቱ በፊት ይገባል። በአሁን ቀላልና በኀላፊ ቀላል ረዳት የለም፤ ስለዚህ do, does ወይም did ይጨምሩ፣ ዋናው ግሥም ወደ መሠረታዊ ቅርጹ ይመለሳል። የ wh- ቃል (what, where, when, who, why, how, which) ፊት ይገባል።
| Question word | Helper | Subject | Verb | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Do | you | work | on Sundays? |
| — | Is | she | coming | tonight? |
| — | Can | I | park | here? |
| Where | do | you | live? | |
| What time | does | the store | open? | |
| When | did | they | arrive? | |
| How long | have | you | lived | here? |
| Why | is | the bus | late? |
- does for he/she/it, and the main verb loses its -s: Does she work? (not Does she works?)
- After did, the base form: Did you see? (not Did you saw?)
- Yes/no questions usually go up at the end; wh- questions usually go down.
- Do you have an appointment? — Yes, at ten.
- Where does your son go to school?
- What did the doctor say?
- How much is the rent?
- Which bus goes to the Strip?
Subject questions and object questions
When who or what asks about the subject (the person who did it), there is no do/does/did and the word order stays normal: Who called you? When who or what asks about the object (the person it happened to), use the normal question order with a helper: Who did you call?
In Amharic
who ወይም what ስለ ባለቤቱ (ድርጊቱን ስለሠራው) ሲጠይቅ do/does/did የለም፤ ቅደም ተከተሉም እንደተለመደው ይቆያል፦ Who called you? who ወይም what ስለ ተሳቢው (ድርጊቱ ስለደረሰበት) ሲጠይቅ ግን የተለመደውን የጥያቄ ቅደም ተከተል ከረዳት ጋር ይጠቀሙ፦ Who did you call?
| Sentence | Subject question | Object question |
|---|---|---|
| Sara called Daniel. | Who called Daniel? — Sara. | Who did Sara call? — Daniel. |
| The storm broke the window. | What broke the window? — The storm. | What did the storm break? — The window. |
| Ten people work here. | How many people work here? | — |
| Something happened. | What happened? | — |
- Subject question: question word + verb, no helper: Who lives here? What happened?
- Object question: question word + helper + subject + verb: Who do you live with?
- Who told you about this job?
- Who did you talk to at the bank?
- What happened at work today?
- What did you buy at the market?
Indirect questions: polite questions
To sound polite, especially with strangers and in offices, start with Could you tell me…?, Do you know…? or I was wondering… After that start, the question uses statement order and no do/does/did. For yes/no questions, add if or whether.
In Amharic
በተለይ ከማያውቋቸው ሰዎችና በቢሮዎች ትሕትና ለማሳየት በ Could you tell me…?፣ Do you know…? ወይም I was wondering… ይጀምሩ። ከዚህ መነሻ በኋላ ጥያቄው የዓረፍተ ነገር ቅደም ተከተል ይይዛል፤ do/does/did የለውም። ለአዎ/አይ ጥያቄዎች if ወይም whether ይጨምሩ።
| Direct | Indirect (more polite) |
|---|---|
| Where is the bank? | Could you tell me where the bank is? |
| What time does the office close? | Do you know what time the office closes? |
| Is the pharmacy open? | Do you know if the pharmacy is open? |
| How much does it cost? | I was wondering how much it costs. |
- Statement order after the opening: where the bank is (not where is the bank).
- The question mark depends on the opening: Could you tell me…? but I was wondering… .
- Could you tell me where the restrooms are?
- Do you know if this bus stops at the hospital?
- Can you tell me when my order will be ready?
- I'd like to know why my bill is so high.
Question tags
Amharic adds one word to any sentence: አይደል? English uses a short tag made from the same helper as the sentence. A positive sentence takes a negative tag, and a negative sentence takes a positive tag. If the voice goes down, you expect agreement; if it goes up, it is a real question.
In Amharic
አማርኛ ለማንኛውም ዓረፍተ ነገር አንድ ቃል ይጨምራል፦ አይደል? እንግሊዝኛ ግን ከዓረፍተ ነገሩ ረዳት የተሠራ አጭር ጭራ ይጠቀማል። አዎንታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገር አሉታዊ ጭራ ይወስዳል፤ አሉታዊ ዓረፍተ ነገር ደግሞ አዎንታዊ ጭራ ይወስዳል። ድምፁ ከወረደ ስምምነትን ይጠብቃሉ፤ ከወጣ እውነተኛ ጥያቄ ነው።
| Sentence | Tag |
|---|---|
| You're new here, | aren't you? |
| She works nights, | doesn't she? |
| They went to the wedding, | didn't they? |
| You can drive, | can't you? |
| He isn't coming, | is he? |
| You haven't paid yet, | have you? |
| I'm late, | aren't I? |
| Let's go, | shall we? |
- No helper in the sentence? Use do / does / did in the tag: You live here, don't you?
- The tag uses a pronoun: Your brother is a nurse, isn't he?
- It's hot today, isn't it?
- You don't have change for a twenty, do you?
- The meeting starts at nine, doesn't it?
- You've met my wife, haven't you?
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Where do you live? | Wh- questions need a helper (do/does/did) before the subject. | |
| What time does the bus come? | Use does with he/she/it, and the main verb has no -s. | |
| Who called you? | When who is the subject, there is no did. | |
| Can you tell me where the bank is? | Indirect questions use statement order. | |
| You're coming, aren't you? | English uses a tag with the same helper, not no. | |
| Did you go to work? | After did, use the base form. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
___ you work on Saturdays?
___ does the store open? — At 9 a.m. (one or two words)
Where ___ she live?
Who ___ the window? — Kidus did.
Who ___ you call last night? (one word)
Could you tell me where ___?
Do you know ___ the clinic is open on Sunday? (one word)
You're new here, ___?
She doesn't drive, ___ she? (one word)
They went to the wedding, ___?
How ___ have you lived in Las Vegas? — Six years. (one word)