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4.11 Interrogatives : |
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The interrogatives fall into two types.
One is the WH- question which asks for information. The other is
YES-NO question which asks for the confirmation or negation of a
statement. |
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| 4.11.1.
YES-NO Interrogation : |
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This interrogation has four morphemes, viz., /as /,
/ama/, /no/ and /na/. Their differences are discussed below.
They are added after the main verb. |
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The interrogative morpheme /as/
is used when a straight question is asked. The listener may
answer the question either positively or negatively. Note that
/as/ can be
followed by the negative /mas/,
as given below. |
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pá a u
as (mas)
‘did he come (or not) ?’ |
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ná au
as (mas)
‘are you coming (or not) ?’ |
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pá tesayo
ká liyas |
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as (mas)
‘was he a teacher (or not) ?’ |
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/ama/ on the other hand is used only when the speaker expects a
positive answer from the listener. Note that the negative /mas/
cannot follow this interrogative particle. |
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pá au
ama
‘did he come ?’ |
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ná au ama
‘are you coming ?’ |
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In the sentences with the copulative verb /ali/ in the present
tense the verb with the tense marker is lost before /as/
and /ama/. |
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pá tepo
liye
‘he is a boy’ |
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pá tepo
as?
‘is he a boy ?’ |
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pá tepo
as (mas)?
‘is a boy (or not) ?’ |
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The interrogative morpheme /no/ indicates the doubt on the part
of the speaker. Whether a particular event took place or not.
This may be called dubitative question. |
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pá au
no ?
‘I wonder whether he came ?’ |
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The tag question is formed by adding the morpheme /na/ at the
end. |
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lá au
‘she is coming’ |
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lá au
na ?
‘she is coming, isn’t she ?’ |
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lá mau
‘she is not coming’ |
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lá mau
na ?
‘she is not coming, is she ?’ |
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| 4.12.
Infinitives : |
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The infinitives in Ao are formed by suffixing /-c/
to verbs. |
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ìnyàk-c
‘to work, for working’ |
a ó-c
‘to find, for finding’ |
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apu-c
‘to catch, for catching’ |
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ní ìnyàk c maka
‘to catch, for catching’ |
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I work to not ‘I do not have to work’ |
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