Language/Rundi/Grammar/Asking-Questions
Asking questions is an essential part of communication in any language, and Rundi is no exception. In this lesson, you will learn how to form different types of questions in Rundi, including yes-no questions, wh-questions, and tag questions.
Yes-No Questions
A yes-no question is a question that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no". In Rundi, to form a yes-no question, you simply add the question particle "ni" at the end of a statement.
For example:
| Rundi | Translation |
|---|---|
| Nza kurya | I will eat. |
| Nza kurya ni? | Will I eat? |
As you can see in the example above, the statement "Nza kurya" means "I will eat", and "Nza kurya ni?" means "Will I eat?"
Here are some more examples of yes-no questions in Rundi:
- Wewe utarugiye mugabo || Did you marry a man?
- Mana ivuga || Does she speak?
- Ntiyaba afise amafaranga || Does she have money?
In Rundi, you can also form yes-no questions by using the negative form of a verb. To do this, you simply add the question particle "ni" at the end of the negative statement.
For example:
| Rundi | English |
|---|---|
| Ntakwifatanya | I won't fight. |
| Ntakwifatanya ni? | Won't I fight? |
Here are some more examples of yes-no questions formed with negative statements:
- Ntawuhaye || I won't give you.
- Ntakurya || I won't eat.
- Ntakwinjira || I won't enter.
Wh-Questions
Wh-questions in Rundi are formed by starting with a question word. The most common question words in Rundi are "uki", "wundi", "we", "ivy’uyu", "ivy’imyaka", "ibyuma", and "ivy’ihumure". These words correspond to the English words "who", "what", "where", "when", "how", and "why".
For example:
| Rundi | English |
|---|---|
| Ubu buryo bwa kurya bwujeje neza wundi mutima washoboye kwanga | What is the recipe for this food that tastes so good? |
In the example above, the question word "wundi" is used to ask "what is the recipe".
Here are some more examples of wh-questions in Rundi:
- We ivuga iki? || What are you saying?
- Uwo munsi utarabwiye urugendo rwa ivyo? || When will you tell us about the trip?
- Ubu buryo bwa kurya bwamfashijwe neza? || How can I improve my cooking skills?
Tag Questions
A tag question is a short question added to the end of a statement to confirm or clarify the speaker's understanding of what the other person is saying. Tag questions in Rundi are formed by adding the question particle "si" at the end of a statement.
For example:
| Rundi | Translation |
|---|---|
| Ijambo ryawe riki? | Your word is what? |
| Ijambo ryawe riki si? | Your word is what, right? |
In this example, "ijambo ryawe riki" means "what is your word", and "ijambo ryawe riki si?" means "what is your word, right?"
Here are some more examples of tag questions in Rundi:
- Hari amaguru y'inkoko, si? || There are some chicken legs, right?
- Abantu batagitunganya bavamo amatsinda, si? || People don't share anymore, do they?
- Ukararanga iminsi, si? || You will stay for a few days, won't you?
Word Order
In yes-no questions and tag questions, the word order in Rundi remains the same as in a normal statement. That means that the subject comes first, followed by the verb, and then the object.
In wh-questions, the question word comes first, followed by the verb, subject, and object.
For example:
- Ubu buryo bwa kurya bwajeje neza? || What is the recipe for this food that tastes so good?
- Hari amaguru y'inkoko, si? || There are some chicken legs, right?
- We ivuga iki? || What are you saying?
Conclusion
In this lesson, you learned how to form different types of questions in Rundi, including yes-no questions, wh-questions, and tag questions. Practice creating your own questions in Rundi to improve your language skills and communication abilities.