Generalities There are numerous interrogative words in Somali. We will see that a question such as "who?" can be asked in multiple ways. However, we can distinguish 2 main categories of interrogative words:
Interrogative Interjections 1. The question with MEEYEEY, MEEDEY, and AAWAY = "where?" Meeyey? Meedey? and Aaway? are invariable and are often used when looking for a person, an animal, or a lost object, etc. They can be placed before or after the noun. However, when it comes to people, Meeyey? is preferably used for a male, Meedey? for a female, and Aaway? for several people. Examples:
2. The question with WAAYO = "why?" Waayo? is invariable and is used alone, often in reaction to given information: Examples:
3. The question with AYO = "who?" : Ayo? is invariable and is used alone, often to obtain additional information: Examples:
4. The question with KEE or TEE = "what?" : Kee and Tee are used alone, as interjections. We use Kee if the question is about a masculine person or object and Tee for a feminine person or object. Examples:
5. The question with SABABTA = "why?", "for what reason?" : The simple form SABAB is often used in conversation to specify information. For example: "Baabuurku wuu jabay." - "Sabab?" = "The car broke down." - "Why?". We could also use Waayo in this case. Examples with Sababta:
6. The question with IMMISA = "how much?" : IMMISA is often used in commercial exchanges to ask "how much" or "what quantity". An equivalent expression used in Southern Somalia is MEEQA?. Examples:
We also saw that IMMISA is used to ask for the time: Saacadu waa immisa? or Waa immisadii? = what time is it? 7. The question with INTEE = "how much?", "how long?" : INTEE is used like IMMISA and MEEQA in commercial exchanges to ask "how much" or "what quantity", and also depending on the context to ask "how long". Examples:
8. The question with SIDEE = "how?", "in what way?" Sidee is invariable. It means "how", "in what way", "in what manner".
Examples:
Interrogative Pronouns 1. The question with HALKEE / XAGGEE = "where?" To ask "where?" in Somali, we use the words Halkee (= where?) or Xaggee (= where, in which direction?). Since they are pronouns, Halkee et Xaggee take subject person endings, which gives the following interrogative pronouns :
Examples:
In the last 2 examples, we see that the place being sought is indeed the subject of the sentence and must be in the subject case: suuquu (= the market); dugsigu (= the school). The same applies to any other place: masaajidku (= the mosque); tooyladku (= the toilets); jaamacaddu (= the university); hudeelku (= the hotel or restaurant), etc. We can also reverse the word order: Suuqu waa xaggee?; Dugsigu waa xaggee?, etc... 2. The question with GOORMAA = "when?" To ask "when?" in Somali, we use the interrogative pronoun Goormaa. Goormaa as a pronoun carries the mark of different persons. It is actually composed of goormaa + subject pronoun, which gives the following interrogative pronouns:
Examples:
For more emphasis, we can also use the simple interrogative word goormaa with the focus marker ayaa for different persons: Examples:
3. The question with MAXAA... U = "why?" Maxaa... u as a pronoun carries the mark of different persons. It is generally used in sentences with a verb. It is actually composed of maxaa + subject pronoun, which gives the following interrogative pronouns:
Examples:
4. The question with YAA = "who?" : Yaa keeps its basic form when it's the subject of the question: Examples:
However, Yaa takes subject pronoun endings when it's not the subject of the question:
Examples:
5. The question with WAA KUMA / WAA TUMA = "who?" : We use Kuma for masculine and Tuma for feminine. Very often we ask the question waa kuma? and waa tuma? alone, to ask "who is it?" Kuma and tuma can also take subject pronoun endings when they are not subjects of the question: Examples:
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