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Interrogative word
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<h2 id="in-english">In English</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/English_interrogative_words/VwJeGABq">English interrogative words</a></p> <p>Interrogative words in English can serve as interrogative determiners, interrogative pronouns, or interrogative adverbs. Certain <a href="/facts/Pronominal_adverb/jY79zfTG">pronominal adverbs</a> may also be used as interrogative words, such as <i>whereby</i> or <i>wherefore</i>. </p> <h3>Interrogative determiner</h3> <p>The interrogative words <i>which</i>, <i>what</i> and <i>whose</i> are <a href="/facts/Determiner/PENQvAFs">interrogative determiners</a> when specifying a <a href="/facts/Noun/SsnDNfkX">noun</a> or <a href="/facts/Noun_phrase/mmz3tJt9">nominal phrase</a>: The question <i>Which farm is the county’s largest?</i> specifies the noun <i>farm</i> as <a href="/facts/Definiteness/0CAjpK8m">definite</a>, while <i>What farm?</i> is indefinite. In the question <i>Whose gorgeous, pink painting is that?</i>, <i>whose</i> is the <a href="/facts/Determiner/PENQvAFs">interrogative</a>, <a href="/facts/Personal_pronoun/kHSgr4sc">personal</a>, <a href="/facts/Possessive_determiner/qP939GQl">possessive determiner</a> prompting a specification for the possessor of the noun phrase <i>gorgeous pink painting</i>. </p> <h3>Interrogative pronoun</h3> <p>The interrogative words <i>who</i>, <i>whom</i>, <i>whose</i>, <i>what</i> and <i>which</i> are interrogative pronouns when used in the place of a <a href="/facts/Noun/SsnDNfkX">noun</a> or <a href="/facts/Noun_phrase/mmz3tJt9">noun phrase</a>. In the question <i>Who is the leader?</i>, the interrogative word <i>who</i> is a interrogative <a href="/facts/Pronoun/UsbSNRSl">pronoun</a> because it stands in the place of the noun or noun phrase the question prompts (e.g. <i>the king</i> or <i>the woman with the crown</i>). Similarly, in the question <i>Which leads to the city center?</i> the interrogative word <i>which</i> is an interrogative pronoun because it stands in the place of a noun or noun phrase (e.g. <i>the road to the north</i> or <i>the river to your east</i>). Note, <i>which</i> is an interrogative <a href="/facts/Pronoun/UsbSNRSl">pronoun</a>, not an interrogative <a href="/facts/Determiner/PENQvAFs">determiner</a>, because there is no noun or noun phrase present to serve as a <a href="/facts/Determiner/PENQvAFs">determiner</a> for. Consequently, in the question <i>Which leads to the city center?</i> the word <i>which</i> is an interrogative pronoun; when in the question <i>Which road leads to the city center?</i> the word <i>which</i> is an interrogative determiner for the noun <i>road</i>. </p> <h3>Interrogative adverb</h3> <p>The interrogative words <i>where, when, how, why, whether, whatsoever</i>, and the more archaic <i><a href="/facts/Whither/rF9u2zmH">whither</a></i> and <i><a href="/facts/Whence/AwNIovj3">whence</a></i> are interrogative <a href="/facts/Adverb/gDhqt9np">adverbs</a> when they modify a verb. In the question <i>How did you announce the deal?</i> the interrogative word <i>how</i> is an interrogative adverb because it modifies the verb <i>did</i> (past tense of <i>to do</i>). In the question <i>Why should I read that book?</i> the interrogative word <i>why</i> is an interrogative adverb because it describes the verb <i>should</i>. </p><p>Note, in direct questions, interrogative adverbs always describe <a href="/facts/Auxiliary_verb/euozcMq3">auxiliary verbs</a> such as <i>did</i>, <i>do</i>, <i>should</i>, <i>will</i>, <i>must</i>, or <i>might</i>. </p> <h3>Yes–no questions</h3> <p>A yes–no question can begin with an interrogative subject-verb inversion involving an auxiliary verb (or negative contraction), sometimes even if it is not performing the auxiliary function: </p> <ul><li>A finite inflection of be (e.g. Are you hungry?, Are you working from home today?)</li> <li>A finite inflection of have (e.g. Have you any soup? Hasn’t she eaten lunch?)</li> <li>A conjugation of do (e.g. Do you want fries?) - see <a href="/facts/Do-support/cVoQgDfR">Do-support § In questions</a></li> <li>A conjugation of a modal verb (e.g. Can't you move any faster?)</li></ul> <p>English questions can also be formed without an interrogative word as the first word, by changing the intonation or punctuation of a statement. For example: "You're done eating?" </p> <h3>Forms with <i>-ever</i></h3> <p>Most English interrogative words can take the <a href="/facts/Suffix/Nlnft3NK">suffix</a> <i>-ever</i>, to form words such as <i>whatever</i> and <i>wherever</i>. (Older forms of the suffix are <i>-so</i> and <i>-soever</i>, as in <i>whoso</i> and <i>whomsoever</i>.) These words have the following main meanings: </p> <ul><li>As more emphatic interrogative words, often expressing disbelief or puzzlement in mainly <a href="/facts/Rhetorical_question/jf2Fcsp3">rhetorical questions</a>: <i>Whoever could have done such a thing? Wherever has he gone?</i></li> <li>To form <a href="/facts/Free_relative_clause/zFSPHLwE">free relative clauses</a>, as in <i>I'll do whatever you do</i>, <i>Whoever challenges us shall be punished</i>, <i>Go to wherever they go</i>. In this use, the nominal <i>-ever</i> words (<i>who(m)ever</i>, <i>whatever</i>, <i>whichever</i>) can be regarded as <a href="/facts/Indefinite_pronoun/HxQ32C1J">indefinite pronouns</a> or as <a href="/facts/English_relative_clauses/dRQa3vqQ">relative pronouns</a>.</li> <li>To form <a href="/facts/Adverbial_clause/u87T2Mt8">adverbial clauses</a> with the meaning "no matter where/who/etc.": <i>Wherever they hide, I will find them.</i></li></ul> <p>Some of these words have also developed independent meanings, such as <i>however</i> as an <a href="/facts/Adverb/gDhqt9np">adverb</a> meaning "nonetheless"; <i>whatsoever</i> as an emphatic adverb used with <i>no</i>, <i>none</i>, <i>any</i>, <i>nothing</i>, etc. (<i>I did nothing wrong whatsoever</i>); and <i><a href="/facts/Whatever_(slang)/fkJFj9aL">whatever</a></i> in its slang usage. </p> <h2 id="other-languages">Other languages</h2> <p>A frequent class of interrogative words in several other languages is the interrogative verb: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Korean_language/dmNnRxAA">Korean</a>:</li></ul> <p>날씨가</p><p>Nalssi-ga</p><p>Weather-NOM</p><p>어떻습니까?</p><p>eotteo-sseumni-kka?</p><p>be.how-POL5-INTERR</p><p>날씨가 어떻습니까?</p><p>Nalssi-ga eotteo-sseumni-kka?</p><p>Weather-NOM be.how-POL5-INTERR</p><p>"How's the weather?"</p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Mongolian_language/0Lxog7Md">Mongolian</a>:</li></ul> <p>Chi</p><p>You</p><p>yaa-vch</p><p>do.what-CONC</p><p>jaahan</p><p>small</p><p>huuhed</p><p>child</p><p>bish</p><p>not</p><p>gej</p><p>that</p><p>bi</p><p>I</p><p>bod-jii-ne</p><p>think-PROG-NPAST</p><p>Chi yaa-vch jaahan huuhed bish gej bi bod-jii-ne</p><p>You do.what-CONC small child not that I think-PROG-NPAST</p><p>"Whatever you do, I think you're not a small child." (Example taken from an Internet forum)</p> <h3>Australian Aboriginal languages</h3> <p>Interrogative <a href="/facts/Pronoun/UsbSNRSl">pronouns</a> in <a href="/facts/Australian_Aboriginal_languages/qgJ0HxDm">Australian Aboriginal languages</a> are a diverse set of lexical items with functions extending far beyond simply the formation of questions (though this is one of their uses). These pronominal <a href="/facts/Stem_(linguistics)/7Aq8G5fP">stems</a> are sometimes called ignoratives or epistememes because their broader function is to convey differing degrees of perceptual or <a href="/facts/Epistemic_modality/F0lVSpfz">epistemic</a> certainty. Often, a singular ignorative stem may serve a variety of interrogative functions that would be expressed by different lexical items in, say, English through contextual variation and interaction with other <a href="/facts/Morphology_(linguistics)/fWkzsYE8">morphology</a> such as <a href="/facts/Grammatical_case/5caTQalU">case-marking</a>. In <a href="/facts/Jingulu_language/7qm1MrWA">Jingulu</a>, for example, the single stem <i>nyamba</i> may come to mean 'what', 'where', 'why' or 'how' through combination with <a href="/facts/Locative_case/h9KCqqhq">locative</a>, <a href="/facts/Dative_case/bBjY0RVf">dative</a>, <a href="/facts/Ablative_case/GotGMD3k">ablative</a>, and <a href="/facts/Instrumental_case/NvGhAHWa">instrumental</a> case suffixes: </p> <p>nyamba</p><p>IGNOR</p><p>nyamarni</p><p>2SG.ERG</p><p>manjku</p><p>skin.name</p><p>nyamba nyamarni manjku</p><p>IGNOR 2SG.ERG skin.name</p><p>What <a href="/facts/Australian_Aboriginal_kinship/8FPaxltb">skin</a> are you?</p> <p>nyamba-mbili-kaji</p><p>IGNOR-LOC-through</p><p>mankiyi-mindi-ju</p><p>sit-1DU.INCL-do</p><p>nyamba-mbili-kaji mankiyi-mindi-ju</p><p>IGNOR-LOC-through sit-1DU.INCL-do</p><p>Where are we sitting?</p> <p>Nyamba-rna</p><p>IGNOR-DAT</p><p>arrkuja-nga-nku-ju</p><p>scratch-1SG-REFL-do</p><p>Nyamba-rna arrkuja-nga-nku-ju</p><p>IGNOR-DAT scratch-1SG-REFL-do</p><p>Why are you scratching?</p> <p>Nyamba-arndi-kaji</p><p>IGNOR-INST-through</p><p>nya-rriyi-rni</p><p>2SG-go.FUT-FOC</p><p>Nyamba-arndi-kaji nya-rriyi-rni</p><p>IGNOR-INST-through 2SG-go.FUT-FOC</p><p>How will you go?</p> <p>(Adapted from Pensalfini<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>) </p><p>Other closely related languages, however, have less interrelated ways of forming wh-questions with separate <a href="/facts/Lexeme/CtHGorv4">lexemes</a> for each of these wh-pronouns. This includes <a href="/facts/Wardaman_language/IJxsMxRn">Wardaman</a>, which has a collection of entirely unrelated interrogative stems: <i>yinggiya</i> 'who', <i>ngamanda</i> 'what', <i>guda</i> 'where', <i>nyangurlang</i> 'when', <i>gun.garr-ma</i> 'how many/what kind'.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>Mushin (1995)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> and Verstraete (2018)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> provide detailed overviews of the broader functions of ignoratives in an array of languages. The latter focuses on the lexeme <i>ngaani</i> in many <a href="/facts/Paman_languages/Tcw2mMCE">Paman Languages</a> which can have a <a href="/facts/Wh_question/NsG1sCSK">Wh</a>-like interrogative function but can also have a sense of epistemic indefiniteness or uncertainty like 'some' or 'perhaps;' see the following examples from <a href="/facts/Umpithamu_language/prAdpdyu">Umpithamu</a>: </p><p>Wh-question </p> <p>Ngaani-ku</p><p>IGNOR-DAT</p><p>mi'athi-ngka=uurra-athungku</p><p>cry-PRS=2PL.NOM-1SG.ACC</p><p>Ngaani-ku mi'athi-ngka=uurra-athungku</p><p>IGNOR-DAT cry-PRS=2PL.NOM-1SG.ACC</p><p>Why are you all crying for me?</p> <p><a href="/facts/Adjunct_(grammar)/EMJBXzd1">Adnominal</a> / <a href="/facts/Determiner/PENQvAFs">Determiner</a> </p> <p>yukurun</p><p>gear</p><p>ngaani</p><p>IGNOR</p><p>yitha-n=antyampa</p><p>leave-PST=1PL.EXCL.NOM</p><p>kuura</p><p>behind</p><p>yukurun ngaani yitha-n=antyampa kuura</p><p>gear IGNOR leave-PST=1PL.EXCL.NOM behind</p><p>We left some gear behind</p> <p><a href="/facts/Adverbial/209kqxHM">Adverbial</a> </p> <p>Yupa</p><p>today</p><p>miintha</p><p>good</p><p>iluwa</p><p>3SG.NOM</p><p>ngaani</p><p>IGNOR</p><p>ngama-l</p><p>see-IMPERF</p><p>Yupa miintha iluwa ngaani ngama-l</p><p>today good 3SG.NOM IGNOR see-IMPERF</p><p>Perhaps she is better today.</p> <p>(Verstraete 2018) </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Five_Ws/YfQFLmYE">Five Ws</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Indeterminate_pronoun/Ac9s6AIP">Indeterminate pronoun</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Sentence_function/gwgMjsvI">Sentence function</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Finnish and Turkish have vowel harmony, see more here <a href="/wiki/Vowel_harmony" target="_blank">/wiki/Vowel_harmony</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Finnish and Turkish have vowel harmony, see more here <a href="/wiki/Vowel_harmony" target="_blank">/wiki/Vowel_harmony</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Pensalfini, Rob. 2003. A Grammar of Jingulu : an Aboriginal language of the Northern Territory. Canberra ACT: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Merlan, Francesca. (1994). A grammar of Wardaman : a language of the Northern Territory of Australia. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 3-11-012942-6. OCLC 28926390. <a href="3-11-012942-6" target="_blank">3-11-012942-6</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Mushin, Liana (June 1995). "Epistememes in Australian languages∗". Australian Journal of Linguistics. 15 (1): 1–31. doi:10.1080/07268609508599514. ISSN 0726-8602. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Verstraete, Jean-Christophe (2018-09-10), Olmen, Daniël; Mortelmans, Tanja; Brisard, Frank (eds.), "'Perhaps' in Cape York Peninsula", Aspects of Linguistic Variation, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 247–268, doi:10.1515/9783110607963-010, hdl:1885/170669, ISBN 978-3-11-060796-3 <a href="978-3-11-060796-3" target="_blank">978-3-11-060796-3</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>