Language/Bengali/Grammar/Questions
Hi Bengali learners! đ
In this lesson, we will review the different ways to ask questions in Bengali. We'll cover both yes/no questions and questions that elicit a specific answer. By the end of this lesson, you should be comfortable with forming questions and knowing the appropriate question words to use.
With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: Pronouns, Plurals, Negation & Types of Adverbs.
Yes/No Questions[edit | edit source]
To form a yes/no question, you simply add the word "āĻāĻŋ" ("ki") to the end of the statement. This is similar to adding "isn't it?" or "don't you?" at the end of an English sentence.
For example, if you want to ask "Are you going?" in Bengali, you would say "āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¯āĻžāĻā§āĻ āĻāĻŋ?" ("tumi jaccho ki?"). The word "āĻāĻŋ" at the end indicates that you are asking a yes/no question.
Here are some more examples:
Bengali | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻžāĻ āĻāĻŋ? | "tumi kha-i ki?" | "Are you eating?" |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻ¨āĻžāĻŽ āĻāĻŋ? | "tomar nam ki?" | "Is your name...?" (followed by the name you are asking) |
āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻ āĻāĻŋ? | "tumi bolchho ki?" | "Are you speaking?" (as in "I can't hear you, are you speaking?") |
Information Questions[edit | edit source]
When you want to ask for specific information, you need to use question words. In Bengali, these words are called "āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻļā§āĻ¨āĻŦā§āĻ§āĻ" ("proshnobodhok"), and there are eight basic ones that you need to know.
Here is a list of the basic proshnobodhok words, along with their English meanings:
Word | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
āĻā§ | "ke" | "Who" |
āĻāĻŋ | "ki" | "What" |
āĻā§āĻāĻžāĻŦā§ | "kibhabe" | "How" |
āĻā§āĻĨāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ | "kothay" | "Where" |
āĻāĻāĻ¨ | "kokhon" | "When" |
āĻā§āĻ¨ | "ken" | "Why" |
āĻāĻ¤ | "koto" | "How much/how many" |
āĻā§āĻ¨ | "kon" | "Which" |
To ask a question with one of these words, simply add the word to the beginning of the sentence. For example, to ask "What is your name?" in Bengali, you would say: "āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻ¨āĻžāĻŽ āĻāĻŋ?" ("tomar nam ki?").
Here are some more examples:
Bengali | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
āĻā§ āĻāĻā§ āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻžāĻā§? | "ki achhe tomar kachhe?" | "What do you have?" |
āĻā§āĻāĻžāĻŦā§ āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻžāĻ° āĻĒāĻ°āĻŋāĻāĻŋāĻ¤āĻŋ āĻĒā§āĻ¤ā§ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°āĻŦā§? | "kibhabe tomi jawar porichiti pete parbe?" | "How will you find your way there?" |
āĻā§ āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻā§ āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻ¸āĻā§āĻā§ āĻāĻ˛ā§āĻāĻ¨āĻž āĻāĻ°āĻā§? | "ke tomak-e amar songe alochona korche?" | "Who is talking to you with me?" |
Using Question Words in Sentences[edit | edit source]
When you use a question word to ask for specific information, it is important to remember word order. In Bengali, the word order is typically subject-object-verb (SOV), which is different than English (subject-verb-object or SVO). This means that the verb usually comes at the end of the sentence.
For example, let's say you want to ask "Where is the restaurant?". In Bengali, you would say "āĻ°ā§āĻ¸ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻžāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻā§āĻĨāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ?" ("restoran-ti kothay?"). Here, the subject ("restaurant") comes first, followed by the object ("is"), and finally the verb ("where").
It is also important to note that Bengali uses postpositions instead of prepositions. This means that words like "in", "on", and "at" come after the object, rather than before it. So to ask "What are you looking at?", you would say "āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§ āĻĻā§āĻāĻ āĻā§āĻ¨ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ¸ā§?" ("tumi ki dekhchho kon jinis-e?"). Here, the subject ("you") comes first, followed by the verb ("looking"), then the question word ("at what"), and finally the postposition ("on/with what thing/person?").
Practice Dialogue[edit | edit source]
Here is a short dialogue to practice forming questions in Bengali using question words:
- Person 1: āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ¨ āĻāĻ¸āĻ āĻŦāĻžāĻāĻ˛āĻžāĻĻā§āĻļā§? ("tumi ken ashchho Bangladesh-e?") (Why are you coming to Bangladesh?)
- Person 2: āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻ°āĻŽāĻŖ āĻāĻ°āĻ¤ā§ āĻāĻ¸ā§āĻāĻŋāĨ¤ ("ami bhromon kort-e eshechi.") (I have come to travel.)
- Person 1: āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻŋ āĻā§āĻĨāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻĨāĻžāĻā§? ("tumi kothay thako?") (Where are you staying/living?)
- Person 2: āĻāĻŽāĻŋ āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻšā§āĻā§āĻ˛ā§ āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻŋāĨ¤ ("ami ek-ti hotel-e thaki.") (I am staying at a hotel.)
- Person 1: āĻ¤ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻŦāĻžāĻāĻ˛āĻž āĻā§āĻ˛āĻžāĻ¸ āĻāĻāĻ¨ āĻļā§āĻ°ā§ āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧ? ("tomar Bangla class kokhon shuru hoi?") (When does your Bengali class start?)
- Person 2: āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻ° āĻā§āĻ˛āĻžāĻ¸ āĻāĻāĻžāĻŽā§ āĻ¸āĻĒā§āĻ¤āĻžāĻšā§ āĻļā§āĻ°ā§ āĻšāĻŦā§āĨ¤ ("amar class agami shoptahe shuru hobe.") (My class starts next week.)
Conclusion[edit | edit source]
Asking questions is an important part of communication in any language, and Bengali is no exception. By knowing different question words and how to use them, you can more easily gather information and have conversations with native speakers.
To improve your Bengali Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
Sources[edit | edit source]
Having concluded this lesson, consider checking out these related pages: Bengali Grammar â Adverbs â Adverbial Phrases, Give your Opinion & Future Tense.
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Pronouns
- How to Use Be
- Adjectives
- How to Use Have
- Conditional Mood
- Future Tense
- Plurals
- Give your Opinion
- Nouns
- Negation