The question words хто, што, дзе, куды, калі, чаму, як, колькі, and the particle ці that opens a yes/no question - the construction that most marks Belarusian off from Russian.
I can ask for information with the Belarusian question words and form a yes/no question with ці.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Ці гаворыце вы па-беларуску?
Do you speak Belarusian?
Адкуль вы? — Я з Віцебска.
Where are you from? - I am from Viciebsk.
Куды ідзе гэты аўтобус?
Where is this bus going?
Колькі каштуе білет у Нясвіж?
How much is a ticket to Niasvizh?
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
| Belarusian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| хто | who | Хто гэта? |
| што | what | Што гэта? |
| дзе | where (location) | Дзе ты жывеш? |
| куды | where to | Куды ты ідзеш? |
| адкуль | where from | Адкуль вы? |
| калі | when | Калі пачынаецца канцэрт? |
| чаму | why | Чаму ты не прыйшоў? |
| як | how | Як справы? |
| які / якая / якое | what kind of, which | Якая сёння надвор'е? |
| колькі | how many, how much | Колькі гэта каштуе? |
Belarusian keeps дзе and куды strictly apart: дзе asks about a position, куды about a direction. English uses where for both.
A question expecting yes or no can be asked by intonation alone, with the word order unchanged: Ты гаворыш па-беларуску? But the fully Belarusian way is to open it with ці:
Ці stands first in the sentence and needs no other change — no inversion, no auxiliary. It also works inside a sentence as "whether": Я не ведаю, ці ён прыйдзе.
Так for yes, не for no. A fuller answer usually repeats the verb: Ці чытаеш ты? — Чытаю.
English builds questions with an auxiliary and inversion: do you speak, is it far. Belarusian does neither. The word order of the statement stays exactly as it is, and either the intonation or the particle ці does the work. Resist the urge to move the verb.
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesTypical errors: importing the English auxiliary and inversion (Ці робіш ты робіш?), and using дзе for a direction where куды is needed.
Error with Пытальныя сказы
Review Пытальныя сказы.
Ці гаворыце вы па-беларуску?
Do you speak Belarusian?
<em>Ці</em> opens the question and nothing else moves. No auxiliary, no inversion.
Адкуль вы? — Я з Віцебска.
Where are you from? - I am from Viciebsk.
<em>Адкуль</em> asks about origin. Viciebsk is where Chagall was born and where he ran an art school after 1917.
Куды ідзе гэты аўтобус?
Where is this bus going?
Direction, so <em>куды</em> and not <em>дзе</em>. English uses <em>where</em> for both and this is the commonest slip.
Колькі каштуе білет у Нясвіж?
How much is a ticket to Niasvizh?
<em>Колькі</em> covers both how many and how much. Niasvizh is the Radziwill residence, on the UNESCO list since 2005.
Чаму ты не прыйшоў на Купалле?
Why did you not come to Kupalle?
<em>Чаму</em> is why. Kupalle is the midsummer night of fires, wreaths and the search for the fern flower.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
The syntax volume of the current academic reference grammar, cited as the standard reference for Belarusian sentence structure rather than for one quoted passage. It is what the description on this page is measured against; it is not a source for any single claim here.