Questions: কি particle, কে/কী/কোথায়/কেন/কখন
Can handle questions: কি particle, কে/কী/কোথায়/কেন/কখন
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
তুমি কি বাঙালি?
Are you Bengali?
তুমি কোথায় থাকো?
Where do you live?
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
A Bengali yes/no question keeps the word order of a statement - no inversion, no "do". Add the particle কি ki (usually after the subject) and let your voice rise at the end:
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| কে ke | who | সে কে? - Who is he/she? |
| কী ki | what | এটা কী? - What is this? |
| কোথায় kothay | where | তুমি কোথায়? - Where are you? |
| কেন keno | why | কেন? - Why? |
| কখন kokhon | when | কখন আসবে? - When will you come? |
| কেমন kemon | how | কেমন আছেন? - How are you? |
| কত koto | how much | এটার দাম কত? - How much is this? |
The question word stands where the answer would go, usually just before the verb: তুমি কোথায় যাচ্ছ? tumi kothay jachho? - Where are you going? (literally "you where going?"). English moves it to the front; Bengali leaves it in place.
Two "ki"s: the yes/no particle কি and the word কী "what" sound alike but are spelled differently. তুমি কি খাবে? = "Will you eat?"; তুমি কী খাবে? = "What will you eat?"
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তুমি কি বাঙালি?
Are you Bengali?
কি = yes/no particle, no word order change.
তুমি কোথায় থাকো?
Where do you live?
কোথায় = where, no inversion.
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A1 Module 1: Bengali greetings, script, and first sentences