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Polar questions (yes/no questions) are formed in on of two ways. The first is typical of European languages, with intonation. Much like English, the intonation raises at the end of the phrase to signal a question:

Obaen ae diámáig. ['o.bɛn̪ ɛ 'dʒa.maʒ] You went there. Obaen ae diámáig? ['o.bɛn̪ ɛ ↗ 'dʒa.maʒ] You went there?

Polar questions can also be formed with a particle, mes. Mes is the remainder of a phrase originally used to signal a polar question, ab ne sae, literally "is it that". This signalling phrase is linked to Edievian's evolution from a more free word order (at least, in the late Colian phase) and to a strict VSO structure (the loss of the case system also destroyed this). Subjects and objects could not be shuffled around as they had before; this was an issue with question formation, as the object could be thrown around to any part of the sentence so long as it was declined correctly. As a fix, polar questions began to be prefixed with ab ne sae. For example, ab ne sae obaen ae diámáig? literally translated to "is it that you went there?". As with any highly-used phrase, it degraded quickly:

ab n̪e s̪ɛ > avn̪es̪ > ṽes̪ > mes̪ Mes can be tacked onto the front any declarative sentence to turn it into a polar question. Often, the same intonation shift mentioned previously will be included. Lack thereof usually sounds robotic.

Ciáeroséis no siáer. You want some beer. Mes ciáeroséis no siáer? Do you want some beer?

Ciáenasedaéis siáe tort. S/He wanted to cut the cake. Mes ciáenasedaéis siáe tort? Does s/he want to cut the cake?

[edit] [top]Non-Polar Questions

Non-polar questions (or basically, anything except yes/no) are similar in structure. The interrogative is thrown to the beginning of the phrase and there are no other changes in word order, with a few exceptions. The main interrogatives are:

vos - what
vaos - who
(do) vames - where
vals - when
caös - why
siádas - how
venos - how many/much
nelats - which

[edit] [top]Vos/Vaos - What/Who

The distinction between vos (what) and vaos (who) is directly related to animacy (for more details, see animacy in Edievian). Like English, vos is used if the answer is expected to be an inanimate noun, while vaos is used if the answer is expected to be animate.

Vos crunamaen siáe claes ac? What broke my glass? (I suspect that the wind knocked something over and therefore it broke, or something) Vaos crunamaen siáe claes ac? Who/what broke my glass? (Was it you? The dog? The cat? A roving gorilla?)

The equivalent of English "whose" is constructed with the appropriate genitive particle a or o (details about them can be read here) plus vos or vaos. Questions about ownership using a/o + vos/vaos can be built in two ways. The first is the same as other questions, with the interrogative structure thrown to the front of the rest of the phrase:

A vaos ab siâig maec? GENGenitive (case)
possessive.ALAlienable (possession)
thing that can be gained or lost who COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate this dog Whose dog is this? (literally, Of whom is this dog?)

The second option is to treat the interrogative like any other possessor and place it after the noun in question:

Ab siâig maec a vaos? COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate this dog GENGenitive (case)
possessive.ALAlienable (possession)
thing that can be gained or lost who Whose dog is this? (literally, This dog is of whom?)

[edit] [top]Vames - Where

Vames (where) is unusual in that it always must be accompanied by a preposition. For stative questions, or questions about something's location (but not where it's going, came from, etc.), it is accompanied by do, "at, in".

Do vames baéis siáen aespaec ac? at where COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing DEFDefinite
"the".SGSingular (number)
one countable entity glasses GENGenitive (case)
possessive.ALAlienable (possession)
thing that can be gained or lost.1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity Where are my glasses?

For implied movement, the appropriate preposition is used with vames instead of do:

Ae vames obéis? to where go-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing Where are you going? (literally, To where are you going?) Ed vames ravasten? from where arrive-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PERFPerfect (aspect/tense)
have verb-ed Where did you get here from? (literally, From where did you arrive?)

[edit] [top]Vals - When

Vals (when) is straight-forward, it simply precedes the phrase:

Vals ravasten? when arrive-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PERFPerfect (aspect/tense)
have verb-ed When did you arrive?

Prepositions can be used with vals such as he (until) or fas (since):

Fas vals locraéid du dóis art? since when work.2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.GNOGnomic (aspect/mood)
common, timeless truths 2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity at.DEFDefinite
"the".SGSingular (number)
one countable entity store How long have you worked at the store?/Since when have you worked at the store?

[edit] [top]Caös - Why

Much like Spanish's por qué, caös is a compound of ca (for) and os (what). It is placed ahead of the sentence, like the other interrogative pronouns:

Caös naraden du n'aec? why NEGNegative (polarity)
not-bring-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PERFPerfect (aspect/tense)
have verb-ed 2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity 3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.INANInanimate (gender/class)
inanimate, sessile-DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location.1First person (person)
speaker, signer, etc; I.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity Why didn't you bring it to me?

[edit] [top]Siádas - How

Siádas is used primarily to answer questions that require further specifics on the verb: in what way, with what tool, etc - basically, the same as English. It should be noted that "how are you" is do vos béis in Edievian, not siádas béis, which asks someone to describe their personality qualities.

Siádas natren siáe ciáendar deraéis caban? how put-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PERFPerfect (aspect/tense)
have verb-ed DEFDefinite
"the".SGSingular (number)
one countable entity table inside-DEFDefinite
"the".SGSingular (number)
one countable entity closet How'd you get the table inside the closet?

[edit] [top]Venos - How many/How Much

Venos serves a dual purpose, as "how many" or "how much". The difference is distinguished with the use of the partitive. Without the partitive, it is better translated as "how many", and is used to ask for a number or quantity. It usually is used with a plural noun, and the entire phrase is usually not fronted; venos and the noun stay in the usual place in the sentence.

Am venos méic? have-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.GNOGnomic (aspect/mood)
common, timeless truths how.many dog.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few How many dogs do you have? Ne báins venos peáis biom aet? IRRIrrealis
mood COPCopula
used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate.3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.FUTFuture (tense)
action occurring after the moment of speech.PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing how.many piece.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few good.PLPlural (number)
more than one/few DATDative (case)
indirect object; recipient, beneficiary, location.2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity How many pieces would you like? (lit: How many pieces would be good for you?)

When used with the partitive, venos is better translated as "how much", and is used to ask about pieces or portions of a total:

Siáomamp venos nóis tort? eat-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).PLPlural (number)
more than one/few.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PERFPerfect (aspect/tense)
have verb-ed how.much PTVPartitive (number)
'some of' or for mass nouns.DEFDefinite
"the".SGSingular (number)
one countable entity cake How much of the cake did you eat?

[edit] [top]Nelats - Which

Nelats contrasts with vos ("what") by expecting the listener to choose between a predefined list of choices, and usually corresponds to specifying further or 'narrowing down' the answer. Compare:

Vos ciáesiáoméis? what DESDesiderative (mood)
wishes, desires, wants-eat-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing What do you want to eat? (I haven't given you any options, give me your opinion) Nelats ciáesiáoméis? which DESDesiderative (mood)
wishes, desires, wants-eat-2Second person (person)
addressee (you).SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.PRESPresent tense (tense)
current.PROGProgressive (aspect)
be verb-ing What do you want to eat? (I told you steak or chicken, pick one)

Nelats can also be used as a determiner, in which case it precedes the noun in question, and like venos, there is no fronting:

Scaolaen nelats ciíne? see-3Third person (person)
neither speaker nor addressee.SGSingular (number)
one countable entity.PSTPast (tense)
action occurred before moment of speech.PERFPerfect (aspect/tense)
have verb-ed which movie Which movie did s/he see?

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