Fill-ask roles
The fill-ask vowels and how many items you list before the blank complete the who / what map. A blank can also sit inside a dependent clause. How to ask for yes or no, and how to answer, is in questions.
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Fill-ask arity
Beginner already used who/what (…ar) and what else (…ur). Two more vowels (…or, …er) and the number of items listed before the blank (none, one, or several) complete the map, which matches single-item / standalone.
| Items listed | …ar | …or | …er | …ur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Who/what? | Anything? | What’s the priority? | What else? |
| 1 | What/which (unknown) X? | Any X? | Which X is first? | What else (besides X)? |
| 2+ | Which of these? | Any of these? | Which ranks highest? | What else? / Other than these? |
With nothing listed, -r in the asked-about slot is an open who / what. Bare var / xar is what did they do? / what happened?. Bare har is when?.
A blank inside a dependent
English puts who in different places in Do you know who walks? and Who do you think walks?. In the first, the inner clause asks; in the second, the main question asks. In Ageben the blank stays in the inner clause both times (it never moves to the front of the outer sentence), and the stand-in's vowel says which question it belongs to. derl (whether) is itself question-like, so its blank belongs to it, and the outer yel is yes/no. darl (that) is statement-like and cannot ask, so its blank belongs to the outer yel.
yel zawan vanam derl zar vowurol.y-question | z-listener | v-knowledge | d-whether-clause | z-wh | v-walk
"Do you know who walks?"
yel zawan vevemel darl zar vowurol.y-question | z-listener | v-think | d-that-clause | z-wh | v-walk
"Who do you think walks?"
If the outer sentence has a blank of its own, that blank is the main question and the inner one stays with derl: yel zar vanam derl zar vowurol. is Who knows who walks? Under a statement, derl plus a blank is a reported question.
Practice
Short drills for Intermediate. Try each item before opening Show answer.
Setting: an information booth
Review:
| English | Ageben |
|---|---|
| listener | awan |
| map | agol |
| find | vumewel |
| walk | vowurol |
| think | vevemel |
| knowledge | vanam |
| ticket | odenol |
English → Ageben
1. Who do you think walks?
Show answer
yel zawan vevemel darl zar vowurol.
y-question | z-listener | v-think | d-that-clause | z-wh | v-walk
2. Which map?
Show answer
yel dagol dar.
y-question | [d-map | d-wh]
3. Which of these? (the map or the ticket)
Show answer
yel dagol dodenol dar.
y-question | [d-map | d-ticket | d-wh]
Ageben → English
1. yel dagol dodenol der.
Show answer
y-question | [d-map | d-ticket | d-any]
Any of these? (the map or the ticket; any will do)
2. yel zawan vanam derl zar vowurol.
Show answer
y-question | z-listener | v-knowledge | d-whether-clause | z-wh | v-walk
Do you know who walks?
3. yel dagol dur.
Show answer
y-question | [d-map | d-wh-else]
What else besides the map?
Pick one
1. Any map? yel dagol der. or yel dagol dar.
Show answer
yel dagol der.
y-question | [d-map | d-any]
der asks any map?; dar asks which map?
Fix it
1. Do you know who finds the map? yol zawan vanam darl zar dagol vumewel.
Show answer
yel zawan vanam derl zar dagol vumewel.
y-question | z-listener | v-knowledge | d-whether-clause | z-wh | d-map | v-find
Under darl the blank belongs to the outer question (who do you know finds the map?); derl keeps it in the inner one.
See also
- Asking and answering: questions.md
- Join -r in a statement: joins.md