A Grammar of the Yucatecan Mayan Language
by David & Alejandra Bolles

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

156.  There are two types of interrogative sentences: those which are introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs and those which are not introduced by these words.

Interrogative Sentences Introduced by Interrogative Pronouns or Adverbs

157.  Interrogative sentences introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs have already been looked at in a limited way in Section 45, 46, and 47. The word order for simple interrogative sentences from the three conjugations is usually the same: (interrogative pronoun/adverb) (verb).

Baax cu betcoob?   "What are they doing?" (transitive conjugation)

Baax ora hani?   "When did he eat?" (intransitive conjugation)

Tuux elabi?   "Where was he/she/it burnt?" (passive conjugation)

However as interrogative sentences introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs become more complex differences in sentence structure between the three conjugations do arise. Therefore each conjugation will be looked at individually.

Interrogative Sentences without Verbs

158.  Just as there are declarative sentences which do not have verbs so too are there interrogative sentences which do not have verbs. The word order of these sentences is (interrogative pronoun/adverb) (description).

Bix a kaba?   "What is your name?" (How your name?)

Bix a bel?   "How are you?" (How your road?)

Bahux le ppaco?   "How much are the tomatoes?"

Intransitive Interrogative Sentences

159.  There are three types of intransitive interrogative sentences introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs:

1)  those in which the interrogative pronoun is the subject.
2)  those in which the interrogative pronoun is the indirect object.
3)  those in which the interrogative adverb is modifying the verb.

160.  If the interrogative pronoun is the subject of the sentence then the standard word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb).

Maax mani?    "Who passed by?"

Baax lubi?    "What fell?"

If an indirect object is included in the sentence then the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (indirect object).

Maax mani ti le beo?    "Who passed by on the road?"

Baax lubi te kobeno?    "What fell in the kitchen?"

161.  For the sentences in which the interrogative pronoun is an indirect object then the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb).

Baaxtial cu bin?   "What is he/she/it going for?"

If a subject is added then the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject).

Baaxtial cu bin le maco?   "What is that man going for?"

162.  For the sentences with interrogative adverbs the word order is (interrogative adverb) (verb).

Tuux bini?    "Where did he/she/it go?"

Baaxkin cu bin?    "When is he/she/it going?"

If a subject is added then the word order is (interrogative adverb) (verb) (subject).

Tuux bini in uicham?    "Where did my husband go?"

Baaxkin cu bin X-Tina?    "When is Tina going?"

If an adverbial clause is added then the word order is usually (interrogative adverb) (verb) (subject) (adverbial clause).

Tuux bini in uicham ma zamaco?   "Where did my husband go just a little while ago?"

Baaxkin cu bin X-Tina ti Ho?   "When is Tina going to Mérida?"

When the adverbial clause is short, i.e. a single word, then the word order can be (interrogative adverb) (verb) (adverbial clause) (subject).

Baaxkin cu bin Ho X-Tina?

Transitive Interrogative Sentences

163.  There are four types of transitive interrogative sentences introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs:

1)  those in which the interrogative pronoun is the subject.
2)  those in which the interrogative pronoun is the direct object.
3)  those in which the interrogative pronoun is the indirect object.
4)  those in which the interrogative adverb is modifying the verb.

164.  If the interrogative pronoun is the subject of the sentence then the standard word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object). However it is possible that the direct object is implied rather than expressed.

Maax cu betic?   "Who is doing it?"

Frequently though the direct object is expressed.

Maax cu betic le hanalo?   "Who is making the food?"

Baax cu hantic le paklobo?   "What is eating the plants?"

If an indirect object is included in the sentence then the word order depends on type of indirect object. For simple indirect objects such as personal pronouns the order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (indirect object) (direct object). For more complex indirect objects the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object) (indirect object).

Maax cu betcech le hanalo?   "Who is making you the food?"

Maax cu betic le hanalo utial le h-meyahobo?   "Who is making the food for the workers?"

165.  If the interrogative pronoun is the direct object then the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb).

Baax cu betcoob?   "What are they doing?"

Macalmac cun u bize?   "Which one is he/she/it going to take?"

If a subject is given the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject).

Baax cu betcoob le palobo?   "What are the children doing?"

Macalmac cun u bize a uatan?   "Which one is your wife going to take?"

If an indirect object is included in the sentence then the word order depends on type of indirect object. For simple indirect objects such as personal pronouns the order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (indirect object) (direct object). For more complex indirect objects the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object) (indirect object).

Baax cu betcech le palobo?   "What are the children doing to you?"

Baax cu betcoob le palobo ti le otzil peko?   "What are the children doing to the poor dog?"

166.  For the sentences in which the interrogative pronoun is an indirect object the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object).

Baaxtial cu betic u col?   "Why is he/she/it making his/her/its garden?"

Maaxtial cu pakcachtic le uaho?   "For whom is he/she/it making tortillas?"

If a subject is included then there are two possibilities: (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject) (direct object) or (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object) (subject).

Baaxtial cu betic u col le maco?   "What is that man making his garden for?"

Maaxtial cu pakachtic le xunano le uaho?   "For whom is that lady making those tortillas?"

167.  For the sentences with interrogative adverbs the word order is (interrogative adverb) (verb) (direct object).

Baaxkin cun u dzocz in uipil?   "When is he/she/it going to finish my uipil?"

Tuux cu betic u col?   "Where is he/she/it making his/her/its garden?"

If a subject is included then there are two possibilities: (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject) (direct object) or (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (direct object) (subject).

Baaxkin cun u dzocz X-Tina in uipil?   "When is Tina going to finish my uipil?"

Tuux cu betic u col le maco?   "Where is that man making his garden?"

Passive Interrogative Sentences

168.  There are three types of passive interrogative sentences introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs:

1)  those in which the interrogative pronoun is the subject.
2)  those in which the interrogative pronoun is the indirect object.
3)  those in which the interrogative adverb is modifying the verb.

169.  If the interrogative pronoun is the subject of the sentence then the standard word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb).

Maax cimzabi?   "Who was killed?"

Baax elabi?   "What was burnt?"

If an indirect object is included in the sentence then the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (indirect object).

Maax cimzabi tumen le kazil maco?   "Who was killed by the evil man?"

170.  For the sentences in which the interrogative pronoun is an indirect object the word order is (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject).

Baaxtial cimzabi le maco?   "Why was that man killed?"

Maaxtial betabi le chaano?   "For whom was the party made?"

171.  For the sentences with interrogative adverbs the word order is (interrogative adverb) (verb).

Baaxkin hantabi?   "When was he/she/it eaten?"

Tuux elabi?   "Where was he/she/it burnt?"

If a subject is included then the word order is: (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject).

Baaxkin hantabi a col?   "When was your garden eaten?"

Tuux elabi le kaxo?   "Where was the forest burnt?"

If an indirect object is included then the word order is: (interrogative pronoun) (verb) (subject) (indirect object).

Baaxkin hantabi a col tumen le zakobo?   "When was your garden eaten by the locusts?"

Tuux elabi le kaxo tumen le lelem chaco?   "Where was the forest burnt by the lightning?"

Interrogative Sentences not Introduced by Interrogative Pronouns or Adverbs

172.  Interrogative sentences not introduced by interrogative pronouns/adverbs differ very little from their declarative counterparts.

Malob le hanalo.   "That food is good."

Malob le hanalo?   "Is that food good?"

Dzoc a betic in hanal.   "You have finished making my food."

Dzoc a betic in hanal?   "Have you finished making my food?"

Yan a bin meyah.   "You have to go to work."

Yan a bin meyah?   "Do you have to go to work?"

Hantabi u col.   "His garden was eaten."

Hantabi u col?   "Was his garden eaten?"

173.  There are however two ways of distinguishing between a declarative and an interrogative sentence. First is by intonation, but this is often ineffective in making an interrogative sentence definitely distinguishable from a declarative sentence. The second is by inserting the interrogative particle ua in the interrogative sentence. The presence of this particle makes the sentence unequivocally an interrogative sentence.

174.  In those sentences without verbs the interrogative particle goes directly behind the adjectival predicate.

Malob ua le hanalo?   "Is the food good?"

175.  In those sentences in which the verb has an auxiliary verb tense indicator the interrogative particle is most frequently placed between the auxiliary verb tense indicator and the verb directly in front of the pronoun.

Dzoc ua a betic in hanal?   "Have you finished making my food?"

Yan ua a bin meyah?   "Do you have to go to work?"

A paradigm with an auxiliary verb tense indicator and ua is as follows:

The second and third persons singular and plural however are almost always contracted in normal speech:

176.  For those sentences in which there is no auxiliary verb tense indicator the interrogative particle ua is usually placed behind the verb:

Hantabi ua u col?   "Was his garden eaten?"

Hanech ua?    "Have you eaten?"

Cu hokol ua le maco?    "Is the man coming out?"

Previous Page  |  Table of Contents  |  Next Page

Return to top of page