Litish 101 is no longer updated, please refer to the High Litish page on the kingdom website!
Questions. Man's curiosity empowers language. The question mark. Everything. Makes song lyrics. Here, we'll cover the basics of formulating questions, and much vocabulary. Enjoy this questionable lesson, and we hope all Lithiumians will become inquisitive young learners intent on discovering the larger world out there, filled with great discoveries, for not is all as it seems.
Curiosity is the great thing that drives us all, without it, we would be very happy people, but with very uninteresting lives.
First, we'll cover the vocabulary so that when we go over grammar, we can use sentences to aid us in our explanation.
VOCABULARY
Question/ Toaskin/ Tuh-oh-skin
Interrogation/ Oasannin
To Ask, To Question/ Do Toask (SEE Lesson 7 - Basics 3)/ Toh-sk
To interrogate/ Do Oasan
To want/ do vorso/ vohr-soh
To Eat/ Do Eldib/ doo ehl-dihb
To Go/ Hœw/ Hoh-weh
To Come/ Ven/ Vehn
Question Mark (Standard Litish Script)/ ^ (SEE Lesson 1 - Alphabet)
5W1H (and more)
Who/ Quiselle/ Kwi-szell
What/ Gargon, -agr/ Gahr-gohn, ah-gruh
When/ Quocke/ Kwoh-keh
Where/ Pouien/ Poo-way-iehn
Why/ Gemf/ Jehmf
Which/ Loqu/ Loh-kooh
How/ Zuppit, Zuppit-/ Zoo-pit
How are you?/ Lupiton tuas?/ Loo-pih-tohn twas
How much?/ Zuppitbono?/ Zoo-pit'boh-noh
Note on -agr
-agr can be used like What food is this?
Carbe on edibleagr?
(This is what food)
VERBS AS QUESTIONS
Verbs, like in English, are often used as questions. For example, "Are you writing?"
In Litish, the Finnish questioning form is used, or more commonly known, the French form.
Finnish,
Haluatko syödä?/ Do you want to eat?
French,
Voulez-vous manger?/ Do you want to eat?
In Litish, want is vorso and eat is eldib, thus,
Vorso eldib?/ Do you want to eat?
Vorso eldib, directly translated, would be "want eat?". Litish assumes that you are smart enough to discern who the speaker is speaking to, but a more specific and possibly more formal way would of course include the pronoun, as follows (note the hyphen):
Vorso-tuas eldib?/ Do you want to eat?
It could also be:
Vorso eldib-tuas?/ Do you want to eat?
This depends, because the speaker is asking about the listener's desires, so technically it should attach to vorso, but he is questioning the listener's eating desires. Both are fine, except in one case:
Vorso-tuas eldib-moi?/ Do you want me to eat?
In this case me is eating and you is wanting, and it has to be this way, no leeway whatsoever.
If it is "are you eating?", it'll simply be,
Eldib-tuas?/ Are you eating?
"IS" QUESTIONS
This is highly informal, but you can also add the verb 'is' (SEE Lesson 6 - Basics 2)
Are you eating?/ Tuas est eldib?
This is mainly taking a sentence and adding a question mark at the back, but the vest to est change shows difference.
When you are actually talking about is as the defining verb, it keeps its original form as attached to the subject based on singularity and plurality, like vest and erst.
Are you fat?/ Vest-tuas purplefruits?
If you use the sentence-question format, it's always est.
Are you fat?/ Tuas est purplefruits?
"Is" Questions are however still important and necessary in one case:
5W1H QUESTIONS
5W1H questions have three main ways of formatting. (Determiner question word, is/ opposite)
For example, Who is Fat?
Quiselle est purplefruits? (most common)
Quiselle purplefruits est?
Est quiselle purplefruits?
Purplefruits est quiselle?
Then, using the 5W1H, we can make sentences!
I'm the one who wants to be with you/ J'est l'unt doquiselle vorso de do glo vohn tuas.
As you can see, to add it into a sentence, all you need to do is add a prefix do to it.
This also cancels out the prefix do, moving it to in front of the question tag.
And that brings us to our next point:
The Prefix "Do" in Questions: Does it exist?
Yes IT DOES!!
Even though in the above examples they have not existed, you can use the present tense of the prefix like that:
Do eldib?/ Are you eating?
Do eldib-tuas?/ Are you eating?
The pronoun NEVER connects to the prefix do, do is always attached to the verb.
However, as seen above, it is unnecessary. When it is necessary is when tenses come into play.
Did you eat?/ Dod eldib(-tuas)?
Are you going to eat?/ Dor eldib(-tuas)?
Please note that the above example is simply an object indicating the future, it does not mean going as in going somewhere, but as a figure of futuristic indication. Are you going to eat, as in going somewhere, would be,
Hœw-tuas eldib? or Hœw eldib-tuas?
And that brings us to the end of the lesson for today! Lots to intake, eh?
GO STUDY!
Here's the Quizlet: