Questions
Yes-or-no questions with -ఆ, and the question words.
A question keeps the word order of a statement. For a yes-or-no question, add -ఆ -ā to the last word, usually the verb, in place of its final vowel. A final -ం becomes -మా: పుస్తకం pustakaṁ gives పుస్తకమా pustakamā.
- idi nī pustakamā?Is this your book?
- mīru rēpu vastārā?Will you come tomorrow?
- nīku telusā?Do you know?
- atanu iṁṭlō unnāḍā?Is he at home?
- ṭī kāvālā?Would you like some tea?
Yes and no
అవును avunu is "yes". "No" depends on what is denied: కాదు kādu "no, it isn't" for what something is, లేదు lēdu "no, there isn't" or "no, I didn't" for being there and for actions, and వద్దు vaddu "no, I don't want it".
కదా kadā at the end asks the listener to agree, like "isn't it?" or "right?": ఇది నీ పుస్తకం కదా? idi nī pustakaṁ kadā? "This is your book, isn't it?"
Question words
A question word stands where the answer would be, and the rest of the sentence keeps its order.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ఏమిటి ēmiṭi, ఏంటి ēṁṭi | what | మీ పేరు ఏమిటి? mī pēru ēmiṭi? What is your name? |
| ఏం ēṁ | what (with a verb) | ఏం చేస్తున్నావు? ēṁ cēstunnāvu? What are you doing? |
| ఎవరు evaru | who | ఆయన ఎవరు? āyana evaru? Who is he? |
| ఎవరి evari | whose | ఇది ఎవరి ఇల్లు? idi evari illu? Whose house is this? |
| ఎక్కడ ekkaḍa | where | మీ ఇల్లు ఎక్కడ? mī illu ekkaḍa? Where is your house? |
| ఎక్కడికి ekkaḍiki | where to | ఎక్కడికి వెళ్తున్నారు? ekkaḍiki veḷtunnāru? Where are you going? |
| ఎప్పుడు eppuḍu | when | ఎప్పుడు వస్తావు? eppuḍu vastāvu? When will you come? |
| ఎందుకు eṁduku | why | ఎందుకు రాలేదు? eṁduku rālēdu? Why didn't you come? |
| ఎలా elā | how | దీన్ని ఎలా చేయాలి? dīnni elā cēyāli? How do I do this? |
| ఎంత eṁta | how much | ఇది ఎంత? idi eṁta? How much is this? |
| ఎన్ని enni | how many | ఎన్ని రోజులు? enni rōjulu? How many days? |
| ఎంత మంది eṁta maṁdi | how many people | ఎంత మంది వచ్చారు? eṁta maṁdi vaccāru? How many people came? |
| ఏ ē | which | ఏ బస్సు? ē bassu? Which bus? |
| ఏది ēdi | which one | నీ పుస్తకం ఏది? nī pustakaṁ ēdi? Which one is your book? |
ఏమిటి ēmiṭi is the standard form, and ఏంటి ēṁṭi the everyday spoken one.
- mīru elā unnāru?How are you?
- mīdi ē ūru?Where are you from?yours which town
Cards from this guide
10 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Sentences cards.
How do you turn a statement into a yes-or-no question?
Add -ఆ (-ā) to the last word, in place of its final vowel.
How does a word ending in -ం, like పుస్తకం (pustakaṁ, book), take the question ending?
-ం becomes -మా: పుస్తకమా (pustakamā).
How do you say 'yes'?
అవును (avunu)
Which 'no' denies what something is, as in 'no, it isn't my book'?
కాదు (kādu)
Which 'no' answers 'is there ...?' or 'did you ...?'?
లేదు (lēdu)
Which 'no' turns down something offered, like tea?
వద్దు (vaddu)
What does కదా (kadā) at the end of a sentence do?
It asks the listener to agree, like 'isn't it?' or 'right?'.
Where does a question word like ఎక్కడ (where) go in a Telugu sentence?
Where the answer would go; the rest keeps statement order.
ఏమిటి or ఏం: which 'what' goes with a verb, as in 'what are you doing?'?
ఏం (ēṁ)
ఎక్కడ or ఎక్కడికి: which asks 'where to', as in 'where are you going?'?
ఎక్కడికి (ekkaḍiki)