Direct questions

Symbols used:

WH	Wh-question.
Y/N	Yes/no question.
InS	In situ.

All examples from:  Tiprens-la (CaraïbEditions) (TP) and Poullet & Telchid (2010) (P&T).

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Guadeloupean – Direct questions

 

Wh Questions

Type

Example

Source

InS Kibiten	Sensan milyon kibiten ? Five.hundred million of.what “Five hundred millions of what?”	TP
InS Kimoun	Yo sé ta kimoun ? They COPpres that.of who “They belong to whom?”	TP
InS Kisa	Pou obliyé kisa ? To forget what “To forget what?”	TP
InS Kisa	Minis a kisa ? Minister of what “Minister of what?”	TP
InS Kisa	On kisa ? “A what?”	TP
InS Kisa	Atann kisa ? Wait what “Wait for what?”	TP
InS Kisa	On déklarasyon a kisa ? Ka i pasé ? A declaration of what ? What it happen? “A declaration of what? What happened?”	P&T
InS Poukisa	Wont poukisa ? Shame why “Shame of what?”	TP
WH Asi kisa	Monsényè…asi kisa ou mèt ? My.king…on what you rule “My king…on what do you rule?”	TP
WH Asi kisa	Asi kisa Wa-la té pé byen ka fè gòj konsa ? On what King-DEF ANT can well HAB do yoke like.this “On what could the King be able to rule?”	TP
WH Hokonsa+N	Hokonsa lajan pap’a-y ka gannyé ?” How.much money dad’of-he HAB make “How much money does his dad make?”	TP
WH Hokonsa+N	Hokonsa kilo i ka pézé ? How.many kilo he HAB weight “How many kilos does he weight?”	TP
WH Hokonsa+N	Hokonsa frè i ni ? How.many brother he have “How many brother does he have?”	TP
WH Ka	Mé ka i ka fè sa ka rivé-mwen ? But what it PROGR make this PROGR arrive-me “But what makes this happen to me?”	P&T
WH Ka	Ka ou ka di la ? What you PROGR say here “What are you saying?”	P&T
WH Ka	Eben ka i fè, tifi-lasa ? So what she do, girl-DEM “So what did that girl do?”	P&T
WH Ka	Ka yo pé ka rakonté konsa ? What they can PROGR tell like.this “What can they possibly be talking about?”	P&T
WH Ka	Ka zò té ké vlé manjé ? What you(PL) ANT IRR want eat “What would you like to eat?”	P&T
WH Ka	Mé ka ou vlé an di-w ? But what you want I tell-you “But what do you want me to tell you?”	P&T
WH Ka	Elwa ka ou bizwen pati an Fwans fè ? Eloi what you need leave in France do “Eloi, what are you leaving to France for?”	P&T
WH Ka	E ka zò fè aprésa ? And what you(PL) do after “And what did you do afterwards?”	P&T
WH Ka	Mé ka ou fè pou ou las tout las a-w lasa ? But what you do for you tired all tired of you DEM “But what have you done to be this exhausted?”	P&T
WH Ka	Ka ou ni ? What you have “What do you have?/What’s wrong with you?”	P&T
WH Ka	Ka sa yé on jéograf ? What this COPint a geographer “What is a geographer?”	TP
WH Ka	Ka sa vlé di ? What this want say “What does this mean”	TP
WH Ka	Ka ou ka fè la ? What you HAB/PROGR do here “What do you do/what are you doing here?”	TP
WH Ka	E, pou fè chapo-la tonbé atè, ka pou fè ? And, to make hat-DEF fall to.the.ground, what to do “And what to do to make the hat fall to the ground?”	TP
WH Ka	Ka sa yé biten-lasa ? What this COPint thing-DEM “What’s this/that thing?”	TP
WH Ka	Mé…ka ou ka fè la ? But…what you PROGR do here “But…what are you doing here?”	TP
WH Ka	Ka i ni madanm ? What it have madame? “What’s going on, Madame?”	P&T
WH Ka	Ka yo ka di ? What they PROGR/HAB say? “What do they say/What are they saying?”	P&T
WH Ka	Ka ou tini? What you have? “What do you have?/What’s going on?”	P&T
WH Ka	Ka ou vlé fè ? What you want do? “What do you want to do?”	P&T
WH Ka	Ka ou kyenn ? What you catch ? “What did you catch?”	P&T
WH Ka	Ka ou fè Adalbè ? What you do Adalbert? “How are you doing, Albert?”	P&T
WH Ka	Bonjou konmè, ka ou fè ? Good morning dear, what you do ? “Good morning dear, how are you doing?”	P&T
WH Ki	Ki laj a-y ? What age og-he “What’s his age”	TP
WH Ki	Ki son a vwa a-y ? What sound of voice of-he “What’s the sound of his voice?”	TP
WH Ki	Ki non a-w ? What name of-you? “What’s your name?”	P&T
WH Ki+N	Jik ki lè sé moun-la ka rété an simityè-la ? Till what time PLUT person-DEF HAB stay in cimitery-DEF “Until what time are these people staying in the cimitery?”	P&T
WH Ki+N	Mé adan ki kinmin antré a kous-la ké fèt lanné-lasa ? But in which district finish.line of race-DEF IRR do year-DEM “But in which district will the finisch line of the race be this year?”	P&T
WH Ki+N	A ki lè ? At what time “What time?”	P&T
WH Ki+N	Asi ki planèt ou sòti ? On what planet you come.from “From which planet do you come?”	TP
WH Ki+N	Ki lè i yé ? What hour it COPint ? “What time is it?”	P&T
WH Ki+N	Ki nouvèl a-w? What news of-you? “What’s new?”	P&T
WH Kifè	Kifè ou anpenn ? Why you sad ? “Why are you sad?”	P&T
WH Kijan	Kijan fè ni machann la ? What do have merchant here “How comes there are merchants here?”	P&T
WH Kijan	Kijan ou ké démélé-y ? How you IRR help-she “How will you help her?”	P&T
WH Kijan	Kijan fè ou fen tout fen a-w lasa What do you be.hungry all hunger of-you DEM “How comes you’re this hungry?”	P&T
WH Kijan	Kijan jé i pisimyé ? What game he prefer “Which games does he prefer?”	TP
WH Kijan	Kijan a vòlé-la daprè sa ou rivé vwé ? Which.type of thief-DEF according.to that you arrive see? “How was the thief, according to what you could see?”	P&T
WH Kijan	Kijan i yé ? How he COPint ? “What does he look like?”	P&T
WH Kijan	Kijan fè i té ka tann dézòd ? How make she ANT PROGR hear noise? “How came she was hearing some noise?”	P&T
WH Kilès	Kilès i non a-w? Klèrnita oben Gyenbo ? Which that name of-you? Klèrnita or Gyenbo? “Which is your name? Klèrnita or Gyenbo?”	P&T
WH Kilès+N	Kilès konséyé-la ou konnèt-la ? Which counselor-DEF you know DEF2 “Which is the counselor you know?”	P&T
WH Kimoun	Kimoun ka okipé di-y ? Who PROGR take.care of-it “Who’s going to take care of it?”	P&T
WH Kimoun	Kimoun ou yé ? Who you COPint? “Who are you?”	P&T
WH Kimoun	Kimoun sa té pé yé ? Who this ANT can COPint ? “Who could it be?”	P&T
WH Kisa	Kisa lòd-la ka di ? What order-DEF HAB say “What does the rule say?”	TP
WH Kisa	Kisa an ka fè épi yo ? What I HAB do with they “What do I do with them?”	TP
WH Kisa	É kisa ou ka fè avè sé zétwal-lasa? And what you HAB do with PLUR star-DEM “And what do you do with these/those stars?”	TP
WH Kisa	É kisa ou ka fè avè sen-san milyon zétwal ? And what you HAB do with five-hundred million star “And what do you do with five hundred millions of stars?”	TP
WH Kisa	Sé pikan-la, kisa yo ka sèvi ? PLUR thorn-DEF, what they HAB be.useful “The thorns, what’s their use?”	TP
WH Kisa	Alò sé pikan-la, kisa yo ka sèvi ? So PLUR thorn-DEF, what they HAB be.useful “So the thorns, what are they useful for?”	TP
WH Kitan	Kitan sa ké fèt ? When this IRR do “When will this happen?”	TP
WH Konmen+N	Konmen timoun ou ka vwè douvan-w ? How.many child you PROGR see in.front.of-you “How many children do you see in front of you?”	P&T
WH Konmen+N	Woulé pou dé jou, é pou konmen lajan ? Work for two day, and for how.much money “To work for two days, (and) for how much money?”	P&T
WH O	O ou kay Elwa ? Where you PROGR.go Eloi “Where are you going Eloi?”	P&T
WH Ola	Ola nou kay pé manjé sa ? Where we PROGR.go can eat this “Where will we be able to eat this?”	P&T
WH Ola	Ola ou vlé chayé mouton an-mwen alé ? Where you want fasten mutton of-me go “Where do you want to fasten my mutton?”	TP
WH Ola	Ola sa yé sa “akaz a-w” ? Where this COPint this “house of-you”? “And where is it, this ‘house of yours’”?	TP
WH Ola	Ola sak a-w té yé ? Where bag of-you ANT COPint? “Where was your bag?”	P&T
WH Ola	Ola ou ka rété ? Where you HAB live? “Where do you live?”	P&T
WH Ola	Ola zòt té kay ? Where you(PL) ANT PROGR.go “Where were you(PL) going?”	P&T
WH Ola	Ola sé tifi-la té kay bengné ? Where PLUR girl-DEF ANT PROGR.go swim? “Where were the girls going to swim?”	P&T
WH Ola	Fannélya ola zòt kay konsa ? Fanélya where you(PL) PROGR.go like.this? “Fanélya, where are you(PL) going like this [=in those swimsuits]?”	P&T
WH Ola	Ola nou kay ? Bòdlanmè oben bòrivyè ? Where we PROGR.go? Seaside or riverside ? “Where are we going? To the seaside or to the riverside ?”	P&T
WH Ola	Ola i kay ? Where he PROGR.go ? “Where is he going?”	P&T
WH Ola	Ola ou yé ? Where you COPint? “Where are you?	P&T
WH Ola	Ola kanklo sòti ? Where snail come.from? “Where does the snail[1] come from?”	P&T
WH Ola	Kijansa, ola ou soti ? What, where you come.from? “What? Where do you come from?”	P&T
WH Pouki	Pouki ou ka lévé cho ? Why you PROGR raise hot “Why are you getting mad [=at me]?”	P&T
WH Pouki	Mé pouki ou vlé sé mouton a-w-la manjé sé tibaobab-la ? But why you want PLUR mutton of-you-DEF eat PLUR little.baobab-DEF “But why do you want your muttons to eat the little baobabs?”	TP
WH Pouki	Pouki ? “Why?”	TP
WH Poukisa	Mé poukisa ou sòti woulimé-y? But why you just again.turn.on-it “But why have you just turned it on again?”	TP
WH Poukisa	Poukisa ou ka bwè ? Why you HAB/PROGR drink? “Why do you drink/why are you drinking?”	TP
WH Poukisa	Poukisa pa tini, adan liv-lasa, dòt granmanman désen kon désen a sé baobab-la ? Why NEG have, in book-DEM, other big drawing like drawing of PLUR baobab-DEF “Why aren’t there, in this book, other big drawings like that of the baobabs?”	TP
WH Poukisa	Poukisa moun té ké pè on chapo ? Why person ANT IRR can fear(V) a hat “Why should you fear a hat?”	TP
WH What	Ka sa vlé di “annadorasyon” ? What this want say “admiring(A) “What does “a fanatic of mine” means?”	TP

[1]The snail is one of the two characters of a dialogue in Poullet&Telchid 2010 (page 8).

 

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Yes/no Questions

Type

Example

Source

Y/N	Tijan, ou ja filé kouto-la ? Little.jean, you already sharpen knife-DEF “Little Jean, have you already sharpened the knife?”	P&T
Y/N	Ou pa’a rivé dòmi? You NEG’HAB arrive sleep “You can’t get any sleep?”	P&T
Y/N	Ou ka tann vwa ? You HAB heat voice “Do you hear voices?”	P&T
Y/N	Ou ka kwè an ké géri manzè Vyoléta ? You PROGR believe I IRR recover miss Violet “Do you believe I’ll get better, miss Violet?”	P&T
Y/N	I kay suiv tou-la asi bisiklèt a-y ? He PROGR.go follow tour-DEF on bicycle of-he “Will he be following the tour with his bike?”	P&T
Y/N	Karakala sé boug a-w ? Caracala COPpres friend of-you “Caracala is your friend?”	P&T
Y/N	Mari, ou vwè tifi-la i té bò fontenn-la yè? Mari, you see girl-DEF that ANT edge fountain-DEF yesterday “Mary, did you see the girl who was by the fountain yesterday?”	P&T
Y/N	On travay ka atann-vou ? A work PROGR wait-you “A job that’s waiting for you?”	P&T
Y/N	E sé sa ki lasi-w konsa ? And COPpres this that exhaust-you(SG) like.this “And is it this that exhausted you so?”	P&T
Y/N	Zò pa jen rivé trapé-y alò ? You(PL) NEG ever arrive catch-it then “You never managed to catch it, then?”	P&T
Y/N	Ou malad ? You sick “Are you sick?”	P&T
Y/N	Ou ni sé zétwal-la ? You have PLUR star-DEF “You own the stars?” (astonishment)	TP
Y/N	É désant an lanmè a solèy-la an mandé-w la ? And setting in sea of sun-DEF I asked-you DEF2 And what about the sun setting I asked you for?”	TP
Y/N	É sé zétwal-la yo ka kouté-w? And PLUR star DEF they HAB listen-you “And the stars, do they obey you?”	TP
Y/N	Asi tousa ? On all.this “[You rule] on all of these things?”	TP
Y/N	Asi toutbiten ? On everything “[You rule] on everything?”	TP
Y/N	An pé sizé ? I can sit.down “Can I take a sit?”	TP
Y/N	Ou pa té ké ni on paravan délè ? You NEG ANT IRR have a screen of.air “Don’t you have an air screen, by any chance?”	TP
Y/N	Menm sé flè-la i ni pikan-la ? Also PLUR flower-DEF that have thorn-DEF2 “Also the flowers that have thorns?”	TP
Y/N	On mouton, si i ka manjé sé tipyebwa-la, i ka manjé sé flè-la osi ? A mutton, if it HAB eat PLUR little.tree-DEF, it HAB eat PLUR plower-DEF also “If a mutton eats the little trees, does it eat the flowers as well?”	TP
Y/N	Sa vlé di ou sòti asi ondòt planèt alò ? This want say you come from another planet then “Does this mean you that came from another planet, then?”	TP
Y/N	Ou ka di mouton-lasa ké bizwen onlo zèb ? You PROGR sat mutton-DEM IRR need a.lot grass “Are you saying that this mutton will need a lot of grass?”	TP
Y/N	Sa vwé sa? This true this “Is this true?”	P&T
Y/N	A pa ponmoun ou konnèt ? COP NEG nobody you know? “Wasn’t it anyone you know?”	P&T
Y/N	Pa té ni pon dòt moun la ? NEG ANT have other person there? “Weren’t there any other people ?”	P&T
Y/N	Ou ka travay ? You HAB work? “Do you work?”	P&T
Y/N	Zòt pa té kay bò rivyé-la ? You(PL) NEG ANT PROGR.go riverside-DEF “Weren’t you(PL) going to the riverside?”	P&T
Y/N	E-w menm, sa kay? And-you self, this PROGR.go? “And you, is everything fine?”	P&T
Y/N	Sé-w i la alò Wobè ? COPpres-you that there so Robert? “Is that you, Robert?”	P&T
Y/N (rethoric)	Sa pa pli séryé é pli fondal ki tout kalkilasyon on gwo misyé touwouj ka fè ? This NEG more serious and more essential than all calculation a big man all.red HAB do “And isn’t this more serious and essential than all the calculations that a big reddish man does?”	TP
Y/N (rethoric)	É sa pa séryé chèché-sav poukisa flè ka ba kò a-yo tann mal pou fè pikan i pa ka janmé sèvi ahak ? And this NEG serious try-know why flower HAB give body of-they so trouble to make thorn that NEG HAB never be.useful nothing “And isn’t it serious to try to understand why the flowers go to a lot of trouble to grow some thorns that aren’t useful are all?”	TP
Y/N Es	Es ou kay suiv tou-la, lanné-lasa ? INT you PROGR.go follow tour-DEF, year-DEM “Will you be watching the Tour [=of Guadeloupe] this year?”	P&T
Y/N Es	Es zò dakò pou fè mas ? INT you(PL) agree(A) to do mask “Do you agree on getting disguised?”	P&T
Y/N Es	Mé ès ou ka konpranndi an ké babyé dèjè-y ? But INT you PROGR understand I IRR scold after-he “But do you (really) think I’m going to scold him?”	P&T
Y/N Es	Es ou annadorasyon kon annadorasyon ka maké douvan mwen oséryé ? INT you adoring(A) like adoring(A) that written in.front me seriously “Are you seriously a true fan of mine?”	TP
Y/N Es	Es i ka sanblé papiyon ? INT he HAB collect butterfly “Does he collect butterflies?”	TP

 

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