Lesson 9 INTERROGATIVES Part 5 - Question Verbs
Gilbertese uses seven verbs which have interrogative force. Otherwise they act just as any other verbs, being preceded by a subject pronoun to form a complete sentence:
a. Ngaa - to be where
E ngaa to kai-ni-b'ati?
it be-where the bus stop |
| Where is the bus stop? |
 Ngaa is generally used only with the third person pronouns. In other cases, a construction with iia is preferred. (see preceding lesson.):
Ko meake iia?
you live where? |
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It can also be used in the sense of 'when', 'where in time':
E ngaa to bong ae ko aki tabe iai?
it where the day that you not busy there |
| What day aren't you busy? |
When used with this meaning, iai, meaning 'there, at that time' must be incorporated into both the question and answer:
Te-Moanibong te bong ae I aki tabe iai.
Monday the day that I not busy then |
| I'm not busy on Monday. |
b. Aera - to do what
Kam na aera?
you (pl) will do-what? |
| What are you going to do? |
Aera is also commonly used equivalent to "what did you say", when the last remark was misheard:
| E aera? |
| What? How's that again? |
It is often used as a greeting as well, in the sense "where are you going"':
| Ko na aera? |
Where are you going?
What are you up to? |
Sometimes it also means 'why', in which case it is used with ngkai, ngke, and ngkana, like bukin teraa. (See preceding lesson.) With ngke in the past, and ngkai in the non-past. Ngkana has the implication of the questioner's disapproval, disbelief, or challenge:
E aera ngkai ko nako Betio?
why now you go-to Betio |
| Why are you going to Betio? |
| E aera ngkana ko nako Betio? |
What are you going to Betio for?
(negative intonation) |
c. Uara - to be how
Kouara?
you be-how |
| How are you? |
E uara am mm'akuri?
it be-how your work |
| How's your job? |
d. Nakea - go where
Ko na nakea?
you will go where |
| Where are you going? |
Like ko (na) aera, ko (na) nakea is often used in passing as a greeting.
e. Kangaa - to do how, in what way
Ko kangaa ni karaoia?
you in what way of do it |
| How did you do it? |
In some cases, like e aera, it can have the sense of 'what', as when asking someone what someone else said:
E kangaa ana taeka?
it be how his words |
| What did he say? |
f. Rikea - to pass by where
Ko na rikea?
you will pass by where |
| Which route will you take? |
g. Iraanna - to do in what way
Ko iraanna ni kateia
you in what way of build it |
| How did you build it? |
Iraanna is more commonly used in the passive form - Iraanaki, 'done in what way'. (See lesson on passives):
E iraanaki te am'arake?
it done in what way the food |
| How was that food made? |
NOTE
There is a word similar in sound to iraanna: iraana. It means roughly 'where' and is a composition of i, the locative prefix, plus raa, 'what' (lesson 7), plus the possessive suffix na, 'its', which gives raa the meaning of 'what relationship?'. Altogether it has the sense 'at what relationship to it; where?'.
Similarly, iraab'ai, 'on which side of the thing?', can be seen as a contraction of i + raa + (n + te) b'ai.
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