| interrogative sentences (which?) |
interrogative clauses (which) |
demonstrative (this) |
demonstrative (that) |
unspecified (some, certain) |
universal (every, each) |
negative (no, none) |
alternative (other, different, else) |
identical (same) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| any noun | ke... which... ? |
ku... which... |
hin... this... |
den... that... |
ban... some... certain... |
moy... every... each... |
nil... no... none of... |
alo... another... a different... |
sama... (the) same... |
| thing to - it |
keto what? which one? |
kuto what which one |
hinto this (thing), this one |
dento that (thing), that one |
banto something |
moyto everything |
nilto nothing none |
aloto something else |
samato the same thing |
| animate being te - s/he or any life form |
kete who? which one? |
kute who which one |
hinte this one |
dente that one |
bante somebody |
moyte everybody |
nilte nobody |
alote somebody else |
samate the same person |
| possession -su - possessive suffix |
kesu whose? |
kusu whose |
hinsu this one’s |
densu that one’s |
bansu somebody’s |
moysu everybody’s |
nilsu nobody’s |
alosu somebody else’s |
samasu the same person's |
| kind, way -pul - adj/adv suffix |
kepul like what?; how? (in what way?) |
kupul like what; how (in what way) |
hinpul like this; this way |
denpul like that; that way |
banpul some kind of; in some way |
moypul every kind of; in every way |
nilpul no kind of; in no way |
alopul a different kind of; in a different way |
samapul the same kind of; in the same way |
| degree -mo - adv suffix |
kemo how? (to what degree?) |
kumo how (to what degree) |
hinmo to this degree yay, yea |
denmo to that degree as, so, such |
banmo to a certain degree, somewhat |
moymo to every degree |
nilmo to no degree |
alomo to a different degree |
samamo to the same degree |
| quantity, amount kwanti - quantity amount |
kekwanti how much? |
kukwanti how much |
hinkwanti this much |
denkwanti that much |
bankwanti some amount of |
moykwanti the entire amount of |
nilkwanti no amount of, none |
alokwanti a different amount of |
samakwanti the same amount of |
| number numer - number |
kenumer how many? |
kunumer how many |
hinnumer this many |
dennumer that many |
bannumer some number of |
moynumer all of the |
nilnumer none of the |
alonumer a different number of |
samanumer the same number of |
| location loka - place |
keloka where? |
kuloka where |
hinloka here |
denloka there |
banloka somewhere |
moyloka everywhere |
nilloka nowhere |
aloloka elsewhere |
samaloka in the same place |
| time watu - time |
kewatu when? |
kuwatu when |
hinwatu now |
denwatu then |
banwatu sometime |
moywatu always |
nilwatu never |
alowatu at a different time |
samawatu at the same time |
| reason (cause or purpose) seba - reason |
keseba why?, how come? |
kuseba why, how come |
hinseba for this reason |
denseba for that reason |
banseba for some reason |
moyseba for every reason |
nilseba for no reason |
aloseba for a different reason |
samaseba for the same reason |
| way, manner maner - way, manner |
kemaner how? (done by what manner?) |
kumaner how (done by what manner) |
hinmaner like this, like so, by this manner |
denmaner like that, like so, by that manner |
banmaner somehow, by some manner |
moymaner by every manner |
nilmaner by no manner |
alomaner by another manner |
samamaner by the same manner |
| emphatic he - any, -ever |
he keto whatever? |
he kuto whatever |
he hinto any of these whichever |
he dento any of those whichever |
he banto anything |
he moyto everything and anything |
he nilto not any, not a single one |
he aloto any other |
he samato the same exact thing |
The correlatives words ke, ku, hin, den, ban, moy, nil, alo and sama must always be followed by a noun (whether modified with adjectives or not) or by a pronoun. They should never stand alone because by omitting the (pro)noun the correlative can easily be mistaken to refer to the noun/verb that follows it. In the absence of a specified noun, the pronouns te or to mark the end of the noun phrase. See [Noun Phrases](/grammar/word-order-phrase structure#noun_phrase_pronouns).
Compare the following sentences:
Hinto bono nasacu.
This (thing) smells good.
In the sentence above, -to marks the end of the noun phrase.
Hin bono nasacu... memorigi mi cel misu femdoste.
This good smell... reminds me of my girlfriend.
In the sentence above, nasacu marks the end of the noun phrase.
Likewise, kekwanti (what quantity of) and kenumer (what number of) must also always be followed by a noun or otherwise te or to when a noun is understood and not specified.
kenumer bono lala - how many good songs
vs
Kenumer te bono lala?
How many (of them) sing well?
Mi le kari dua kilogramo fe risi. Yu le kari kekwanti to?
I bought two kilos of rice. How much did you buy?
The preposition cel is obligatory with loka correlatives when movement is involved.
cel keloka - where (to)
cel hinloka - here (hither)
cel denloka - there (thither)
etc.
In many languages, the so-called questions words (who, where, when, etc.) are used not only to pose questions but have multiple other functions. In Globasa, ke words are used only for true wh- questions. As seen under Sentence Structure, questions preserve the word order of the counterpart declarative sentence. Ke words are never used for any other function, including interrogative clauses within declarative sentences or even yes/no questions.
Interrogative clauses are clauses that appear in place of noun phrases and which mean (the answer to) the question "XYZ?" or a variation thereof. They are formed by introducing them with the clause conjunction ki, using the determiner ku instead of ke, and preserving the word order of the clause's counterpart question.
The following pairs of example sentences illustrate: (1) true questions, (2) declarative sentences with interrogative clauses
(1) Kete lubi yu?
"Who loves you?"
Who loves you?
(2) Mi jixi ki kute lubi yu.
"I know this: Who loves you?."
I know who loves you.
(1) Yu lubi kete?
"You love who(m)."
Who(m) do you love?
(2) Mi jixi ki yu lubi kute.
"I know this: You love who(m)?."
I know who(m) you love.
(1) Te wole na yam keto?
"He wants to eat what?"
What does he want to eat?
(2) Mi le wanji ki te wole na yam kuto.
"I forgot this: He wants to eat what?."
I forgot what he wants to eat.
(1) Te le gibe pesa tas ke doste?
"She gave the money to which friend?"
Which friend did she give the money to?
(2) Te le no loga ki te le gibe pesa tas ku doste.
"She didn't say this Which friend did she give the money to?."
She didn't say which friend she gave the money to.
(1) Hinto is kesu kursi?
"This is whose chair?"
Whose chair is this?
(2) Mi wole na jixi ki hinto is kusu kursi.
"I want to know this: This is whose chair?."
I want to know whose chair this is.
(1) Kesu kitabu per mesa?
"Whose book on the table?"
Whose book is on the table.
(2) Mi jixi ki kusu kitabu per mesa.
"I know this: Whose book is on the table?."
I know whose book is on the table.
(1) Yu is kepul?
"You are how?"
How are you?
(2) Te le swal ki yu is kupul.
"She asked this: You are how?."
She asked how you were.
(1) Yu is kepul insan?
"You are what kind of person?"
What kind of person are you?
(2) Mi jixi ki yu is kupul insan.
"I know this: What kind of person are you?."
I know what kind of person you are.
(1) Te is kemo lawo?
"She is how old?"
How old is she?
(2) Te le loga tas mi ki te kumo lawo.
"She told me this: She is how old?."
She told me how old she is.
(1) Yu is kemo pilodo?
"You are how tired?"
How tired are you?
(2) Mi jixi ki yu kumo pilodo.
I know this: "You are how tired?".
I know how tired you are.
(1) Yu le kari kekwanti risi?
"You bought how much rice?"
How much rice did you buy?
(2) Mi le oko ki yu le kari kukwanti risi.
"I saw this: You bought how much rice?."
I saw how much rice you bought.
(1) Yu hare kenumer bete?
"You have how many children?"
How many children do you have?
(2) Mi jixiwol ki yu hare kunumer bete.
"I wonder this: You have how many children?."
I wonder how many children you have.
(1) Te ogar keloka?
"He works where?"
Where does he work?
(2) Mi jixi ki te ergo kuloka.
"I know this: He works where?."
I know where he works.
(1) Te xa preata kewatu?
"She will arrive when?"
When will she arrive?
(2) Dento is ki te xa preata kuwatu.
"That is this: She will arrive when?."
That is when he will arrive.
(1) Yu le no idi cel parti keseba?
"You didn't go to the party why?"
Why didn't you go to the party?
(2) Mi jixi ki yu le no idi cel parti kuseba.
"I know this: You didn't go to the party why?."
I know why you didn't go to the party.
(1) Yu le xuli mobil kemaner?
"You fixed the car how?"
How did you fix the car?
(2) Mi jixiwol ki yu le xuli mobil kumaner.
I wonder this: You fixed the car how?."
I wonder how you fixed the car.
Speakers will sometimes reduce an interrogative clause into a phrase, even to the lone interrogative word. In this case, in the absence of a full clause with a subject and predicate, there is no need for the conjunction ki.
Mi jixi fe ku mesi.
I know in what month.
Te le no loga kuseba.
She didn't say why.
Dento is kuloka.
That is where.
Interrogative phrases with na also do not use the clause conjunction ki.
Mi jixi na idi kuloka.
I know where to go.
Correlative phrasal conjunctions end in -loka, -watu, -seba and -maner, and use the relative conjunction hu.
Mi ergo denloka hu yu ergo.
I work where you work.
Mi xa preata denwatu hu yam jumbi. or Denwatu hu yam jumbi, mi xa preata.
I will arrive when the meal is ready. or When the meal is ready, I will arrive.
Mi le no idi cel parti denseba hu yu idi.
I didn't go to the party for the reason that you went.
Mi le xuli mobil denmaner hu yu le alim tas mi.
I fixed the car how/like you taught me.
Denmaner hu mi le loga...
Like I said...
The conjunction kom means as, like and is used with the correlatives ending in -pul, -mo, -kwanti and -numer to make comparisions. In the following pairs of example sentences, the second sentence replaces a specific word or phrase with a correlative.
(1) Mi is hazuni kom yu.
I am sad like you.
(2) Mi is denpul kom yu.
I am like you.
(1) Mi salom yu sodarsim kom misu sodar.
I greet you fraternally as my brother.
(2) Mi salom yu denpul kom misu sodar.
I greet you as my brother.
(1) Mi no abil na lala meli kom yu.
I can't sing beautifully like you.
(2) Mi no abil na lala denpul kom yu.
I can't sing like you.
(1) Sama kom mi, pia te hare tiga bete.
The same as me, she too has three children.
(2) Denpul kom mi, pia te hare tiga bete.
Like me, she too has three children.
(1) Hin baytu daymo dayo kom misu to.
This house is very big like mine.
(2) Hin baytu denmo dayo kom misu to.
This house is as big as mine.
(1) Mi hare tiga bete kom misu gami.
I have three children like my spouse.
(2) Mi hare dennumer bete kom misu gami.
I have as many children as my spouse.
(1) Mi le kari dua kilogramo fe risi kom yu.
I bought two kilos of rice like you.
(2) Mi le kari denkwanti risi kom yu.
I bought as much rice as you.
The word daydenpul is an affixed word composed of day- (augmentative prefix) and the correlative denpul. It translates as what a followed a noun in exclamations such as the following:
Daydenpul dina!
What a day!
The word daydenmo is an affixed word composed of day- (augmentative prefix) and the correlative denmo. It is an adverb of degree meaning so, when followed by an adjective/adverb, or such, when followed by a modified noun.
Yu daydenmo bala.
You are so strong.
Yu hare daydenmo dayo oko.
You have such big eyes.
The word daydenmo is also used much like daydenpul. It means how, when followed by an adjective/adverb, or what a, when followed by a modified noun.
Daydenmo meli!
How beautiful!
Daydenmo meli dina!
What a beautiful day!
Similarly, the words daydenkwanti and daydennumer may be used to express so much and so many, respectively. Alternatively, the expression denmo multi may be used to express either, as it is synonymous with both daydenkwanti and daydennumer.
The word moyun is an affixed word composed of the correlative word moy and un (one). It means each (one) and is used when it is necessary to distinguish it from every/all.
Compare the following sentences:
Mi le kari tiga yuxitul cel moyun nini.
I bought three toys for each child.
Mi le kari tiga yuxitul cel moy nini.
I bought three toys for all the children.