# Answering Votian questions
## Answering questions
### Descriptive question

Inflection of pronouns and pointers :
| | Interrogative | Interrogative | Distal demonstrative | Distal demonstrative | Proximal demonstrative | Proximal demonstrative | Alternative | Alternative | Indefinite | Indefinite |
| Adverbs |||||||||||||||
| manner ( instructive ) | kui (ku, ko) | how | nī (nennī, kannī, Eastern Votic dialect: kannīG) | so | | | muitē̮ | elsehow, in another way; (for nothing) | kuilēB | somehow |
| cause-purpose ( translative ) | mihsi (missi, mihē̮ , minē-peräs̄ , Mati dialect: mi) | why | senē perässä (senperäs̄ ) | therefor | | | muite̮z | otherwise; for no reason, for nothing | misselē Luuditsa dialect | for some reason or other |
| time ( essive) | ke̮nz (kē̮z, kē̮) | when | sīz (size̮ , siz) | then | nüD (nüttä, Jõgõperä dialect: nüt̄ ; para.iko) | now | muinā | other times - long ago | kē̮zlēB | sometimes |
| direction ( allative and illative ) | kuhē̮ | where (to) | sinne (Eastern Votic dialect: sinneG) | there (to) | tänne (Eastern Votic dialect: tänneG) | here (to) | muvvaлē̮ (mūvvaлē̮ , Luuditsa dialect: mujā) | elsewhere (to) | kuhē̮lēB | somewhere (to) |
| location ( adessive and inessive ) | kuza | where | siällä | there | tǟllä (kassenna) | here | muvvaллa | elsewhere | kuzalēB | somewhere |
| ablative-direction ( ablative and elative ) | kussa | where (from) | siältä | there (from) | tǟltä | here (from) | muvvaлta | elsewhere (from) | kussalēB | somewhere (from) |

#### Dialectal alternatives

* Votic of Ingria
** Western
*** Hill:
**** Lempola dialect
| location | sihēsē (sihē) | here (to) | sīnä | here | sītä | here (from) |
* Kukkuzi dialect
** kussalēB may be kust-lē .

#### Syntax

* A simple descriptive question may be composed starting a sentence with an interrogative word. Often you may answer with one word or phrase.
** kuhē̮ ke̮rjazit tširvē ? 'Where did you hide the ax?' Luuditsa dialect
** sinne . 'Over there.'
You may answer with more informative adverbs, than the general ones displayed in the table above.
* kuhē̮ , kuza, kussa 'where (to), where, where (from)'
** 'somewhere'
*** kuhē̮lēB e.g. Itšäpäivä dialect: kuhē̮lēG mennǖD tüttäreD, ep kūluG näitä 'Daughters have gone somewhere, they can't be heard.' kuhē̮
** 'outside'
*** akkunaлā e.g. лahze̮d ̮johsivad ̮akkunaлā 'The kids ran out.' kuhē̮
*** akkunaллa e.g. meil on akkunaллa vanat ̮kazge̮D 'We have old birchtrees outside (in our courtyard).' kuza
*** akkunaлta e.g. akkunaлta tultī jo rihēsē 'They came in already.' kussa (into the chamber from outside of the house)
** 'down, below, under'
*** aлaz ~ aлā e.g. tämä tuli ähüpǟlt aлaz 'He came down from the oven.' kuhē̮
*** aллa e.g. koira on lavvā naллa, meni aлā 'The dog is under the table, went down.' kuza (The n of naллa is actually a Genitive ending, which has slided from lavvā to the beginning of the following word.)
*** aлta e.g. ve̮ta linad ̮aлta vällǟ 'Take the bedsheets away.' kussa (from below a blanket)
** 'ahead, forward, onwards'
*** etezī ~ etēz e.g. ain ove̮s̄ etezī aje̮ Lempola dialect '(He) drove the horse forward all the time.' kuhē̮
** 'back'
*** tagāz ~ tagaz e.g. vellet ̮tulivat ̮tagāz 'The brothers came back.' kuhē̮ ; täl tagāz ̮be̮ллu antā rahā 'She (the seller) had no money to give (return me) the change.'
** 'back and forth, there and back, to and fro, up and down'
*** etēz ̮tagāz' e.g. tšäütteleb ̮etēz ̮tagāz '(Se) walks back and forth.' kuhē̮
* kui 'how'
** 'below'
*** aлe̮tsē̮ ~ aлe̮ttse̮ ~ aлattsē̮ e.g. menemmä aлe̮tsē̮ "Let's pass below (the obstacle)."
* mihsi 'why'
** ' otherwise, for no reason, for nothing'
*** muite̮z ~ muitez ~ muitaz
** ' anyway, still (regardless to that)'
*** muite̮štši
** ' of course'
*** muitokki Kukkuzi dialect

### Affirmative question

| suffix | -ko | Is it ... ? Did she ...? ... wether etc. |
| adverb | vai | Is it ... ? Did she ...? ... wether etc. |
* A simple question may be composed adding a suffix -ko to the first word of a sentence.
** pesiko tšäet puhtāssi? 'Did he wash his hands (clean)?' < pesi tšäet puhtāssi. '(He) washed (his) hands (clean).'
** oŋko üvä issua? 'Is it good to sit (like this)?' < on üvä issua. 'It is good to sit (like this).'
* A simple question may be composed starting a sentence with vai.
** vai siä karjuššin̄ e̮лe̮D? 'Are you (working as) a shepherd?' < siǟ e̮лe̮D karjuššin 'you are (working as) a shepherd?'
A vague answer may contain ku b lie (may be).

#### Neighbouring languages

There is a similar morpheme vai in Latvian with similar functions.
* Vai Ritai patīk aritmētika? 'Does Rita like arithmetic?' < Ritai patīk aritmētika? 'Rita likes arithmetic.'

## Exercises

* 1. Compose questions and answers using the examples of the Syntax chapter.