Interrogative Pronouns
Introduction
The interrogative pronouns are kio/kion, kiu/kiun/kiuj, kies. They replace the nouns that we are asking after in questions.
Usage
| English | Esperanto | Example |
|---|---|---|
| what (subject) | kio | Kio estas tio?What is that? |
| what (object) | kion | Kion vi manĝis?What did you eat? |
| who (singular) | kiu | Kiu diris tion?Who said that? |
| who (plural) | kiuj | Kiuj estas tiuj knaboj?Who are those boys over there? |
| to whom | al kiu | Al kiu vi donis la libron?To whom did you give the book?/Who did you give the book to? |
| who/whom | kiun | Kiun vi demandis?Who did you ask? |
| whose | kies | Kies taŝo estas tiu?Whose bag is that? |
We use the nominitive when we ask about a subject or an object with a preposition.
- Example:
- Mi diris tion. → Kiu diris tion?I said that. → Who said that?
- Mi donis la libron al knabino. → Al kio vi donis la libron?I gave the book to the girl. → To whom did you give the book?
We use the accusative when we ask about an object (used without a preposition).
- Example:
- Mi manĝis kukon. → Kion vi manĝis?I ate cake. → What did you eat?
- Mi demandis la instruiston. → Kiun vi demandis?I asked the teacher. → Who did you ask?
Plural Interrogative Pronous
Interrogative pronouns also have a plural form in Esperanto (with the exception of kies). We use the plural form whenever it is apparent from the question or previous sentence that we are dealing with multiple people/things etc.
- Example:
- Kiuj estas tiuj knaboj?Who are those boys over there?
(see: Questions, Table of Words)