Virtual Bangladesh: Bengali Primer: Lesson 4

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Sentence Structure: Interrogation

ki, the Bengali for what, is much more versatile than in English. It can be used straight forward as an interrogative whence it is pronounced with a slight stress. It can also be used to turn a statement into a question.

Example:

Ami chhAtro. [I am a student]
Ami ki chhAtro? [Am I a student?]

The general rule of thumb is to add the word ki after the subject inorder to convert the statement into an interrogative one.

Elementary Exercises

Now that you know some elementary grammar and some basic pronouns you are ready to do some exercises. Don't be perturbed, they will be very simple ones testing what you have learnt so far. Whenever you need to look up the Bengali of an English word, do use the on-line dictionary:

Exercise 1

Translate into Bengali: Use the on-line lexicon whenever necessary.

I love you.
I am your father.
She is your friend.
Is she your friend?
That is a window.
Is this a window?
This is my book.
Is this my book?
Is this your house?
This is my house.

Exercise 2

Fill in the gaps using either the appropriate pronouns, or the interrogative ki.

toMar nAm ______. [ nAm= name ]
______ nAm Zunaid.
Ami bAngAli.
Apni _____ AmerikAn?
Apni ke? [ke = who]
_____ Hassan.
oTA ______ boi. [boi = book]
___ AmAr boi.
eTA ____ oder bAri? [bari = house]
ha(n), ______ oder bAri.

Solutions to exercise 1 and 2