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Lesson 40: Embedded Questions

Vocabulary


	desh		drug
	–du		Suffix (Type-of-Sentence Word): said in poetry; reciting a poem (SH)
	edeláad		to believe
	–hée		Suffix (embedded clause): Question Embedding marker
	íthi		to be tall; to be high
	math		building
	olim		heaven; paradise
	redeb		to find
	wedeth		to be clear
	wush		broom [onomatopoeia]

With the addition of “–du” we now have seen all the Speech Act Suffixes.

Embedded Questions

This is another lesson on embedding one sentence inside another. In this lesson, the sentences we’ll be embedding are questions.

To embed a question, add the ending “–hée” to the last word in the [embedded question].

Examples

In the examples to follow, I will present the embedded sentence in [brackets] to make the topic more accessible. I’ll then present the English in progressively colloquial forms.

In embedded declarative sentences, we learned to ease the translation into English by prefacing the embedded clause with “that;” in embedded questions, the corresponding word is “if” or “whether.”


	Bíi lothel le [noham lali]hée wa.		I know [has it finished raining?]. I know if/whether it has finished raining.
	Bíi lothel ra le [noham lali]hée wa.		I don’t know [has it finished raining?]. I don’t know if/whether it has finished raining.
	Báa lothel ne [noham lali]hée?		Do you know [has it finished raining?]? Do you know if/whether it has finished raining?

The form of the “outer” sentence (inside which the question is embedded) may or may not, itself, be a question. The examples above illustrate this point.


	Báa lothel bebáa [mehéthe muda]hé?		Who knows [the pigs are clean]? Who knows that the pigs are clean?
	Báa lothel bebáa [mehéthe muda]hée?		Who knows [are the pigs clean?]? Who knows whether the pigs are clean?

To borrow from the exercises in the lesson covering embedded sentences, the first of these two embeds the statement, “The pigs are clean;” there’s no question that the pigs are clean. The second, identical to the first except for the Embedding marker, throws this matter into doubt by embedding, as a question, “Are the pigs clean?”


	Bíi oth [thi Ána nemeth]ehé wa.		Be important [Anna have a pearl]. It’s important that Anna have a pearl.
	Bíi oth [thi Ána nemeth]ehée wa.		Be important [Does Anna have a pearl?]. It’s important if/whether Anna has a pearl. Whether Anna has a pearl is important.
	Báa oth [thi Ána nemeth]ehée?		Is [Does Anna have a pearl?] important? Is it important whether Anna has a pearl? Is whether Anna has a pearl important?

Stative verbs and intransitive verbs can take an embedded clause only as their Subject. “Oth” (to be important) here is one such; another is “shóo,” (to happen; to occur; to come to pass) as we saw in the lesson on embedded sentences.

In an earlier lesson, we came across the sentence “I know which child ate the fish,” which we couldn’t translate then. Now, however, we have the tools to translate it.


	Bíi lothel le [eril yod bebáa thilith; nedaba háawith]ehée wa.		I know [Who/what ate the fish? Which child?]. I know which child ate the fish.

Exercises

Translate the following into English.


1	Báa edeláad ábedá thal donihée?
2	Bíi eril bedi ra ehá dama háawith zhubethehée wáa.
3	Bíi eril ma Méri bel bebáa anathehée wáa.
4	Bíi wedeth eril mehulanin bediháhée wi.
5	Bóo mime ne eril lalom amedaraháhée.
6	Bíi aril lothel omá ril menasháad meworabalin wowithid debe miwithedehée wa.

Turn the embedded statement into an embedded question. Translate into English before and after.


7	Bíi ril láad thul oyunan eril meshumáad babí olinedihé wáa.
8	Bíi en Elízhabeth eril im esh melahahé wa.
9	Báa om bebáa eril íthi mathehé?
10	Bóo dom ne methad mehalehale mewobalin wohoninehé.
11	Bíi oth ra eríli el Beye abeshehé wa.
12	Bíi ril héeya Ána eril ham belid henehahé wáa.

The English translations of #12 are not clear; I apologize for this. The distinction here, as in all of these, is whether there is any question that “eril ham belid heneha” (there was a house in the east). Perhaps using the English word “lest” instead of the standard “if/whether” will make the sense of this sentence clearer.

Translate the following into Láadan.


13	The philosopher asks whether the book is correct.
14	The snake will know whether the fish (plural) slept in the river.
15	Prithee tell me whether the pillows will be soft.
16	Margaret signed whether the trees thrived in summer.
17	No-one knew whether the family had just cleaned the building with a BROOM.
18	Carol perceived whether the white butterfly came from the cloud.

How well did you do forming a word for “had just cleaned” in #17? We know “to clean:” “dóhéthe” [dó– (cause to) + éthe (be clean)]. We simply add the prefix “thó–” (to have just VERBed), and there we are: “thódóhéthe.”

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Answers


1	Does the farmer believe the soil is good?
2	The scientist did not learn whether the child touched the insect.
3	Mary heard who took/brought the food.
4	It’s clear whether the students studied.
5	Prithee ask whether the dancer sang.
6	The teacher will know whether the hundred young men are departing from the city.

7	The mother hears that the birds flew to the forest.
	Bíi ril láad thul oyunan eril meshumáad babí olinedihée wáa.
	The mother hears whether the birds flew to the forest.
8	Elizabeth understands that the boat traveled on the ocean.
	Bíi en Elízhabeth eril im esh melahahée wa.
	Elizabeth understands whether the boat traveled on the ocean.
9	Who is teaching that the building was tall?
	Báa om bebáa eril íthi mathehée?
	Who is teaching whether the building was tall?
10	Prithee remember that the old nurses are able to make music.
	Bóo dom ne methad mehalehale mewobalin wohoninehée.
	Prithee remember whether the old nurses can make music.
11	It is not important that, long ago, Someone created all-that-is.
	Bíi oth ra eríli el Beye abeshehée wa.
	It is not important whether, long ago, Someone created all-that-is.
12	Anna is afraid that there was a house in the east.
	Bíi ril héeya Ána eril ham belid henehahée wáa.
	Anna is afraid lest there was a house in the east.

13	Bíi mime ehená dóon áabehée wa.
14	Bíi aril lothel ezha eril meháana thili wilihahée wo.
15	Bóo di ne ledi aril medazh thomehée.
16	Bíi eril lishid Mázhareth metháa yáanin wumaneyahée wa.
17	Bíi eril lothel rawith thódóhéthe onida matheth wushehóonanehée wa.
18	Bíi eril láad Hérel sháad wolíithi woháalaá boshumedehée wo.

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