15. Questions

There are many kinds of questions in Lojban: full explanations appear in Chapter 19 and in various other chapters throughout the book. In this chapter, we will introduce three kinds: sumti questions, selbri questions, and yes/no questions.

The cmavo ``ma'' is used to create a sumti question: it indicates that the speaker wishes to know the sumti which should be placed at the location of the ``ma'' to make the bridi true. It can be translated as ``Who?'' or ``What?'' in most cases, but also serves for ``When?'', ``Where?'', and ``Why?'' when used in sumti places that express time, location, or cause. For example:

15.1)    ma   tavla do     mi
    --   ===== --     --
    Who? talks to-you about-me.
    Who is talking to you about me?

The listener can reply by simply stating a sumti:

15.2)    la djan.
    --------
    John (is talking to you about me).

Like ``ko'', ``ma'' can occur in any position where a sumti is allowed, not just in the first position:

15.3)    do [cu] tavla   ma
    --      =====   --
    You     talk to what/whom?

A ``ma'' can also appear in multiple sumti positions in one sentence, in effect asking several questions at once.

15.4)    ma [cu]  tavla    ma
    --       =====    --
    What/Who talks to what/whom?

The cmavo ``mo'' is the selbri analogue of ``ma''. It asks the respondent to provide a selbri that would be a true relation if inserted in place of the ``mo'':

15.5)    do [cu] mo
    --      ==
    You are-what/do-what?

A ``mo'' may be used anywhere a brivla or other selbri might. Keep this in mind for later examples. Unfortunately, by itself, ``mo'' is a very non-specific question. The response to the question in Example 15.5 could be:

15.6)    mi [cu] melbi
    --      =====
    I am beautiful.

15.7)    mi [cu] tavla
    --      =====
    I talk.

It is perfectly permissible for the respondent to fill in other unspecified places in responding to a ``mo'' question. Thus, the respondent in Example 15.7 could have also specified an audience, a topic, and/or a language in the response.

Finally, we must consider questions that can be answered ``Yes'' or ``No'', such as

15.8)    Are you talking to me?

Like all yes-or-no questions in English, Example 15.8 may be reformulated as

15.9)    Is it true that you are talking
to me?

15.10)  xu              do  tavla     
 mi
                    --  =====       --
    Is-it-true-that you are-talking to-me?

The answer ``Yes'' may be given by simply restating the bridi without the ``xu'' question word. Lojban has a shorthand for doing this with the word ``go'i'', mentioned in Section 11 . Instead of a negative answer, the bridi may be restated in such a way as to make it true. If this can be done by substituting sumti, it may be done with ``go'i'' as well. For example:

15.11)  xu do kanro
       -- =====
    Are you healthy?

15.12)  mi kanro
    -- =====
    I am healthy.

15.13)  go'i
    ====
    I am healthy.

or

15.14)  le tavla cu kanro
    --------    =====
    The talker is healthy.

15.15)  le tavla cu go'i
    --------    ====
    The talker is healthy.