15.1. ‘Who?’ and ‘What?’
Models
| 1) | SÁN OĆE ŦE KÁ¸ṈI¸? | ‘Who is the girl?’ |
| 2) | SÁN OĆE YÁ¸? | ‘Who went?’ |
| 3) | SÁN OĆE Ȼ SYÁ¸S? | ‘Who was it that went?’ |
| 4) | SÁN OĆE ȻSE YÁ¸? | ‘Who was the one that went?’ |
| 5) | STÁṈ OĆE TŦÁ¸E? | ‘What is that?’ |
| 6) | STÁṈ OĆE YÁ¸? | ‘What went?’ |
| 7) | STÁṈ OĆE Ȼ SYÁ¸S? | ‘What was it that went?’ |
| 8) | STÁṈ OĆE ȻSE YÁ¸? | ‘What was the one that went?’ |
| 9) | U¸ SÁN OL¸. | ‘It’s anyone.’ |
| 10) | U¸ STÁṈ OL¸. | ‘It’s anything.’ |
‣ 1 The models are split into three groups. The first four models (1, 2, 3, and 4) illustrate the word SÁN ‘who.’ The four models 5, 6, 7, and 8 show STÁṈ ‘what.’ The last two models show SÁN and STÁṈ with different functions.
‣ 2 The word SÁN means ‘who,’ as in models 1, 2, 3, 4, but it also can mean ‘someone,’ as in model 9, and it can even sometimes be translated as ‘what.’ The word STÁṈ means ‘what,’ but can also mean ‘something,’ as in model 10.
‣ 3 The little word OĆE or OĆ follows SÁN or STÁṈ and is really what makes sure it is understood as a question. The OĆE indicates that the speaker is or has been wondering about it. OĆE can be used in sentences that are not questions. For example, a common sentence that is useful when you finally figure something out is OO, NIȽ OĆE ȻE¸ ‘Oh, that’s why’ or ‘Oh, that’s it.’
‣ 4 The last three models in each of the first two groups show how to ask who or what is doing something. The last three in each group can really be translated all the same: ‘Who went?’ or ‘What went?’ The different English translations show the slight difference in meaning among them.
‣ 5 The second model in each group (models 2 and 6) are probably the most common ways to ask who or what is doing something. This is a simple sentence with the serial verb construction. SEN and STÁṈ are acting as intransitive verbs here followed by the verb YÁ¸.
‣ 6 The third model in each group (models 3 and 7) are complex sentences with a Ȼ clause, which was introduced in §12.6 and also seen in §14.3. Note that, with SÁN or STÁṈ, the Ȼ clause always has the ‑S possessive, never the NE, EN¸, or ȽTE possessives.
‣ 7 The fourth model in each group (models 4 and 8) are complex sentences with a type of clause that is described in detail in §47.3. Briefly, this type of clause has a verb—YÁ¸ in the example—preceded by the article ȻSE. So here, a verb (without the S‑) prefix is treated like a noun. This is a type of relative clause. Generally, a phrase ȻSE verb is translated ‘the one that verb.’ So here, ȻSE YÁ¸ is ‘the one that went.’ Relative clauses are a big subject that gets a lot more attention in §47.
‣ 8 The past and future markers go where they usually do, if needed, right after the first word: SÁN LE¸ OĆE YÁ¸ ‘Who did go?’; STÁṈ SE¸ OĆE YÁ¸ ‘What will go?’
‣ 9 You can use SÁN as a sentence by itself to mean ‘Who is it?’ You can use STÁṈ by itself as a sentence meaning ‘What is it?’ This is similar to just saying ‘Who?’ or ‘What?’ in English.
‣ 10 In English ‘who’ can be a question word, as in the models, or it can be a relative pronoun as in ‘The man who saw me.’ An important difference between English and SENĆOŦEN is that SÁN is never used as a relative pronoun. Relative clauses are covered in detail in §47.
‣ 11 Note that SÁN and STÁṈ are stressed. The particle OĆE or OĆ is never stressed.
‣ 12 Models 9 and 10 are not questions. These are included here to illustrate that SÁN and STÁṈ do not have to mean ‘who’ and ‘what.’ Models 9 and 10 are very useful phrases that could be used with an article like these sentences:
EWE SEN S QENNEW̱ ȻSE U, SÁN OL¸. ‘I didn’t see anyone.’
EWE SEN S QENNEW̱ ȻSE U, STÁṈ OL¸. ‘I didn’t see anything.’
‣ 13 New vocabulary (with the stressed vowel in red):
TŦÁ¸E ‘that there’
ȽÁ¸E ‘this here.’
 | SÁN OĆ TŦÁ¸E SWIU¸LES? | ‘Who is that boy?’ |
 | NIȽ TŦE NE ŚÍYEȽ. | ‘It’s my older brother.’ |
| SÁN OĆ TŦE SĆÁ¸ĆE¸S? | ‘Who is his friend?’ |
| EWENE NE SXĆIT. | ‘I don’t know.’ |
| 15.1A. Translate each of the following into English. 1. SÁN OĆE ȻSE MÁN? 2. SÁN OĆE? 3. SÁN SE¸ ȽÁU¸? 4. SÁN OĆE Ȼ S¸IȽENS ¸E TŦE SEPLIL? 5. SÁN LE¸ OĆE TŦE QENNEW̱? 6. STÁṈ OĆE TŦÁ¸E? 7. STÁṈ OĆE TŦE WITEṈ? 8. STÁṈ OĆE Ȼ EN, SQENNEW̱? 9. STÁṈ SE¸ OĆE IȽEN? 10. STÁṈ OĆE NEḴEṈ? | 15.1B. Translate each of the following into SENĆOŦEN. 1. Who laughed? 2. Who is this boy? 3. Who will go? 4. Who saw it? 5. Who is your mother? 6. What is this? 7. What dove? 8. What hit it? 9. What ran away? 10. What is that? |
| 15.1C. Make up four more sentences using SÁN and four using STÁṈ. | |