25.1. ‘Where at?’ ‘Where to?’ ‘Where from?’
Models
| 1) | EXIN SW̱ OĆE? | ‘Where are you?’ |
| 2) | TX̱IN SW̱ OĆE? | ‘Where are you going to?’ |
| 3) | ĆSE¸EXIN SW̱ OĆE? | ‘Where are you from?’ |
‣ 1 The first model shows the basic word for ‘where?’ in SENĆOŦEN, EXIN. This word is used to refer to being at a particular place—not moving toward or away from a place.
‣ 2 To ask where someone or something is moving toward, use TX̱IN, shown in model 2. This word comes from the combination of a prefix TW̱E‑ ‘become’ (§54) and the root EXIN ‘where?’
‣ 3 To ask where someone or something is coming or going from, use ĆSE¸EXIN. This word comes from the combination of the prefix ĆSE‑ ‘go from’ and the root EXIN ‘where?’ The ĆSE‑ prefix is frequently pronounced ĆE‑, and the initial glottal stop of EXIN /ʔəx̣ín/ is dropped. So ĆEXIN means the same as CSE¸EXIN.
‣ 4 Just as with the other question words the particle OĆE or OĆ (introduced in §15.1 point 4) is used to make sure these are understood as questions.
‣ 5 These and all of the other question words in SENĆOŦEN are intransitive verbs. These have the same grammar as any of the other intransitive verbs (see §1.1 on intransitive verbs). This means that if one says simply EXIN this means ‘Where is he/she/it?’ If you want to know where a particular object or person is, just put that object or person in as the subject of the sentence with an appropriate article, for example, EXIN OĆE ȻSE EN¸ SḴAXE¸? ‘Where is your dog?’ Here is the pattern for asking where at, where to, or where from of a particular item (or person):
| EXIN OĆE | ARTICLE ITEM | (where at) | |
| TX̱IN OĆE | ARTICLE ITEM | (where to) | |
| ĆSE¸EX̱IN OĆE | ARTICLE ITEM | (where from) |
EXIN OĆE Ȼ possessive‑S‑event (where happen)
 | EXIN SW̱ OĆE? | ‘Where are you?’ |
 | U¸ O¸MET SEN. | ‘I’m at home.’ |
| MEQELO¸ SW̱ ¸E Ṯ ESE. | ‘Wait for me.’ |
| MEQELO¸ SEN. | ‘I’ll wait.’ |
| 25.1A. Translate each into English. 1. EXIN SEN OĆE? 2. TX̱IN ȽTE OĆE? 3. ĆSE¸EXIN OĆE TI¸Á SḴÁXE¸? 4. EXIN LE¸ OĆ Ȼ EN¸ S¸ITET? | 25.1B. Translate each into SENĆOŦEN. 1. Where were you? 2. Where did my dog go? 3. Where is your friend from? 4. Where are my mother and father? |