Küsilause

Küsilause is a term that refers to a question sentence in Estonian grammar. It is a type of sentence used to solicit information from another person or entity. Estonian question sentences can be formed in several ways, primarily through the use of interrogative words, word order, or question particles.

One common method of forming a küsilause is by employing interrogative pronouns and adverbs, such as kes (who), mis (what), kus (where), millal (when), miks (why), and kuidas (how). These words typically appear at the beginning of the sentence to signal that a question is being asked and to specify the type of information sought. For example, "Kes sa oled?" translates to "Who are you?".

Another way to form a question sentence is by altering the word order. In Estonian, the subject-verb order is standard for declarative sentences. However, in some cases, the verb can be moved to the beginning of the sentence to create a question, especially when no interrogative word is used. For instance, "Sa tuled?" can be interpreted as "Are you coming?".

Finally, question particles can also be used to indicate a question. The most common question particle is "-gi", which is attached to the end of a word, often the verb or the subject, to add a questioning nuance. For example, "Kas sa tuled?" is a more explicit way to ask "Are you coming?", where "kas" is the interrogative particle. These different grammatical mechanisms allow for the formation of a variety of question sentences in the Estonian language.