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Chapter 8 Yes/No Questions This chapter describes how to form questions that have a yes or no answer. 1 Overview There are three forms of yes/no questions and one kind of indirect question. The first is formed by placing the particle da’ at the beginning of an ordinary declarative sentence. The second variety is formed by affixing the enclitic -¶sh to one of the constituents in a declarative sentence; if -¶sh appears on any constituent other than the first one, the result is a question that focuses on the constituent that has the enclitic; otherwise it is a neutral yes/no question, with no special focus. The third sort of yes/no question is formed by placing the particle ya’ at the end of a declarative sentence. The result is similar to English tag questions. Below are examples of each variety: (1) Da’ Na’n¶zhoozh¶gºº d¶n¶y¡?

Q Gallup-to 2-go.F Are you going to Gallup?

(2) Dib¢¢sh nee hºl≠? sheep-Q 2-with 3-exist.NI Do you have sheep? (3) Dichin n¶n¶zin ya’? hungry 2-want.NI Q You are hungry, aren’t you? (YM 1987:23) Da’ and -¶sh can appear in the same clause, but ya’ appears without other question particles. In this chapter, we gloss the question particles and enclitic with a Q to represent question. Further examples and details are discussed in the remainder of this chapter, along with indirect questions involving daats’¶.

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2 The sentence-initial particle da’ Placing the particle da’ at the beginning of a declarative sentence turns the sentence into a yes/no question. The first of each pair of examples below is a question formed in this manner from the declarative sentence following it: (4) a. Da’ sh¢¢hon¶sin? Q 1-2-know.CI Do you know me? b. Sh¢¢hon¶sin. 1-2-know.CI You know me. (5) a. Da’ dichin n¶n¶zin? Q hungry 2-want.N Are you hungry? (YM 1987:24) b. Dichin n¶n¶zin. hungry 2-want.N You are hungry. (6) a. Da’ dib¢ nee hºl≠? Q sheep 2-with 3-exist.NI Do you have sheep? b. Dib¢ nee hºl≠. sheep 2-with 3-exist.NI You have sheep. Da’ may appear after asking for the addressee’s attention: (7) Shoo sitsº¶, da’ Na’n¶zhoozhigºº ni¬ ’adeeswod? hey 1-grandson Q Gallup 2-with 2-go.F Hey grandson, are you driving to Gallup? However, it is ungrammatical for da’ to appear after any other kind of constituent: (8) Da’ ’ashkii ’aghaa’ hain¶¶¬chaad?

Q boy wool 3-3-card.P Did the boy card the wool?

(9) *’Ashkii da’ ’aghaa’ hain¶¶¬chaad?

boy Q wool 3-3-card.P (Did the boy card the wool?)

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(10) *’Ashkii ’aghaa’ da’ hain¶¶¬chaad? boy wool Q 3-3-card.P (Did the boy card the wool?)

(11) *’Ashkii ’aghaa’ hain¶¶¬chaad da’?

boy wool 3-3-card.P Q (Did the boy card the wool?)

It is also ungrammatical at the beginning of a clause that is coordinated: (12) *’Atsª’ n¶n¶zin¶sh dºº da’ ¬ºº’ n¶n¶zin? meat 3-2-want.N-Q and Q fish 3-2-want.NI (Do you want meat and do you want fish?) And, it is not grammatical for more than one instance of da’ to appear in a sentence: (13) *Da’ ’atsª’ n¶n¶zin dºº da’ ¬ºº’ n¶n¶zin? Q meat 3-2-want.N and Q fish 3-2-want.NI (Do you want meat and fish?) 3 The Question Enclitic -¶sh 3.1 Basic Cases Another kind of yes/no question is formed by affixing -¶sh to a phrase in a sentence: (14) Sh¢¢hon¶sin¶sh? Q 1-2-know.CI Do you know me? (15) Dichin¶sh n¶n¶zin? hungry-Q 2-want.N Are you hungry? (YM 1987:23) (16) Na’n¶zhoozh¶gººsh d¶n¶y¡?

Gallup-to-Q 2-go.F Are you going to Gallup?

The vowel of the question enclitic assimilates to the preceding vowel, as shown in (16) above. The enclitic -ish, but not -ísh frequently occurs in content questions,1 along with an h-phrase (which corresponds to English wh-phrases). See chapter 21 for discussion.

1 Schauber (1975) disputes Elgin’s (1973) claim that ’¶sh is also used in content questions. She gives the following sentences to show that they are, in fact, distinct.

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Simple yes/no questions ask whether a particular claim is true. The enclitic -ísh normally appears after the first constituent of the sentence. In this position, the result is a neutral, uncomplicated yes/no question with no special focus or presuppositions associated with it. When the enclitic appears on another constituent, that constituent receives focus. Thus, (17) and (18), in which -ísh appears on the first constituent, are yes/no questions with no particular focus. (17) ’Ashki¶sh ’at’¢¢d yiyii¬ts£? boy-Q girl 3-3-see.P Did the boy see the girl? (18) J¡an¶sh naalnish? John-Q 3-work.I Is John working? Placing -¶sh on ’at’¢¢d focuses the question on the girl: (19) ’Ashkii ’at’¢¢d¶sh yiyii¬ts£? boy girl-Q 3-3-see.P Is it the girl that the boy saw? This question can be reasonably asked only if it is already known that the boy sees someone; the question then asks whether the person the boy sees is the girl. For this question to make sense in context, there have to be plausible alternatives that the boy might have seen instead of the girl. Placing the enclitic on the verb can result in a straightforward yes/no question, but such questions can be understood as focusing on the verb: (20) ’At’¢¢d yini¬ts££sh? girl 3-2-see.P-Q Did you see the girl? (21) Sh¢¢hon¶sin¶sh? 1-2-know.CI-Q Do you know me? (22) J¡an naalnish¶sh? John 3-work.I-Q Is John working? (i) *Ha¡sh yin¶ly¢? what-¶sh 2S-name (What is your name?) (ii) Haash yin¶ly¢?

What-sh 2S-name What is your name?

The correct form of the content question does not involve the yes/no question marker as shown in (ii). We concur with Schauber.

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Compare examples (18) and (22). Example (18), with the enclitic on J¡an, is a neutral yes/no question; (22) means roughly the same thing. With similar examples, Elgin (1973:110) noted that her consultant “when pressed to make specific the difference between the two” offered the idea that the former is about John and the latter is about what John is doing, thus focusing on the verb.2 We concur with this. It is important to note that -¶sh can appear only once in a sentence unless it is within a coordinate structure: (23) *’Ashk¶¶sh ’at’¢¢d¶sh yiyii¬ts£? boy-Q girl-Q 3-3-see.P (Is it the girl that the boy saw?) (24) *D¶¶ ’atiin¶sh hodiwol¶sh? this road-Q area-rough.NI-Q (Is this road rough?) (25) ’Atsª’¶sh ’¢¶ doodaii’ ¬ºº’¶sh n¶n¶zin? meat-Q or fish-Q 2-want.NI Do you want meat or fish? The problem with (23) and (24) is that multiple constituents are being focused. Example (25) involves focus inside a both conjuncts of a coordinate structure. This is grammatical and has the special interpretation of an alternative question (see chapter zz for discussion). Finally, we turn to some more complex sentences. Below are some examples of the question enclitic appearing on relative clauses. In these examples, the complementizer -¶g¶¶ is used to create the relative clause; -¶sh appears immediately after the complementizer: (26) ’Á¬ch¶n¶ t’iis y™™h nidaan¢h¶g¶¶sh baa ’¡kon¶n¶zin? children cottonwood 3-on 3Pl-play.X-‡G‡‡-Q 3-of SUP-aware.NI Are you aware of the children playing on the cottonwood tree? (27) S¡anii ch’iiy¡¡n ’¡deil¢¢h¶g¶¶sh b¢¢ dahon¶sin? Women food 3-3Pl-make.P-‡G‡‡-Q 3-with 2-know.NI Do you know the women who are preparing the food? In these examples, the relative clause is the first constituent in the sentence. Applying -¶sh to the first constituent results in a neutral yes/no question with no additional focus. Below is an example of the enclitic appearing on a complement clause, indicated by brackets:

2 Elgin’s examples have da’ at the beginning, along with -¶sh. We discuss examples of this type in the next section. What Elgin said about her examples also is true for those shown here without da’.

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(28) [’Aw¢¢’ t¬’ºodi naan¢ego]ºsh bi¬ b¢¢hºzin? baby outside 3-play.I-GO-Q 3-with 3-know.NI Does s/he know that the baby is playing outside?3 The next example contains an embedded question: (29) [Gohweeh nayiisnii’¶di]¶sh bi¬ b¢¢dahºzin? coffee 3-3-buy.P-at-Q 3-wtih 3Pl-know.P Do they know where he bought the coffee? The enclitic -¶sh can also be used easily in embedded clauses that are direct discourse complements: (30) Leon chid¶¶sh ¬a’ shaan¡¡doot’¡¡¬ n¶. Leon car-Q one 1-3-get.F 3-say.P Leon asked if he should get another car? (31) Jeffrey ’º¬ta’gººsh ’¶¶y¡ dishn¶igo bicheii nab¶d¢¢¬kid. Jeffrey school-to-Q 3-go.P 1-say-P 3-grandfather 3-1-ask.P I asked his grandfather if Jeffrey went to school. Direct discourse complements are discussed in the chapter on clausal complements. 3.2 -ísh in complex questions In more complicated sentences, -ísh functions the same way it does in simple sentences: placing -ísh on the first constituent results in a neutral yes/no question; placing it on another constituent puts focus on that constituent. Below is a set of examples that have a relative clause as the subject. The relative clause is bracketed in the examples. The first one is a statement. The other examples have the question enclitic -¶sh on each of the different constituents. Focusing on a particular constituent can result in a fairly odd interpretation that can be used only under very particular circumstances. When there is a focus, its gloss is underlined: (32) a. [Shizh¢’¢ ¬ªª’ y¶sh––d§∞] yoo’eelwod. 1-father horse 3-3-tame.P-§§ 3-run.away.P

The horse that my father tamed ran away. b. [Shizh¢’¢¢sh ¬ªª’ yiy¶¶sh––d§∞] yoo’eelwod?

1-father-Q horse 3-3-tame.P-§§ 3-run.away.P Did the horse that my father tamed run away?

3 The complement clause, ’aw¢¢’ t¬’ºodi naan¢ego is the argument of the verb b¢¢hºzin, and indicates what is potentially known by the cognitive experiencer argument of bi¬. See chapter on complement clauses for further discussion.

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c. [Shizh¢’¢ ¬ªªsh yiy¶¶sh––d§∞] yoo’eelwod? 1-father horse-Q 3-3-tame.P-§§ 3-run.away.P

Did the horse that my father tamed run away? d. [Shizh¢’¢ ¬ªª’ yiy¶¶sh––d§∞]¶sh yoo’eelwod? 1-father horse 3-3-tame.P-§§-Q 3-run.away.P

Did the horse that my father tamed run away? / Did the horse that my father tamed run away?

e. [Shizh¢’¢ ¬ªª’ yiy¶¶sh––d§∞] yoo’eelwod¶sh? 1-father horse 3-3-tame.P-§§ 3-run.away.P-Q

Did the horse that my father tamed run away?

In each of these examples, the relative clause is the first constituent in the question. Example (d), in which -¶sh appears on the entire relative clause, is a neutral yes/no question. This is consistent with what was seen in simpler questions in section 3.1: when -¶sh appears on the first constituent, the result is an uncomplicated yes/no question. The other questions in this set focus on a particular constituent and presuppose all the other information in the question. In example (b), the focus is on shizh¢’¢ (‘my father’). This question only makes sense in a particular kind of situation. It makes sense if the horse that somebody tamed ran away, and it asks whether that somebody was my father. This is exactly the effect of focusing on shizh¢’¢. Example (c) focuses on ¬ªª’ (‘the horse’). For this to make sense there has to be something that my father tamed, in addition to the horse; and something must have run away. The question then is asking whether, out of all the relevant things that my father tamed, it was the horse that ran away. Example (e) focuses on yoo’eelwod (‘it ran away’). This question presupposes that my father tamed a horse and that it did something; what the question is asking is whether the thing the horse did was run away. Returning again to example (d), because -¶sh allows for focus on any constituent, it might be expected that there could be an alternative interpretation of (d) in which the verb yiy¶¶sh––d (‘s/he tamed it’) is focused. In fact, this interpretation is possible. Given a scenario in which my father tamed one horse and routinely cared for some other horses (without having tamed them himself), (d) could be understood as asking which of the horses that my father had some kind of relationship with ran away. Thus, (d) is ambiguous. This interpretation that involves focus on the verb is a bit harder to recognize because the interpretation as an uncomplicated yes/no question has a potential use in many more contexts. With some sentences, focusing on a particular constituent may result in a very strange interpretation that is very difficult to find a use for or that is very difficult to understand (for instance, see example (39) in the next section). This kind of odd interpretation is exactly what should be expected from focusing on a constituent for which ready alternative interpretations are hard to imagine. The generalization is clear: placing -¶sh on the first constituent reliably produces a straightforward yes/no question; placing it on another constituent results in focusing on that constituent. The enclitic -¶sh can, thus, be used to capture precise distinctions in meaning.

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3.3 -ísh used with da’ While the question enclitic -ísh is sufficient to turn a declarative sentence into a question, it frequently appears along with the sentence-initial particle da’, introduced in section 2 of this chapter. Da’ can be helpful to the hearer of an utterance since it is a signal at the beginning that what follows is a question. Some examples follow: (33) Da’ sh¢¢hon¶sin¶sh? Q 1-2-know.NI-Q Do you know me? (34) Da’ dichin¶sh n¶n¶zin? Q hungry-Q 2-want.NI Are you hungry? (YM 1987:24) (35) Da’ naad£’¡sh nee hºl≠? Q corn-Q 2-with 3-exist.NI

Do you have corn?4 (36) Da’ kintahgººsh deekai? Q town-to-Q 1Pl-go.F.Pl Are we going to town?

Note that the enclitic -ísh cannot appear on the particle da’; da’¶sh is not a word: (37) *Da’¶sh naad££’ nee hºl≠? Q-Q corn 2-with 3-exist.NI

(Do you have corn?) (38) *Da’¶sh Na’n¶zhoozh¶gºº d¶n¶y¡? Q-Q Gallup-to 2-go.F

(Are you going to Gallup?) The examples in (32) above involve applying -¶sh to various constituents in a sentence containing a relative clause. To each of these, da’ can be added with no change in interpretation from the ones shown in (32). Below is a similar set of examples that uphold the generalizations that placing -¶sh on the first constituent yields a neutral yes/no question, and placing it anywhere else results in a question with focus on the constituent to which -¶sh is attached. In the following examples, da’ appears at the beginning, but it is optional, and omitting it does not change the

4 Phonology note: Notice in (25), the final vowel in naad££’ is no longer long. What happens is that when there is a long vowel and it is high toned, and is followed by a glottal stop, the vowel is shortened when affixed by -¶sh. Another example is sis¶¶’ ‘it is tingling. It changes to sis¶’¶sh, ‘is it tingling?’ (YM 1987:23)

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interpretation. The first constituent in these examples (after da’) is a relative clause that is the object of the postposition bee. This relative clause, show in brackets, describes an instrument used in the roping event that the whole sentence describes. (39a) shows the question without -¶sh; it is a neutral yes/no question due to the presence of da’. (39d), in which -ísh appears on the entire relative clause, is the other way to ask a neutral yes/no question without focusing on any constituent: (39) a. Da’ [shizh¢’¢ t¬’ºº¬ yishbish§∞] bee dib¢ sin¶loh? Q 1-father rope 3-3-braid.P-past 3-with sheep 3-2-rope.SP

Did you rope the sheep with the rope my father braided?

b. Da’ [shizh¢’¢¢sh t¬’ºº¬ yishbish§∞] bee dib¢ s¶n¶loh? Q 1-father-Q rope 3-3-braid.P-past 3-with sheep 3-2-rope.SP

Did you rope the sheep with the rope my father braided?

c. (#)Da’ [shizh¢’¢ t¬’ºº¬¶sh yishbish§∞] bee dib¢ s¶n¶loh? Q 1-father rope-Q 3-3-braid.P-past 3-with sheep 3-2-rope.SP

Did you rope the sheep with the rope my father braided? d. Da’ [shizh¢’¢ t¬’ºº¬ yishbish§]§sh bee dib¢ s¶n¶loh?

Q 1-father rope 3-3-braid.P-past 3-with sheep 3-2-rope.SP Did you rope the sheep with the rope my father braided? / Did you rope the sheep with the rope my father braided?

e. #Da’ [shizh¢’¢ t¬’ºº¬ yishbish§∞] be¢sh dib¢ s¶n¶loh?

Q 1-father rope 3-3-braid.P-past 3-with-Q sheep 3-2-rope.SP (Did you rope the sheep with the rope my father braided?)

f. Da’ [shizh¢’¢ t¬’ºº¬ yishbish§∞] bee dib¢¢sh s¶n¶loh?

Q 1-father rope 3-3-braid.P-past 3-with sheep-Q 3-2-rope.SP Did you rope the sheep with the rope my father braided?

g. (#)Da’ [shizh¢’¢ t¬’ºº¬ yishbish§∞] bee dib¢ s¶n¶loh¶sh?

Q 1-father rope 3-3-braid.P-past 3-with sheep 3-2-rope.SP-Q Did you rope the sheep with the rope my father braided?

Example (39b) focuses on shizh¢’¢ (‘my father’), just as (32b) did. This question presupposes that the addressee roped the sheep with a rope someone braided; it asks whether that person was my father. (39c) has an odd meaning: t¬’ºº¬ ( the noun ‘rope’) is focused, so the interpretation would presuppose that the addressee roped the sheep with something that my father braided and asks, out of all the things that my father braided that could be used for roping, whether it was a rope that the addressee used. The (#) indicates that this is a fairly odd, but possible, meaning. In example (39d), like (32d), the focusing enclitic -¶sh appears on the verb in the relative clause. Because the relative clause is the first constituent in these examples, the result is ambiguous. If the enclitic is understood as applying to the entire relative clause, the interpretation

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is a neutral yes/no question with no focus; if the enclitic is understood as applying only to the verb at the end of the relative clause, the interpretation is of a yes/no question with focus on that verb. With (39d), the latter interpretation is a question about whether the rope the addressee used with the sheep was the one my father braided, as opposed to one my father did something else to. Example (39e) is probably even stranger. The focus is on the postposition bee (‘with’), so the question would have to be asking whether ‘with’ is the relation, out of other plausible alternatives, that holds between the rope that the speaker’s father braided and the addressee roping the sheep. What other postposition could possibly be substituted for bee? This kind of interpretation is what focusing on bee requires; the # indicates that it is so odd a meaning that it stretches the imagination too far. Example (39f) is a fairly normal question: with the focus on dib¢ (‘the sheep’), the question asks whether the sheep is what the addressee roped with my father’s rope, out of plausible alternatives (likely to be other animals relevant to the context). It is not difficult to imagine other such contexts. Finally, (39g) is an attempt to focus on the verb s¶n¶loh (‘s/he roped it’). Example (32e) showed that it is possible to focus on a verb if the meanings align in a way that allows it. For (39g) to make sense, the hearer would have to think of alternative actions that could involve the addressee, a rope, and a sheep. There may be such possibilities, but they would involve fairly unusual circumstances. The oddness of this sentence has nothing to do with the relative clause in the sentence. The relative clause has been removed from the sentence below and the meaning is just as odd: (40) #Da’ shizh¢’¢ bit¬’ºº¬ bee dib¢ s¶n¶loh¶sh?

Q 1-father 3-rope 3-with sheep 3-2-rope.SP-Q Did you rope the sheep with my father’s rope?

In sum, when da’ appears with -¶sh, it serves to alert the hearing that the sentence it introduces is a yes/no question. The enclitic -¶sh has exactly the same effect on the interpretation of the question that it has when da’ is not present. Placing -¶sh on the first constituent results in a neutral yes/no question with no particular focus, and this is much like introducing the question with da’ without including -¶sh in it. Placing -¶sh on any other constituent focuses that constituent. In principle, -¶sh can appear on any constituent, but in many cases the resulting meaning will so difficult to interpret that people will not understand it. 3.4 Various functions focused by the enclitic In this section, the question enclitic -ísh is shown to be acceptable on a wide variety of constituents. Because noun phrases expressing subjects and objects are optional, phrases with different kinds of semantic roles can appear as the first constituent. In the examples below, -ísh appears on the subject noun phrase: (41) ’Ashki¶sh naalnish?

boy-Q 3-work.CI Does the boy work?

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(42) Nizh¢’¢¢sh t¬’ºº¬ yishbish? 2-father rope 3-3-braid.P Did your father braid the rope? (43) Hastiin¶sh ’ºlta’di naalnish? man-Q school-at 3.work

Does the man work at school?

(44) Da’ d¶¶sh Kin Ò¡n¶gºº ’atiin? Q this-Q Flagstaff-to road Is this the road to Flagstaff? (YM 1987:301)

The verb in example (41) is intransitive, and -ísh appears on the subject. Example (42) contains a transitive verb, and again, the clitic appears on the subject. In (43), the verb in intransitive but a locative modifier also appears. The final example above, (44), has the demonstrative díí as the subject of the nominal predicate ’atiin.

When the direct object is the first constituent in the sentence, it is the constituent on which the enclitic -ísh most neutrally appears. In the examples below, the subject is second person and so appears only as a verbal prefix; thus, the direct object is the first constituent: (45) Dah d¶n¶ilghaazhísh ’¶ilnilaa? fry.bread-Q 3-2-make.P Did you make fry bread? (46) Dib¢¢sh t¡d¶¶n¶gizh? sheep-Q 3-2-shear.P Did you shear the sheep? (47) Niy¡¡zh¶zh d¶¶ chid¶ nayiisnii’? 2-son-Q this car 3-3-buy.P Did your son buy this car? The verb hºl≠, which has a fourth person (ho-) subject, can have an oblique argument indicated by an inflected postposition that indicates possession. The following of examples include the verb hºl≠, but in the second example there is an additional argument indicated by the postposition nee, which appears immediately before the verb. In each case, -ísh can appear on any constituent:

(48) Ch’iy¡¡n¶sh hºl≠? food-Q 3-exist.NI Is there any food?

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(49) Naad£’¡sh nee hºl≠? corn-Q 2-with 3-exist.NI Do you have corn? (50) Ch’iy¡¡n hºl≠≠sh? food-Q 4-exist.NI Is there any food? (51) Naad££ nee hºl≠≠sh? corn-Q 2-with 3-exist.NI Do you have corn? (52) Naad££ n¢¢sh hºl≠? corn-Q 2-with 3-exist.NI Do you have corn? The following has an overt pronominal subject outside the verb, for added emphasis. It is an alternative to (52): (53) N¶¶sh naad££ nee hºl≠? you-Q corn-Q 2-with 3-exist.NI Do you have corn? When the theme of this verb is not expressed by a noun phrase, but is understood from discourse context, the question enclitic appears on the verb. This is the case whether or not the experiencer is expressed in the sentence: (54) Hºl≠≠sh? 3-exist.NI-Q Are there some? (55) Nee hºl≠≠sh? 2-with 3-exist.NI-¶sh Do you have any? When the first constituent is a postposition, designating an argument, the question enclitic can appear on it: (56) N¢¢sh hºl≠? 2-with-Q area 3-exist.NI Do you have any? (57) Ni¬¶sh y¡’¡t’¢¢h?

2-with-Q 3-good.NI Do you like it?

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Below are additional examples with different verbs that have an experiencer argument indicated by the pre-verbal postposition: (58) Bichid¶¶sh ni¬ nizhºn¶? 3-car-Q 2-with 3-pretty Do you like his/her car? (59) Òªª’¶sh ni¬ naaldloosh? horse-Q 2-with 3-go.I

Do you ride on horseback? With sentences like these, the English translation does not reflect the grammatical relations of Navajo: In English, the experiencer is the subject, but in Navajo it is the argument of the postposition; the argument that is the direct object in English is the subject in Navajo. Clausal complements can be focused in a question by the enclitic: (60) Nishzhºn¶¶sh n¶n¶zin? 1-pretty.N-Q 3-2-know.N Do you think I’m pretty? (YM 1987:663) (61) Nicheii biisx¶ini¶sh ni¬ b¢¢hºzin? 2-grandfather 3-3-cause-die.P-Q 2-with 3-known Do you know the cause of death of your grandfather? (YM 1987:472) When an adverbial (modifying) phrase appears as the first constituent, as expected, it is the constituent that can carry the question enclitic and yield a question with no focus. The first example below contains the manner adverbial d¶igi ’¡t’¢ego (‘this way’); the next three contain temporal adverbs ’¡d££d££’ (‘yesterday’), haigo (‘in the winter’), and t’ahdi (‘still’); and the final example contains the locative adverb t¬’ºodi (‘outside’): (62) D¶igi ’¡t’¢egoºsh ’¡jii¬’••h? this 3-be-Q SUP-one-do.P Do you do it this way? (63) ’Ád££d££’¡sh nis¶n¶lnish? yesterday-Q 2-work.P Did you work yesterday? (64) Haigoºsh nin¡n¶ti¬? winter-Q 2-ski.Iter Do you ski in the winter?

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(65) T’ahdi¶sh naha¬tin? still-Q areal-rain.CI Is it still raining? (YM 1987:710) (66) T¬’ºodi¶sh t’ah ’¡¬ch¶n¶ nidaan¢? outside-Q still children 3pl-play.DI Are the children still playing outside? If a sentence consists only of a verb, placing the question enclitic on it results in a yes/no question without focus: (67) ’Adiidªª¬¶sh? 1Pl-eat.F-Q Shall we eat? (68) Nidlººh¶sh? 2-cold.N-Q Are you cold? (69) N¶n¶zin¶sh? 3-2-want.N-Q Do you want it? Examples (56) and (57) show the question enclitic on two the postpositions -ee and -i¬. Below are examples of another postposition with this enclitic attached: (70) Bich’•’¶sh hane’ ’¶inilaa? 3-toward-Q story 3-2-make.

Did you send word to him yet? (YM 1987:128)

(71) Shich’•’¶sh n¡h¡ch•’? 1-toward-Q 2-anger

Are you angry with me? (YM 1987:307)

Sentence-initial particles (other than da’) can be focused using the question enclitic: (72) T’¡¡sh y¡’¡t’¢ehgo ’atiin chid¶ bee? just-Q 3-good.N-GO road car 3-with Is the road all right for a car? (YM 1987:472) This example has the question enclitic on the first part of the expression t’¡¡ y¡’¡t’¢ehgo (‘it’s all right’). The example below shows the enclitic on the initial particle of doo…da, the negative frame (see section 6 for more on negation and yes/no questions): (73) Doºsh Na’n¶zhoozh¶gºº d¶n¶y¡a da?

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Neg-Q Gallup-to 2-go.F neg Aren’t you going to Gallup?

The question enclitic can also appear on the causative conjunction biniinaa: (74) T’¡¡ tsª•¬go ’azee’ n™™h ’¡l’ª• doolee¬ ni’di’n¶¶ l¡ biniinaani¶sh just quick-GO medicine 2-medicate.F future 2-tell.P.Pass DISC because-Q k’ad ni¬ b¢¢hºzin? now 2-with 3-know.CI Do you now know why you must receive treatment immediately? (YM 1987:472) In the example below, the entire utterance is a coordinated noun phrase with the enclitic -ísh attached to it. In the right context, this will be taken as an offer to the person being addressed, much as it would be in English: (75) ’Ashªªh ¬ikan dºº ’abe’¶sh?

milk and sugar -Q (Do you want) sugar and milk?

4. Tag Questions: the question particle ya’ The third type of yes/no question is formed with the particle ya’ attached to the end of a sentence: (76) Sh¢¢hon¶sin ya’? 1-2-know.NI right You know me, don’t you? (77) Dib¢ nee hºl≠, ya’? sheep 2-with 3-exist.NI right You have sheep, don’t you? (78) Na’n¶zhoozh¶gºº dey¡, ya’?

Gallup-to perhaps 2-go.F right S/he is going to Gallup, isn’t she?

These are called tag questions: the speaker states an opinion and asks whether the addressee agrees. The particle ya’ can also be used with negative sentences: (79) Doo n¢¢hºsin da ya’? neg 1-2-know.NI neg right S/he doesn’t know you, does s/he?

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(80) Doo bi¬ b¢¢hºzin da ya’? neg 3-with 3-know.CI neg right S/he doesn’t know about it, does s/he? The addressee answers ‘yes’ if s/he agrees with the speaker and ‘no’ if s/he disagrees. Thus, if the addressee does not know the speaker, the answer to (78) will be: (81) ’Aoo’, doo sh¢¢hºsin da. yes neg 1-3-know.NI neg Yes, s/he doesn’t know me. The particle ya’ cannot appear with the other question indicators, da’, -ísh, or content question words. (82) *Sh¢¢hon¶sin¶sh ya’? 1-2-know.NI right (You know me, don’t you?) (83) *Da’ dib¢ nee hºl≠, ya’? sheep 2-with 3-exist.NI right (You have sheep, don’t you?) (84) *H¡¡gºº d¶n¶y¡ ya’? where 2-go.F right (*Where are you going, aren’t you?) It is also ungrammatical with daats’¶, which can mark an indirect question (see next section), and with other possibility modals (shªª, or sha’shin): (85) *Na’n¶zhoozh¶gºº daats’¶ d¶n¶y¡, ya’?

Gallup-to perhaps 2-go.F right (You are going to Gallup, aren’t you?)

(86) *Na’n¶zhoozh¶gºº dey¡ shªª, ya’?

Gallup-to perhaps 2-go.F right (S/he is going to Gallup, isn’t she?)

(87) *Na’n¶zhoozh¶gºº dey¡ sha’shin, ya’?

Gallup-to perhaps 2-go.F right (S/he is going to Gallup, isn’t she?)

The particle ya’ can appear as a question by itself, in a certain kind of context. Here, it precedes another question:

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(88) Ya’? T’¡¡sh ¡kº? right just-Q okay

It’s okay to do so, isn’t it? This might be used as part of a lengthier utterance when asking permission to do something: (89) Shim¡, shik’is ¬a’ Na’nzhoozh¶gºº deeskai na’alkid¶ biniiy¢. Sh¶ dº’ ’iih

1-mother 1-friend some Gallup-to 3Pl-go.F movie 3-for me also SUP-into deeshwo¬. Ya’? T’¡¡sh ¡ko? 1-go.F right just-Q okay Mom, some of my friends are going to Gallup for a movie. I can go, too. Right? Is it okay?

Speakers report that it sounds odd to answer this with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. A response to this kind of question requires something like T’¡¡ shªª ’¡ko. Tsªª¬go nidoohkah. ‘I think it’s okay. Hurry back.’ 5 The enclitic -sh™’ The enclitic -sh™’ is a question focusing element that is normally used in content questions. However, it can also used in brief yes/no questions with meaning ‘how about X?’ Such questions are used in a context in which someone else has been reported upon, and the speaker is asking for similar information about one more individual. Below are examples: (90) N¶sh™’? you-SHĄ’ How about you? [Context: Everyone else is going to the store.] Possible answers to this are ’aoo’ (‘yes’) or ndaga’ (‘no’). In the right context, the following examples might elicit either a yes or no response, or one with greater content. (91) D¶¶sh™’? this-SHĄ’ How about this? (92) ’Ashkiish™’? boy-SHĄ’ How about the boy? When a sentence consists of more than one phrase, -sh™’ can only appear in content questions. Thus, the (a) examples in the following pairs are ungrammatical. The (b) examples, which contain both -sh™’ and the yes/no question enclitic -¶sh are unacceptable except if they are understood as a sequence of two separate questions, as shown in (c):

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(93) a. *’Ashkiish™’ naalnish? boy-SHĄ’ 3-work.CI (Does the boy work?)

b. *’Ashkiish™’ naalnish¶sh? boy-SHĄ’ 3-work.CI-Q (Does the boy work?)

c. ’Ashkiish™’? Naalnish¶sh?

boy-SHĄ’ 3-work.CI-Q What about the boy? Does he work?

(94) a. *Hastiinsh™’ ’ºlta’di naalnish? man-SHĄ’ school-at 3-work.I

(Does the man work at school?)

b. *Hastiinsh™’ ’ºlta’di¶sh naalnish? man-SHĄ’ school-at-Q 3-work.I Does the man work at school? c. Hastiinsh™’? ’‚lta’di¶sh naalnish? man-SHĄ’ school-at-Q 3-work.I What about the man? Does he work at school? Similarly, da’ and ya’, which serve to indicate yes/no questions, do not allow -sh™’ to appear: (95) *Da’ hastiinsh™’ ’ºlta’di naalnish? man-Q school.at.3.work

(Does the man work at school?)

(96) *Hastiinsh™’ ’ºlta’di naalnish ya’? man-Q school.at.3.work

(Does the man work at school?)

The enclitic -sh™’ has much broader uses in content questions: (97) Hastiin Tsohsh™’ naaltsoos d¶kw¶¶ b¡ ’an¶¶dee’? mister Tso-SHĄ’ paper how.many 3-for 3-fall.PlO.P How many votes did Mr. Tso get? (YM 1987:120) (98) Nizh¢’¢sh™’ hahgo tºnteel ts¢’naa bi¬ ’adeez’¢¢¬? 2-father-SHĄ’ when ocean boat 3-with 3-sail.F When is your father going overseas (by boat)? (YM 1987:15) (See chapter on content questions.)

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6 Indirect Questions There are at least two ways to indirectly suggest a question in a way that usually invites a response. These are statements but contain enough uncertainty that the addressee will normally answer with clarifying information. These implied questions are used quite frequently in conversations. 6.1 daats’¶ ‘perhaps/maybe’ The modal word daats’¶ ‘perhaps’ is used to express possibility with some doubt. It can appear in various places syntactically and has scope over the constituent that precedes it. It can also be used to express a question indirectly. The examples below are grouped according to first, second, third, and fourth person subjects. Normally the hearer will respond to this as if it were a question, except possibly with the first person examples, since these involve talking to oneself. First person (99) D¶¶ daats’¶ nisin. this maybe 3-1-want.NI Maybe I want this. / I wonder if I want this. / Do I want this? (100) B¢eso daats’¶ t’ah shee hºl≠. money perhaps still 1-with 3-exist.NI Maybe I still have some money. / Do I have some money? Second person The following example, in the context provided by the first sentence, is almost certain to be taken as a question, and understood as an offer: (101) Naaly¢h¢ b¡ hooghangºº d¢y¡. Ni daats’¶ ’a¬dº’ ’¡k≠≠ n¶ni’? trading.post-toward 1-go.P you perhaps also there perhaps 2-mind I’m going to the trading post. Would you like to go there too? (YM 1987:115) (102) T’¡¡ ni ’¡d¶n¶n¶g¶¶ bik’ehgºº ’¡n¶t’¢e doolee¬go daats’¶ ’¡dee had¶¶n¶dz¶¶’? just you 2-say.P-‡G‡‡ 3-according.to-toward 2-be.NI fut-GO perhaps refl-with 2-vow.P Do you promise to do as you say you will? (YM 1987:384) (103) Neezgaigo daats’i naa ’¶¶t’i’? pain-GO perhaps 2-for 3-extend.in.P Does the pain pierce you? (Is it a piercing pain?) (YM 1987:627)

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(104) K’ad daats’¶ ’abe’ yistin¶ ¬a’ naa nisht¬eeh? now perhaps ice cream some 2-for 1-give.MM.I Are you ready for a scoop of ice cream? (YM 1987:663) (105) D¶¶ daats’¶ n¶n¶zin? this perhaps 3-2-want.N Maybe you want this. / Do you want this? Third person In third person, this is less likely to be a question, but this is just because the hearer is less likely to know whether the implied question is true. If one is talking to someone who knows Sam well, the following examples could function pragmatically as questions. (106) Bij¡¡d daats’¶ yee sizª? 3-legs perhaps 3-with 3-stand.SPN Is it standing on its legs)? (YM 1987:753) (107) Sam daats’¶ d¶¶ yin¶zin. Sam perhaps this 3-3-want.NI I wonder if Sam would need/want this. / Would Sam want this? (108) Sam daats’¶ b¢eso bee hºl≠. Sam perhaps money 3-with 3-exist.NI I wonder whether Sam has some money. (109) Sam daats’¶ b¢eso sha’doon¶¬. Sam perhaps money1-3-3-lend.F I wonder whether Sam would loan me some money. Fourth person (110) Chi¬ ¬itsooi daats’¶ jidoo¬bish dºº ’atoo’ nahalingo jidooyªª¬. orange perhaps 3-4-boil.F and stew 3-3-resemble.N-GO 3-4-eat.F Would one boil oranges and eat them like stew? (111) Chid¶ bik’ah ¬izhin¶ daats’¶ ¬a’ n¶n¡d¶zi’go ’¡niid¶g¶¶ biih n¶j¶k¡¡h. car oil (light-NOM) perhaps once.a.month new-‡G‡‡ 3-into 3-4-handle.OC.R Should one change the oil once a month? There are many kinds of sentences with daats’¶ in them that cannot be construed as questions:

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(112) K’ad daats’¶ da’neest’£ nisingo d¡’¡k’eh baa nan¢t££’. now perhaps 3pl-ripe.P 1-think.NI-GO field 3-for 3-1-look.over.P I looked over the field thinking that things might have gotten ripe now. (YM 1987:565) (113) D¶¶ hane’ t’¡¡ daats’¶ ’aan¶¶ ’¡dahººt’••d nisingo baa n¶ts¶diik¢¢z. this story just perhaps true Indef-pl-happen.P want.NI-go 3-for 1-think.P I wondered if this story was something that really happened. (YM 1987:679) (114) Yisk£ago daats’¶ nahodoo¬t¶¶¬. tomorrow perhaps area-rain.F Maybe it will rain tomorrow. (I wonder whether it will rain tomorrow.) (115) T¬’¢¢d££’ t¬’¢’¶¶¬n¶¶’go daats’¶ bi¬ sits’¡n¶kª. night-past midnight perhaps sleep 3-1-glide-away.P Last night about midnight I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep. (root index: 279) (YM 1987:253) The interacting meanings of all parts of the sentence affect when it is possible to interpret them as questions. Finally, note that the modals shªª and sha’shin express greater likelihood than daats’¶ and do not result in an indirect question. (116) Sam b¢eso bee hºl≠ sha’shin. Sam money 3-with 3-exist.NI probably Sam must have some money. (117) Sam b¢eso bee hºl≠≠ shªª. Sam money 3-with 3-exist.NI probably Sam probably has some money. 6.2. dº’ … -¶sh ¬¶ A very polite way of asking questions uses the frame dº’ … -¶sh ¬¶, (‘could it be’). Young & Morgan (2000) describe this as “a combination of the enclitic dº’, ‘also’, the interrogative enclitic -¶sh, and the enclitic ¬¶.” They say the frame expresses “an attitude of uncertainty, wonder or apparent probability.” (YM 2000:300-301) The examples from Young & Morgan are glossed as questions: (118) Na’n¶zhoozh¶gºº dº’ d¶n¶y¡¡sh ¬¶? Gallup-towards D‚’ 2-go.F-‡SH Ò‡ Could it be that you’re going to Gallup? Do you happen to be going to Gallup?

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(119) B¢eso dº’ nee ’¡din¶sh ¬¶? money D‚’ 2-with none-‡SH Ò‡ Could it be that you are out of money? Say, you’re not broke, are you? (120) Ndaaz dº’¶sh ¬¶? heavy D‚’-‡SH Ò‡ Could it be heavy? /I wonder if it is heavy? (121) Shik’¢¶ dº’ `lªªsh ¬¶? 1-relative D‚’ 2-be.NI-‡SH Ò‡ You might (could) be one of my relatives. /Could you possibly be a relative of mine? [Used when a boy meets a girl and he hopes she isn’t a relative.] (122) ’Abe’ dº’ nee ’¡din¶sh ¬¶. milk D‚’ 2-with none-‡SH Ò‡ I hope you’re not out of milk.

(123) Nidº’ b¡ ’olta’¶ n¶lªªsh ¬¶?

2-D‚’ teacher 2-be.N-‡SH Ò‡ You hopefully might be a teacher also?

(124) Dib¢ dº’ biy¡zh¶ y¢¢hºsin¶sh ¬¶. sheep-D‚’ 3-little-nom 3.know.CI-‡SH Ò‡ The sheep possibly might know its little one.

(125) D¶¶dº’ doo ¡kºt’¢e da¡sh ¬¶?

this-D‚’ neg indef-how-3-be.N neg-‡SH Ò‡ Maybe this is not right?

This frame is used when the speaker is hopeful that the sentence is true or not true, but it isn’t used if it doesn’t matter to the speaker. Leonard Faltz (p.c.) suggested that the answer must be of some relevance to a future action of the speaker. 7 Yes/No Questions and Negation Negative yes/no questions may be formed with a negative sentence and the focusing enclitic -¶sh: (126) Doºsh sh¢¢hon¶sin da? Neg-Q 1-2-know.CI neg Don’t you know me? (127) Doºsh dichin n¶n¶zin da? Neg-Q hungry 3-2-want.NI neg Aren’t you hungry? (YM 1987:23)

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(128) Doºsh dib¢ nee hºl≠– da? Neg-Q sheep 2-with 3-exist.NI neg Don’t you have sheep? The introductory question particle da’ may also be used along with -¶sh: (129) Da’ doºsh sh¢¢hon¶sin da? Q neg-Q 1-2-know.CI neg Don’t you know me? (130) Da’ doºsh dichin n¶n¶zin da? Q neg-Q hungry 2-want.NI neg Aren’t you hungry (you’re not eating)? (YM 1987:24) (131) Da’ doºsh dib¢ nee hºl≠– da? Q neg-Q sheep 2-with 3-exist.NI neg Don’t you have sheep? When da’ introduces a negative sentence and -¶sh does not appear in the sentence, the result is also fine: (132) Da’ doo sh¢¢hon¶sin da? Q neg 1-2-know.CI neg Don’t you know me? (133) Da’ doo dichin n¶n¶zin da? Q neg hungry 2-want.NI neg Aren’t you hungry (you’re not eating)? (YM 1987:24) (134) Da’ doo dib¢ nee hºl≠– da? Q neg sheep 2-with 3-exist.NI neg Don’t you have sheep?