4 Ways to Ask “What?” in Twi

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This is the second lesson in the series on Twi question words. The first lesson sought to introduce the concept of question words, and the two ways they can be used. If you missed that, I advise you check it out here before you take the present lesson.

Today’s lesson takes a look at the question word “what?” in Twi. In all, we’ll look at four ways to ask “what?” in Twi. Some will be used as interrogative pronouns; others as determiners.

Video Lesson

The Question Word “What?” in Twi

Do note that, just as it is in English, we are able to begin our question with a question word, or move it to the end. You’ll find the question words used in both ways in the usage examples below.

TWIENGLISHEXAMPLE
deɛn?what?
interrogative pronoun
Kofi maa wo deɛn?
Kofi gave you what?

(Ɛ)deɛn na Kofi maa wo?
What did Kofi give you?

(Ɛ)deɛn na wopɛ?
What do you want/like?

Wopɛ deɛn?
You want/like what?
bɛn?
placed after the noun it modifies

deɛn?
placed before the noun it modifies
what?
determiner
Woyɛ adwuma bɛn?
You do what work?

Adwuma bɛn na woyɛ?
What work do you do?

Woyɛ deɛn adwuma?
You do what work?

(ɛ)deɛn adwuma na woyɛ?
What work do you do?

Akwadaa bɛn koraa ni?
What child at all is this?

Deɛn akwadaa koraa ni?
What child at all is this?
deɛbɛn?what?
interrogative pronoun
Ɛyɛ deɛbɛn?
It is what?; What is it?

(Ɛ)deɛbɛn ni?
What is this?
sɛn?what?Wo din de sɛn?
Your name is what?

Kwabena ba no din de sɛn?
Kwabena’s child’s name is what?

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Yaw
STEPHEN AWIBA, known by his students as YAW, is the founding editor of LEARNAKAN.COM and LEARNAKANDICTIONARY.COM. He was born and raised in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital of Ghana, where Akan (Asante Twi) is spoken as the first language. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics and Theatre Arts from the University of Ghana and an MPhil in English Linguistics and Language Acquisition from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

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