Question Words
கேள்விச் சொற்கள்
Dutch question words trigger the same verb-second inversion as any fronted word — the question word occupies slot one, with the verb immediately following in slot two — a mechanical rule Tamil doesn't need, since Tamil questions keep the same word order as statements and simply add a question word or particle.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
Question word, then verb, then subject
Wat eet je? (What do you eat? — wat is slot 1, eet is slot 2, je comes after)
நீ என்ன சாப்பிடுகிறாய்? (word order stays statement-like: subject-object-verb)
Tamil forms a question by simply inserting a question word into the same slot the answer would occupy, without disturbing the subject-verb order at all — நீ என்ன சாப்பிடுகிறாய் keeps subject நீ first, exactly like a statement. Dutch instead treats the question word as the sentence's new 'slot one', which forces the verb into slot two and pushes the subject after it — a genuine reordering, not just a word inserted in place.
Yes/no questions invert without a question word at all
Eet je rijst? (Do you eat rice? — eet simply moves before je)
நீ சாதம் சாப்பிடுகிறாயா? (question suffix -ஆ added to the verb, word order unchanged)
Tamil turns a statement into a yes/no question by attaching the suffix -ஆ to the verb, leaving every word in its original place. Dutch has no such suffix — instead it swaps the subject and verb (je eet → eet je?), the same inversion trick used with fronted words elsewhere in the language.
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| Dutch | Pronunciation | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| wat | vaht | என்னeṉṉa | what |
| wie | vee | யார்yār | who |
| waar | vahr | எங்கேeṅgē | where |
| wanneer | vah-NAYR | எப்போதுeppōdhu | when |
| hoe | hoo | எப்படிeppadi | how |
| waarom | vahr-OM | ஏன்ēṉ | why |
| hoeveel | HOO-vayl | எவ்வளவுevvaḷavu | how much / many |
| welke | VEL-keh | எதுedhu | which |