Question Formation: Do/Does and Wh-Words
கேள்வி அமைத்தல்
English inserts a helper word, do or does, into questions that have no other helping verb — a purely grammatical requirement Tamil has no equivalent for.
Grammar Comparison
இலக்கண ஒப்பீடு
do/does appears only to make a question possible
Do you like tea? (do carries no meaning of its own — it's purely a question-marker)
உனக்கு தேநீர் பிடிக்குமா? (the question particle -ஆ simply attaches to the existing verb)
Tamil turns a statement into a yes/no question by adding the particle -ஆ directly onto the existing verb — no extra word needed. English can't do this for ordinary verbs (like/eat/go), so it inserts a meaningless helper verb, do or does, purely to hold the question's grammatical structure together — 'You like tea' becomes 'Do you like tea?', not 'Like you tea?'. Once do or does is inserted, the main verb drops back to its bare form, even for he/she/it (Does she like tea?, not Does she likes tea?).
Vocabulary
சொற்கள்
| English | Pronunciation | Tamil |
|---|---|---|
| Do you like tea? | doo yoo lyk tee | உனக்கு தேநீர் பிடிக்குமா?unakku thēnīr piḍikkumā? |
| Does she work here? | duz shee wurk heer | அவள் இங்க வேலை செய்யிறாளா?avaḷ inga vēlai seyyiṟāḷā? |
| Where do you live? | wair doo yoo liv | நீ எங்க வசிக்கிற?nī enga vasikkiṟa? |
| What does he want? | wut duz hee wont | அவனுக்கு என்ன வேணும்?avanukku eṉṉa vēṇum? |