Demandi is the regular verb for asking a question or seeking information. Its most important valency fact is easy to miss for English speakers: the person questioned is normally the direct object—demandi iun. The question's topic then uses pri, while its precise content appears as an embedded ĉu/ki- clause or a direct quotation.
Complete regular paradigm
| Form | Function | Typical translation |
|---|---|---|
| demandi | infinitive | to ask, to question |
| demandas | present indicative | asks, is asking |
| demandis | past indicative | asked |
| demandos | future indicative | will ask |
| demandus | conditional | would ask |
| demandu | volitive | ask! |
The same forms serve all persons and numbers. In the central frame, the addressee takes accusative -n.
Mi demandos la administranton post la kunveno.
I will ask the administrator after the meeting.
Ŝi demandis min, sed mi ne sciis la respondon.
She asked me, but I did not know the answer.
Demandu ilin antaŭ ol vi ŝanĝos la planon.
Ask them before you change the plan.
The person asked is the direct object
The basic relation is iu demandas iun. English also places the person directly after “ask,” but English pronouns do not display an accusative suffix. Esperanto makes the role visible: demandi min, vin, lin, ŝin, nin, ilin or a noun phrase in -n.
Ĉu vi jam demandis la najbarojn?
Have you asked the neighbors yet?
La ĵurnalisto demandis la ministrinon pri la nova propono.
The journalist asked the minister about the new proposal.
— Kiun mi demandu pri la fakturo? — Demandu Leon; li prizorgas la pagojn.
— Whom should I ask about the invoice? — Ask Leo; he handles the payments.
An al phrase for the person—demandi al iu—is attested, including in classical usage, and is understandable. It is not the clearest default because demandi iun is the established direct-object pattern and aligns neatly with demando al iu, where the noun demando does require a preposition. For active learner production, use demandi iun.
Topic with pri
The preposition pri introduces what the questioning concerns. The person is still the direct object.
Mi demandis la kuraciston pri la kromefikoj de la medikamento.
I asked the doctor about the medication's side effects.
La infanoj senĉese demandis nin pri la vojaĝo.
The children kept asking us about the trip.
Li ne kuraĝis demandi sian estron pri la salajro.
He did not dare ask his manager about the salary.
The pattern demandi iun pri io identifies both roles without conflict. Pri marks a broad topic, not necessarily the exact wording of the question. If the listener must know precisely what information was requested, use an embedded question.
Exact content with an embedded question
A yes–no question becomes an embedded clause with ĉu. A content question keeps its appropriate ki- word. The embedded clause has ordinary statement order; Esperanto does not add an English-style auxiliary “do.”
Mi demandis ŝin, ĉu la vendejo ankoraŭ estas malfermita.
I asked her whether the shop was still open.
La teknikisto demandis nin, kiam la eraro unue aperis.
The technician asked us when the error first appeared.
Ili demandis la gvidiston, kial la muzeo estas fermita.
They asked the guide why the museum was closed.
The question word receives the case required inside its own clause:
Mi demandis lin, kiun dosieron mi devas sendi.
I asked him which file I should send.
Here lin is the object of demandis, while kiun dosieron is the object of sendi. The two accusatives belong to different clauses. See Indirect Questions for the full system.
Do not introduce an indirect yes–no question with se. Se means “if” in a condition; ĉu marks the unresolved yes–no content.
Direct quotation
When the exact spoken words matter, demandi can introduce a quotation. A colon or reporting punctuation separates the reporting clause from the quoted question.
Marta demandis: “Je kioma horo komenciĝos la filmo?”
Marta asked, “What time will the film start?”
“Ĉu iu trovis nigran ŝlosilujon?” demandis la akceptisto.
“Has anyone found a black key case?” the receptionist asked.
The quotation is independently a question and therefore keeps its question mark. In Marta demandis, je kioma horo komenciĝos la filmo, the same content is integrated as an indirect question and the whole sentence ends with a period.
Asking for information or permission
Some noun phrases name the information sought and can themselves fill the object role: demandi la prezon, demandi ies nomon, demandi konsilon, demandi permeson. In that frame, the content rather than the person is foregrounded.
Antaŭ ol rezervi, mi demandis la prezon de la matenmanĝo.
Before booking, I asked the price of breakfast.
Ŝi demandis la permeson de la posedanto antaŭ ol fari fotojn.
She asked the owner's permission before taking photos.
Avoid placing two competing direct objects after demandi. If both the person and the topic must appear, use demandi iun pri io; if exact content matters, use a clause.
Mi demandis la vendiston pri la prezo de la ekspozicia modelo.
I asked the salesperson about the price of the display model.
This role management belongs to the broader system of Two Objects and Valency.
“Ask” a question versus request an action
English “ask” covers both seeking information and requesting that someone act. Esperanto normally separates them:
| Intention | Verb | Core frame |
|---|---|---|
| seek information | demandi | demandi iun, ĉu/kial/kie... |
| request an action or thing | peti | peti iun fari ion; peti ion de iu |
Mi demandis ŝin, ĉu ŝi havas liberan tempon.
I asked her whether she had free time.
Mi petis ŝin helpi min dum unu horo.
I asked her to help me for an hour.
The first seeks an answer; the second seeks help. Demandi ŝin helpi is not the standard way to request an action. This is one of the strongest English-transfer traps on the page.
Reflexive demandi sin: wonder
When the questioner and the person mentally questioned are the same, demandi sin conventionally means “wonder” or “ask oneself.” The reflexive pronoun remains the direct object, and the unresolved content follows as an embedded question.
Mi demandas min, ĉu ni elektis la ĝustan vojon.
I wonder whether we chose the right route.
Ŝi demandis sin, kial neniu respondis al ŝia mesaĝo.
She wondered why no one had replied to her message.
This is ordinary neutral Esperanto, not a special literary idiom. The usual ĉu/ki- distinction remains unchanged inside the embedded question.
Participles
Because demandi is transitive, all six participles are available.
| Active | Meaning | Passive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| demandanta | asking now | demandata | being asked/questioned |
| demandinta | having asked | demandita | having been asked |
| demandonta | about to ask | demandota | about to be asked |
La demandita kolego ne memoris, kiu faris la decidon.
The colleague who was asked did not remember who made the decision.
Demandinte tri homojn, mi finfine trovis la ĝustan haltejon.
After asking three people, I finally found the right stop.
Because either a person or sought information can occupy the object role, context determines what a passive participle describes. For a question that has been posed, starigita demando or farita demando is often clearer than demandita demando.
Word family and conventional derivatives
Demando is a question; demandanto is an asker or, in context, a questioner; demandaro is a set of questions or questionnaire; demandosigno is a question mark. Pridemandi means question someone about a matter, often systematically, and can approach “interrogate” in police or investigative contexts.
La enketilo enhavas mallongan demandaron pri vojaĝkutimoj.
The survey form contains a short questionnaire about travel habits.
La polico pridemandis la atestanton dum preskaŭ du horoj.
The police questioned the witness for almost two hours.
Pridemandi is neutral in reporting an investigation, but it sounds more intensive than an ordinary conversational demandi pri. Eldemandi can mean obtain information through questioning and is less frequent. Learn conventional derivatives as whole lexical choices, not as obligatory replacements for the basic verb.
Register, norm, and frequency
Demand- is Fundamental and high-frequency. The person-as-object frame and embedded questions are neutral in every register. Direct questions, indirect questions, and pri topics are all foundational structures.
The demandi al iu variant is attested and grammatically interpretable, but demandi iun is the strong pedagogical recommendation for clear international usage. Pridemandi is accepted and common in journalistic, legal, and investigative contexts; ordinary demandi remains the unmarked conversational verb.
Common Mistakes
Leaving the person asked unmarked
❌ Mi demandis la instruisto pri la limdato.
Incorrect — in the default frame the person asked is a direct object.
✅ Mi demandis la instruiston pri la limdato.
I asked the teacher about the deadline.
Using ke for a yes–no question
❌ Ŝi demandis min, ke la trajno jam alvenis.
Incorrect — ke reports a proposition; it does not mark unresolved yes–no content.
✅ Ŝi demandis min, ĉu la trajno jam alvenis.
She asked me whether the train had already arrived.
Using se instead of ĉu
❌ Mi demandis lin, se li venos morgaŭ.
Incorrect for an embedded question — se introduces a condition.
✅ Mi demandis lin, ĉu li venos morgaŭ.
I asked him whether he would come tomorrow.
Copying English “ask someone to do” with demandi
❌ Mi demandis ŝin kontroli la kalkulojn.
Incorrect for a request — demandi seeks information.
✅ Mi petis ŝin kontroli la kalkulojn.
I asked her to check the calculations.
Giving person and topic two accusatives
❌ Mi demandis la vendiston la prezon.
Avoid two competing direct-object roles in this frame.
✅ Mi demandis la vendiston pri la prezo.
I asked the salesperson about the price.
Key Takeaways
- The person questioned is normally a direct object: demandi iun.
- Add pri for a topic: demandi iun pri io.
- Use ĉu for embedded yes–no content and a ki- word for content questions.
- Demandi seeks information; peti requests an action or thing.
- If the sought information itself is the object, avoid adding a second competing accusative participant.
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- Respondi: To AnswerB2 — Use respondi al for the person or prompt answered, and express answer content with an object, clause, quotation, or manner phrase.
- Indirect QuestionsB1 — Embed yes-no and content questions with ĉu or a ki-correlative while preserving Esperanto word order, case, and intended tense.
- Ĉu-Clauses as Embedded QuestionsA2 — How ĉu introduces a finite yes/no question functioning inside a larger sentence, distinct from ke statements and se conditions.
- Ki-Correlative Embedded QuestionsB1 — How kiu, kio, kia, kies, kie, kiam, kial, kiel, and kiom introduce finite questions embedded inside larger clauses.
- PriB2 — Use pri to mark a topic, concern, or matter that an action, text, thought, or relationship is about.
- Two Objects and ValencyA2 — How Esperanto distributes recipients, things transferred, and other participants between the accusative and prepositional phrases.