Ĉu vi scias la horon?

you

Breakdown of Ĉu vi scias la horon?

• scii: to know
• ĉu: whether
• horo: the time

Questions & Answers about Ĉu vi scias la horon?

What does ĉu do in this sentence?

Ĉu is the standard Esperanto word used to turn a statement into a yes/no question.

• Vi scias la horon. = You know the time.
• Ĉu vi scias la horon? = Do you know the time?

Unlike English, Esperanto does not usually need a helping verb like do for this kind of question. You simply add ĉu at the beginning.

Why is there no word for do, as in Do you know the time?

Esperanto does not use an extra auxiliary verb like English do to form ordinary yes/no questions.

English:

• You know the time.
• Do you know the time?

Esperanto:

• Vi scias la horon.
• Ĉu vi scias la horon?

So ĉu does the job that English often does with word order and do.

Why is vi used? Does it mean you singular or plural?

Vi can mean:

• you singular
• you plural
• formal you
• informal you

Esperanto normally uses the same pronoun for all of these. So Ĉu vi scias la horon? can be said to one person or to more than one person.

There is an older/intimate singular form, ci, but it is very rare in normal modern Esperanto.