Turkish 29 - Stress inside questions

In a question it is common to put the question particle at the end of the sentence. This is not necessary however.

If you want to stress a particular part of the sentence, then you can put the question particle behind this part. This shows that it is the part before the question particle that you are questioning, while you already assume the rest of the sentence to be true.

In the three questions in the table below you assume and question different things:

  • In the first sentence below you assume nothing.
  • In the second sentence you assume that there is someone who wants coffee, and you ask whether it is Elif.
  • In the third sentence you assume that Elif wants something, and you ask whether it is coffee that she wants.
Does Elif want coffee?Elif kahve istiyor mu?
Is it Elif who wants coffee?Elif mi kahve istiyor?
Is it coffee that Elif wants?Elif kahve mi istiyor?

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