Folksprak/Grammar
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[edit] Alphabet
Folksprak's alphabet consists of the following letters:
- Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Øø Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Yy Vv Ww Xx Zz
[edit] Loan words
The following letters and combinations of letters appear only in loan words.
qu is spelled like /kw/.
- qualitet (EN quality)
c is spelled like /k/, when it precedes a, o or u.
- cafe (EN cafe, coffee)
- cope (EN to buy)
c is spelled like /ts/, when it precedes e, i, ø or y.
- cell (EN cell)
- citron (EN lemon)
It is also spelled like /ts/, when it is preceded by a, n or r.
- plac (EN place)
- princ (EN prince)
- commerc (EN commerce)
c in combination with h is spelled like /S/.
- chocolat (EN chocolate)
- machin (EN machine)
Folksprak is the result of phonetical evolution, that a Protogermanic vocabulary might have suffered. These phonetical evolutions are based on the actual evolutions of real modern Germanic languages and will be represented by so called meta letters (see Folksprak/_Grammar/_Phonology). The connection to the modern Germanic languages should make the modern Germanic languages less seperated from each other, respectively should give the learner of Folksprak an easier approach to Germanic languages in general. For this purpose, vocabulary of modern Germanic languages may be represented using meta syntax.
[edit] Parts of Speech
[edit] Numbers
[edit] 1-10
- 1: een (EN one)
- 2: twee (EN two)
- 3: tri (EN three)
- 4: fier (EN four)
- 5: femf (EN five)
- 6: six (EN six)
- 7: seven (EN seven)
- 8: acht (EN eight)
- 9: nien (EN nine)
- 10: tejen (EN ten)
[edit] 11-12
- 11: eenliv (EN eleven)
- 12: tweenliv (EN twelve)
[edit] 13-19
The numbers 13 to 19 are formed by adding the suffix "-tejen" (compare this to the English suffix "-teen") to the numbers 3 through 9:
- 13: tritejen (EN thirteen)
- 14: fiertejen (EN fourteen)
- 15: femftejen (EN fifteen)
- 16: sixtejen (EN sixteen)
- 17: seventejen (EN seventeen)
- 18: achttejen (EN eighteen)
- 19: nientejen (EN nineteen)
[edit] 20-99
The names of the numbers 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 are formed by adding the suffix "-tig" (compare this to the English suffix "-ty") to the name of the first digit, thus:
- 20: tweentig (EN twenty)
- 30: tritig (EN thirty)
- 40: fiertig (EN fourty)
- 50: femftig (EN fifty)
- 60: sixtig (EN sixty)
- 70: seventig (EN seventy)
- 80: achttig (EN eighty)
- 90: nientig (EN ninety)
The rule for forming numbers which are not divisible by 10 is the same as the rule in English - the name of the first number followed by the name of the second. For example, the number 42 is "fiertig tween". Other examples are:
- 25: tweentig femf (EN twenty five)
- 61: sixtig een (EN sixty one)
- 99: nientig nien (EN ninety nine)
[edit] 100 - 1000000
- 100: hondrad (EN hundred)
- 1000: tusend (EN thousand)
- 1000000: grottusend (EN million)
[edit] Forming numbers
The general rule for number formation in Folksprak is almost identical to the rule for number formation in English with the difference that English sometimes uses "and" before the name of the last digit (for example, 2007 is "two thousand and seven), whereas Folksprak uses no extra words. Some examples may help to make this clearer:
- 405: fier hondard femf (EN four hundred and five)
- 1528: een tusend femf hondrad tweentig acht (EN one thousand five hundred and twenty eight)
- 3051: tri tusend femftig een (EN three thousand and fifty one)
- 42424: fiertig tween tusend fier hondrad tweentig fier (EN forty two thousand four hundred and twenty four)
- 80692: achttig tusend six hondrad nientig tween (EN eighty thousand six hundred and ninety two)
- 555007: femf hondrad femftif femf tusend seven (EN five hundred and fifty five thousand and seven)
- 6004000: six grottusend fier tusend (EN six million and four thousand)
[edit] Nouns
[edit] Plural
Nouns have their basic form and a plural form, which has the suffix -en.
- en fru (EN a woman)
- twe fruen (EN two women)
Loan words ending in a vowel, have the plural suffix -s.
- autos (EN cars)
- fotos (EN fotos)
[edit] Genitiv
The genitive is marked by the suffix -s.
- friandinens husen (EN houses of girlfriends)
The genitive is applied also in order to form adverbs.
- nahts (EN by night)
- dels (EN partly)
Endet das Substantiv bereits auf -s, so wird kein weiteres -s angefügt. Lediglich ein Apostroph wird geschrieben. If the noun already ends in -s, no other -s will be added. Instead, there will be a ´.
- Thomas' autos (EN Thomas' cars)
- Thomas' autos' wert (EN Thomas' cars' value, the value of Thomas' cars)
[edit] Article and Possessive pronouns
The definite article de and the indefinite article en precede the noun. Both have a short e.
- de hus (EN the house)
- en hus (EN a house)
The plural form of the definite article is de, too. In Fůlkspræk, though, there is a difference between the singular form đă and the plural form đĕ.
- de husen (EN the houses)
- husen (EN houses)
The pronoun de has a long e. In Fůlkspræk you can see the difference between the article đĕ and the pronoun đe. In order to make this difference explicit in Folksprak, you can use a trema above the e.
- dë, de fruen (EN they, the women)
Numbers and possessive pronouns are used as articles as well.
- min hus (EN my house)
- seven husen (EN seven houses)
Pay attention, that the number en has a long e, whereas the indefinite article en has a short one. In Fůlkspræk you see the difference between the number ạn and the indefinite article ặn. In order to make an explicit difference in Folksprak, you may use a trema.
- ën hus (EN one house)
[edit] Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives do not change and stand between article and noun.
- de grot hus (EN the big house)
- din ny friand (EN your new friend)
Adverbs describing adjectives precede them. They are alike in form.
- de hel bok (EN the new book) [hel as an adjective]
- de hel ny bok (EN the wholly new book) [hel as an adverb]
Adverbs describing verbs are preceded by them.
- De hus is ne grot. (EN The house is not big.) [ne is preceded by is]
- De hus is ja grot. (EN The house is truely big.) [ja is preceded by is]
[edit] Comparison
Adjectives and adverbs form comparatives with the suffixes -er and -est.
- grot, groter, grotest (EN great, greater, greatest)
Simplifying, you may use meer and meest instead.
- grot, meer grot, meest grot (EN great, greater, greatest) [Basic FS]
[edit] Verbs
[edit] Two present tense forms of to be
Folksprak-Verbs do not change according to person and number. The only exception is to be, which has two present tense forms: is for singular and er for plural.
- De hus is grot. (EN The house is big.)
- De husen er grot. (EN The houses are big.)
Simplifying, you may use the stem form wes.
- De hus wes grot. (EN The house is big.) [Basic FS]
- De husen wes grot. (EN The houses are big.) [Basic FS]
[edit] Past tense
Neben der Gegenwartsform haben Folksprak-Verben noch eine Vergangenheitsform. Die meisten Folksprak-Verben lassen sich bei der Bildung der Vergangenheitsform in zwei Kategorien einteilen: starke und schwache Verben. Starke Verben bilden die Vergangenheitsform durch Ablautung der Gegenwartsform, d. h. der Stammvokal der Gegenwartsform wird verändert. Welcher Ablaut entsteht, ist dem Wortschatz zu entnehmen.
Besides the present tense form there is a past tense form of a Folksprak verb. Most Folksprak verbs can be divided into two categories: strong and weak verbs. Strong verbs have their past tense form by an ablautung of the present tense stem vowel, i. e. the stem vowel is mutated. You will see in the vocabulary section what kind of ablautung is supposed to happen.
- De kild seh de hund. (EN The child sees the dog.)
- De kild sah de hund. (EN The child saw the dog.)
The past tense form of many strong verbs is already a nominalization.
- De kild sprak en fremmed sprak. (EN The child spoke a foreign language.)
On the other hand, weak verb have their past tense form with the suffix -ed added to their present tense form.
- De mannen segg „god dag“. (EN The men say „good afternoon“.)
- De mannen segged „god dag“. (EN The men said „good afternoon“.)
A particulary class of verbs are the so called mixed verbs. They are somehow both strong and weak, as they suffer ablautung but have the past tense suffix -ed.
- De fyr brenn. (EN The fire burns.)
- De fyr branned. (EN the fire burned.)
Simplifying, you may treat all verbs as if they were weak.
- De mannen sehed de hund. (EN The men saw the dog.) [Basic FS]
- De fyr brenned. (EN The fire burned.) [Basic FS]
[edit] Passive
In order to build the passive form, you have to distinguish between strong and weak verbs again. Strong verbs have their passive form with the suffix -en and in addition, possibly, they suffer ablautung.
- de sehen hund (EN the seen dog)
Weak verbs, on the other hand, have their passive form with the suffix -et.
- de segget word (EN the spoken word)
Mixed verbs have again both ablautung and the weak-verb-like suffix -et.
- brannet kild (EN burnt child)
In combination with the verb werde the passive mode is made.
- De dir werd sehen. (EN The animal is beeing seen.)
- De word werd segget. (EN The word is beeing spoken.)
In combination with the verb have the present perfect tense is made.
- De kild hav sehen de hund. (EN The child has seen the dog.)
- De mannen hav segget „god dag“. (EN The men have said „good afternoon“.)
The passive stem of many strong verbs is a nominalization, too.
- sprok (EN spell)
Simplifying, you can treat all verbs as if they were weak.
- De mannen hav sehet de hund. (EN The men have seen the dog.) [Basic FS]
- De fyr hav brennet. (EN The fire has burnt.) [Basic FS]
[edit] Progressive
The progressive form has the suffix -end.
- de swimmend skip (EN the swimming ship)
[edit] Infinite
The infinite has the suffix -e.
- swimme (EN to swim)
[edit] Future tense
In combination with the (weak) verb skalle the future tense is made.
- De kild skall sehe de hund. (EN The child will see the dog.)
- De mannen skall segge „god dag“. (EN The men will say „good afternoon“.)
As you can see, skalle is combined directly, without preposition, with the infinite form. Therefore it's an auxilary verb.
[edit] Modal Auxilary Verbs
Modal auxilary verbs appear directly combined, i. e. without preposition, with an infinite form.
- Hun mag doe het. (EN She may do it.)
Modal auxilary verbs have the aspect of mixed verbs (i. e. weak werbs with ablautung). The infinite form of modal auxilary forms has the stem vowel ø.
- møge (mag), moged, moget (EN may, might)
- kønne (kann), konned, konnet (EN can, could)
- møte (mot), moted, motet (EN must, must)
- tørfe (tarf), torfed, torfet (EN to be allowed to)
- wølle (will), wolled, wollet (EN want, wanted)
- skøle (skul), skoled, skolet (EN to be supposed to)
Simplifying, you can treat also modal auxilary verbs as if they were weak.
- Hun skall mote doe het. (EN She will have to do it.) [Basic FS]
[edit] Imperative
The imperative form is like the infinite without -e.
- Ga! (EN Go!)
[edit] Conjunktive I
The conjunctive I mode is like the infinite form. The conjunctive I mode does not imply neither truth nor doubt in the eyes of the narrator.
- De mannen segg, de kild have segget „god dag“. (EN The men say, the child has said „good afternoon“.)
Simplifying, you may use the present tense instead, even though this always implies truth in the eyes of the narrator.
- De mannen segg, de kild hav segget „god dag“. (EN The men say, the child has said „good afternoon“.) [Basic FS]
[edit] Conjunktive II
The conjunctive II mode is like the past tense of a verb with the suffix -e. In Fůlkspræk the stem vowel suffers modern Germanic i-mutation, which does not influence Folksprak, though. The conjunctive II mode implies untruth or impossibility in the eyes of the narrator.
- Die mannen sagt, die kindern hat sagt „god dag“. (EN Die Männer sagen, das Kind hätte „guten Tag“ gesagt.)
Symplifying, you may use the past tense instead, even though this might cause confusion.
- De mannen segg, de kild haved segget „god dag“. (EN Die Männer sagen, das Kind *hatte „guten Tag“ gesagt.) [Basic FS]
[edit] Causative / Intensive
Strong verbs with the stem vowel i have their causative form as a weak verb with stem vowel e.
- sinke (EN to sink)
- senke (EN to make sink)
[edit] Causative / Intensive with nasal stem ending
A strong verb with nasal stem ending (i. e. a verb stem ending in -n, -ng or -nd) have their causative form as a mixed verb (i. e. the past tense form and the passive form suffer ablautung, whereas they have the suffixes -ed and -et respectively).
- rinne, rann, ronnen (EN to run, ran, run)
- renne, ranned, rannet (EN (intensive) to run, ran, run)
[edit] Causative / Intensive shortening the stem vowel
Another way of forming intensive forms is to shorten the stem vowel, i. e. doubling the consonantic stem ending.
- skyte (EN to shoot)
- skytte (EN to guard)
Das Stammende ist hierbei immer stimmlos. So werden g und ng zu kk
- byge (EN to bow)
- bykke (EN to kneel)
- nige (EN to nigh)
- nikke (EN to nod)
[edit] Particle
Using particles, you narrow the meaning of verbs.
- De mannen ga in. (EN The men go inside.) [Particle]
Particles are preceded by the object of the verb.
- De kild werp de ball up. (EN The child throws the ball up.)
[edit] Particle as Preposition
Many particles may have an object, shortening the stem vowel of the particle. Then the particle is called a preposition. The shortening of the stem vowel will not be indicated in Folksprak, but it is still visible in Fůlkspræk. For instance, the particle in vs. the preposition ĭn.
- De mannen ga in de hus. (EN The men go inside the house.) [in as preposition]
Prepositions are preceded by the object of the verb.
- De kild werp de ball up de tak. (EN The child throws the ball up on the roof.)
[edit] particle as adverb
Particles may precede a preposition like an adverb. Then they narrow the meaning of the preposition.
- De kild werp de ball up in de windog. (EN The child throws the ball up into the window.)
Using the prepositions to and bi, you can differenciate between aimed and non-aimed movement / position.
- De ball flyg up to de tak. (EN The ball flies up onto the roof.)
- De ball ligg up bi de tak. (EN The ball lies above on the roof.)
Using the suffix -en an adverb is formed. Doing so, the stem vowel is oftened shortened and therefore the consonantic stem ending is doubled.
- De ball ligg uppen. (EN The ball lies above.)
If the particle with the suffix -en precedes a preposition, this preposition is the beginning of a new adverbial phrase.
- De ball ligg uppen up de tak. (EN The ball lies above, on the roof.)
In some cases the form of the adverb changes even more.
- De mann liv fern. (EN The man lives far away.) [ferr -> fern]
[edit] Particle as Adjective
Using the suffix -er you can form an adjective.
- de upper ball (EN the upper ball)
In some cases the form of the adjective changes even more.
- de forder mannen (EN the man in front) [fůr -> fůrđĕr]
[edit] Particle as Prefix
Wird die Partikel vor das Verb gesetzt, also als Vorsilbe benutzt (wobei die Betonung des eigentlichen Verbes abgeschwächt wird), so wird die Bedeutung des Verbs noch stärker eingeengt.
When adding a particle in front of a verb, the verb's meaing get's even more narrowed. Then the accent lies back on the verb stem.
- De mann gev boken ut. (EN The man distriutes books.) [particle]
- De mann utgev boken. (EN The man publishes books.) [prefix]
Das Verb erfährt eine noch stärkere Einengung der Bedeutung, wenn die als Vorsilbe gebrauchte Partikel verkürzt und nicht mehr betont wird (wobei die Betonung des eigentlichen Verbes wieder verstärkt wird). In Folksprak wird der Stammvokal der Partikel als e dargestellt.
- De mann forsta de grupp. (EN The man leads the group.) [stressed prefix]
- De mann fersta de grupp. (EN The man understands the group.) [unstressed prefix]
In rare cases the form of the prefix changes.
- De mann utgev boken. (EN The man publishes books.) [stressed prefix]
- De mann ergev si. (EN The man surrenders.) [unstressed prefix]
Some combinations of prefixes are not allowed.
befertahtige> fertahtige (EN to think bad about someone)fergebruke> ferbruke (EN to consume)
[edit] Particles (North, South ...)
The directions nord, sud, west, ost are treated like particles.
- De mann ga nord / sud / west / ost. (EN The man goes north / south / west / east.)
When used as adjectives, they end in -ern.
- nordern sang (EN northern song)
- sudern comfort (EN southern comfort)
- western film (EN western film)
- ostern (EN eastern)
In propper names they appear shortened, i. e. the ending -ern turns to -er. nordern gets even more shortened to nor.
- Norwegen (EN Norway)
- Suderland (EN Southerland (actor))
- Westerland (EN Westerland)
- Osterrik (EN Austria)
[edit] Pronouns
[edit] Pronouns of things, times and places
The asking pronouns for things, times and places are respectively wat, wan andn war (EN what, when and where). Their stem vowels are short. Analogous, the answering pronouns are dat, dan and dar (EN that, than and there). The respective referencing pronouns (i. e. pronouns for things, times and places that are already known to the listener) are het, hen and her (EN it, now, here).
- wat, dat, het (EN what, that, it)
- wan, dan, hen (EN when, then, now)
- war, dar, her (EN where, there, here)
Instead of hen, nu (EN now) is used normally.
Particularly, wat and dat are used as asking and answering articles.
- Wat bok is din bok? (EN Which book is your book?)
- Dat bok. (EN That book.)
[edit] Pronouns of third person
In order to refer to third persons, the asking pronoun wa (EN who) is used. There are two answering pronouns for third persons: da and de (EN this one respectively these) for singular and plural. Analogous, there are two referencing pronouns for the thir person: hi and he (EN he respectively she and they).
- wo (EN who)
- da <-> de (EN this one <-> these)
- hi <-> he (EN he / she / it <-> they)
The forms da and he are unusual but correct. But instead you may use dat, het, hi, han or hun instead of da, and de for he.
Particularly, da and de are used, shortened, as the definite article.
- de mann (EN the man)
- de mannen (EN the men)
Particularly, hi is used in hidag (EN today).
Personal pronouns in general (like third person pronouns, too) change, when they are used as an object of a preposition or a verb. The third person pronouns then end in -m. The stem vowel is shortened then.
- De ga to him. (EN They go to her / him.)
- Hi ga to dem. (EN He / she goes to them.)
(Also correct forms are in these cases: dam, dans respectively hem, hens.)
Personal pronouns in geneeral (like third person pronouns, too) don't have a genitive form ending in -'s, but a special form. The possessive third person pronouns end in -s (without ´).
- his hus (EN his / her house)
- des hus (EN their house Haus)
- was hus (EN whose house)
Für dritte Personen in der Einzahl gibt es noch zwei weitere Pronomen (alle mit kurzem Stammvokal): hun und han (EN sie und er), jeweils explizit für das weibliche sowie das männliche Geschlecht. Als Objekt lauten sie hum und ham und ihre Formen als Possessivpronomen lauten huns und hans. There are two more pronouns (each one with short stem vowel) for the third person singular: hun and han (EN she and he), respectively for the female and the male gender. In the objective case they turn to hum and ham and their possessive forms are huns and hans.
- Hun seh ham for hans hus. (EN She sees him in front of his house.)
- Han seh hum for huns hus. (EN He sees her in front of her house.)
[edit] Pronouns of the first and second person
The forms of the first and second person pronouns are quite irregular (both for singular and plural).
- ik, mi, min (EN I, me, my)
- du, di, din (EN you, you, your)
- wi, ons, onser (EN we, us, our)
- ji, ju, jor (EN you, you, your)
NB: The form ik has a short vowel.
[edit] Pronouns of kind
The pronouns of kind are quite strange, too.
- we, do, so (EN how, so, so)
Particularly, we and so are used in the asking and answering adjective welik and solik (EN 'what a and such a).
- welik bok (EN what kind of book)
- solik bok (EN such a kind of book)
The form do is used only in the combination doh.
- doh (EN though)
[edit] Words for nationalities
[edit] -e and -in
[edit] -en
- swed: sweden, swede, swedin, swedisk
- pol: polen, pole, polin, polisk
[edit] -ien
- slovak: slovakien, slovake, slovakin, slovakisk
- tchek: tchekien, tcheke, tchekin, tchekisk
[edit] -land
- pol: polland, pole, polin, polisk
- russ: russland, russe, russin, russisk
- skott: skottland, skotte, skottin, skottisk
- ir: irland, ire, irin, irisk
- finn: finnland, finne, finnin, finnisk
- grek: grekland, greke, grekin, grekisk
- bask: baskland, baske, baskin, baskisk
- sax: saxland, saxe, saxin, saxisk
- frank: frankland, franke, frankin, frankisk
[edit] -mark
- dan: danmark, dane, danin, danisk
[edit] -al
- portug(es): portugal, portugese, portugesin, portugesisk
[edit] -rik
- franc(es): francrik, francese, francesin, francesisk
[edit] -a
- chin(es): china, chinese, chinesin, chinesisk
[edit] -er and -erin
[edit] -
- irak: irak, iraker, irakerin, irakisk
- iran: iran, iraner, iranerin, iranisk
- wales: wales, waleser, waleserin, walesisk
- luxemburg: luxemburg, luxemburger, luxemburgerin, luxemburgisk
- holland: holland, hollander, hollanderin, hollandisk
- niderland: niderland, niderlander, niderlanderin, niderlandisk
- island: island, islander, islanderin, islandisk
- groenland: groenland: groenlander, groenlanderin, groenlandisk
- italien: italien, italiener, italienerin, italienisk
[edit] -en
- norweg: norwegen, norweger, norwegerin, norwegisk
[edit] -ien
- arab: arabien, araber, araberin, arabisk
- ind: indien, inder, inderin, indisk
[edit] -ier, -ierin
[edit] -ien
- belg: belgien, belgier, belgierin, belgisk
- brazil(ian): brazilien, brazilianer, brazilianerin, brazilianisk
- span: spanien, spanier, spanierin, spanisk
- austral: australien, australier, australierin, australisk
[edit] -a
- americ(an): america, americaner, americanerin, americanisk
- cub(an): cuba, cubaner, cubanerin, cubanisk
- indi(an): india, indianer, indianerin, indianisk
[edit] Phrase structure
[edit] Indicative sentences
According to the V-2-rule the verb has to come as the second member in the sentence.
- Min friand kom fridag. (EN My friend comes Friday.)
- Fridag kom min friand. (EN Friday, my friend comes.)
Dies gilt auch für unpersönliche Sätze, die eigentlich gar kein Subjekt haben, welches dann durch het (EN es) wiedergegeben werden muss. This applies also for impersonal sentences, which do not have an actual subject, which must be substituted by het (EN it), though.
- Het regen. (EN It rains.)
- Het is warm. (EN It is warm.)
The subject of the sentence may be put behind the verb in order to be emphasised. Again, the V-2-rule applies, so the verb must appear as the second member of the sentence. Once more, you can use het (EN it).
- Het sing min friand. (EN It's my friend singing.)
[edit] Imperative sentences
An imperative sentence begins with the verb (so, the V-2-rule does not apply).
- Kom in! (EN Come in!)
[edit] Question sentences
A decisive question (asking for a "yes" or "no") begins with the verb (so, the V-2-rule does not apply).
- Kom du? (EN Do you come?)
Other kinds of question sentences, that use an asking pronoun, begin with that pronoun, and the verb is put in the second place again.
- Wan kom du? (EN When do you come?)
[edit] Conditional sentences
A decisive question structure may be used as an if-clause. Then the then-clause must begin with the verb, since the if-clause is already the first member of the whole if-then-structure.
- Ga du? (EN Do you go?)
- Ga du, ga ik okso. (EN If you go, I go, too.)
[edit] Subclauses
A subclause may be combined with the main clause using a conjunction. That conjunction is not the first member of the subclause, though.
- Du wet ov han kom hidag. (EN You know if he comes today.)
- Du wet dat han kom hidag. (EN You know that he coes today.)
One can begin the whole sentence with the subclause and finish it with the main clause. In that case, the main clause must begin with the verb, since the subclause is already the first member of the whole sentence.
- Ov han kom hidag wet du. (EN You know if he comes today.)
- Dat han kom hidag wet du. (EN You know that he comes today.)
[edit] Relative clauses
Relative clauses are subclauses. The conjunction, that links it with the main clause, is an asking pronoun and it is called relative pronoun. Therefore relative clauses look like interrogative clauses, except for one thing: the interrogative clause has the verb right behind the asking pronoun, whereas the relative clause doesn't begins with the subject, which is preceded by the verb.
- Du wet, wan hi kom. (EN You know when he comes.)
- Wan kom hi? (EN When does he come?)