4Grammar and explanations
Add one word at the end
A Mongolian statement becomes a yes/no question when you add a particle after its last word. Nothing else moves, and there is no word like English "do".
Байр том.flat big"The flat is big."
Байр том уу?flat big Q"Is the flat big?"
Four forms of one particle
The particle has four forms. To choose, look at the last word before it and ask two things: which vowel family is it in, and does it end in a long vowel or a diphthong?
| The last word | Particle | Example |
|---|
| а о у word, ending in a consonant or a short vowel | уу | Байр том уу? |
| э ө ү word, ending in a consonant or a short vowel | үү | Шинэ үү? |
| а о у word, ending in a long vowel or a diphthong | юу | Ор тухтай юу? |
| э ө ү word, ending in a long vowel or a diphthong | юү | Сүү юү? |
The ю forms are the same particle with a little glide in front, so that three vowels do not run into each other. A word whose only vowel is и counts as an э ө ү word, as you saw in lesson 9.
Only the last word counts
The subject does not matter; the word that touches the particle decides:
Та канад хүн үү?you Canadian person Q"Are you Canadian?"
Өрөө хүйтэн үү?room cold Q"Is the room cold?"
Их сургууль хол уу?university far Q"Is the university far?"
In the first one, та has an а, but хүн is the last word, so the particle is үү. And now you can see why the greeting is Сайн байна уу?: the last word, байна, is an а word ending in a short, barely heard vowel.
Answering
Answer with тийм (yes) or үгүй (no), and repeat the key word, or give the right one:
Том уу? — Тийм, том."Is it big? — Yes, it is."
Шинэ үү? — Үгүй, хуучин."Is it new? — No, it's old."
Go deeper in the grammar guide: The question particles уу, үү, бэ, вэ · Yes and no in Mongolian
