Table of Contents
האָבן – Present Tense
Here are the forms of the verb האָבן in the present tense:
Questions: װאָס/װוּ
When you form a question with װאָס or װוּ, the subject is placed after the verb:
Spelling Rule: ביסטו/האָסטו
When דו comes after the verb, the two words are contracted to a single word:
- װאָס האָסט + דו ? ← װאָס האָסטו?
- װוּ ביסט + דו ? ← װוּ ביסטו?
However, this is only the case when the pronoun דו is unaccented. When it is accented, it is written as a separate word, for example:
Yes/No Questions
When a sentence is pronounced with a rising intonation, it becomes a yes/no question, for example:
מאָבי האָט אַ שניטקע. ← מאָבי האָט אַ שניטקע?
Mobi hot a shnitke. → Mobi hot a shnitke?
Does Moby have a sandwich?
דו ביסט דאָרשיטק. ← דו ביסט דאָרשיטק?
Du bist dorshtik. → Du bist dorshtik?
Are you thirsty?
דו האָסט אַן עפּל. ← דו האָסט אַן עפּל?
Du host an epl. → Du host an epl?
Do you have an apple?
These same questions are sometimes formulated by placing the verb at the beginning of the sentence, for example:
In spoken Yiddish, the most common way to ask a yes/no question is with intonation alone.
