Turkish Grammar › Pronouns
Soru Zamirleri (kim / ne)
Interrogative Pronouns
Level A1Pronouns
How «Kim?» is used to ask about people and «Ne?» to ask about things and animals.
Words that take the place of a noun in a question are called interrogative pronouns. At A1 level the most basic ones are «Kim?» (who) and «Ne?» (what).
«Kim?» is used only to ask about people. The answer is always a person's name or a word referring to a person. For example, «O kim?» is answered with «O, Ömer.» or «O, öğretmen.»
«Ne?» is used to ask about everything other than people: objects, animals or situations. For example, «Bu ne?» is answered with «Bu, masa.» or «Bu, kedi.» Both pronouns can also take case endings and become «Kimde?», «Neden?», «Kime?», «Neyi?» and so on.
Examples
- O kim?Who is that?
- Bu ne?What is this?
- Sınıfta kim var?Who is in the classroom?
- Masada ne var?What is on the table?
- Çantada ne var?What is in the bag?
- Kapıdaki kim?Who is at the door?