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㊦ か(2) ←

→ ㊦ かい


㊦ か(どうか)

Particle


A marker for an embedded yes-no question. Whether or not; if (~ or not)

Key Sentences

(ks). 鈴木さんが大学に入った(どうか)(は)知らない・知りません。

I don't know whether or not Mr. Suzuki entered college.


Formation

(i){V/Adjective い} informal (どうか)  
  {話す /話した}(どうか) Whether or not someone talks/talked
  {高い /高かった}(どうか) Whether or not something is/was expensive
(ii) {Adjective な stem/ N} {Øだった}(どうか)  
  {静か /静かだった}(どうか) Whether or not something is/was quiet
  {先生 /先生だった}(どうか) Whether or not someone is/was a teacher

Examples

(a). 小川さんが結婚しているかどうか知っていますか。

Do you know if Mr. Ogawa is married or not?

(b). フォークナーの小説が面白いかどうか知らない。

I don't know if Faulkner's novels are interesting.


Notes

1. When the optional どうか is used, the embedded question has to be a yes-no question. If it is not used,then the question can be either a yes-no question or an interrogative word question.

2. Typical final verbs include, among others, verbs of knowing, examining, understanding, asking, remembering, and deciding.

3. Sentence informal (どうか) can be used as a noun phrase that takes particles such as が and を.


㊦ か(2) ←

→ ㊦ かい