কেতিয়া
When
কেতিয়া means “when”: আপুনি কেতিয়া ব্যস্ত? “when are you busy?”.
How It Works
Questions with কেতিয়া ask for a time. The answer is a time word.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| তুমি কেতিয়া ব্যস্ত? “When are you busy?” | মই আজি ব্যস্ত। “I am busy today.” |
| যাদুঘৰটো কেতিয়া খোলা থাকে? “When is the museum open?” | ৰাতিপুৱা। “In the morning.” |
কেতিয়া works the same way for the past and the future. Those questions need verb forms that come at later levels.
In a short question with only a noun and no verb, কেতিয়া often comes last, as in তোমাৰ জন্মদিন কেতিয়া? “when is your birthday?”. With a describing word it stands before that word, as in তুমি কেতিয়া ব্যস্ত?.
Words that begin with কেতিয়া, such as কেতিয়াও “ever” and কেতিয়াবা “sometimes”, are separate words. কেতিয়া itself can take an ending, as in কেতিয়ালৈ “until when”.
Examples (4)
- তুমি কেতিয়া ব্যস্ত?
When are you busy?
কেতিয়া stands before the describing word ব্যস্ত “busy”.
- আপুনি কেতিয়া ব্যস্ত?
When are you busy?
The same question for a person you respect, with আপুনি.
- যাদুঘৰটো কেতিয়া খোলা থাকে?
When is the museum open?
কেতিয়া stands before খোলা থাকে “stays open”.
- তোমাৰ জন্মদিন কেতিয়া?
When is your birthday?
The question has no verb, and here কেতিয়া comes last.
How It Connects
Learn This First
কেতিয়া “when” stands in the place of the answer like কি, so কি comes first.
Related Patterns
- আজি / এতিয়াToday and Now
আজি and এতিয়া are common answers to কেতিয়া.
Level 1 - কেতিয়াও / এতিয়াওEver, Never and Still
কেতিয়াও is a different word that means “ever” or “never”.
Level 3 - কালিYesterday and Tomorrow
কালি “yesterday” is another time answer.
Level 3 - কিয়Why
কিয় asks “why”, and it stands in the same place as কেতিয়া.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice কেতিয়া in Bubblegum
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