Yes-No Questions With da li

Level 1

Da li + a normal sentence = a yes-or-no question.

How It Works

To ask a yes-or-no question, start with Da li and then say the sentence as you normally would.

  • Govoriš bosanski. You speak Bosnian.
  • Da li govoriš bosanski? Do you speak Bosnian?

Nothing else changes: the verb keeps its ending, and the subject (if you say it) stays where it was. Pronouns are often dropped, so Da li radiš? is enough for "Are you working?"

The usual answers are Da. (yes) and Ne. (no). You can also repeat the verb: Radim. or Ne radim.

Spoken Bosnian often drops Da li and uses rising speech alone: Ideš sutra u Mostar? You will hear this all the time. In writing, Da li is clear and friendly, so start with it. Later you will meet Je li, which does the same job and is just as correct.

Examples (4)

  1. Da li govoriš bosanski?

    Do you speak Bosnian?

    Da li comes first, then the usual sentence.

  2. Da li Amir radi u Tuzli?

    Does Amir work in Tuzla?

    The subject stays after Da li.

  3. Da li imate sirnicu?

    Do you have a cheese pie?

    Imate is the polite vi form.

  4. Da li je Selma kod kuće?

    Is Selma at home?

    With je, Da li je comes before the rest.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing Da li as one word.

    Dali govoriš bosanski?
    Da li govoriš bosanski?

    Da li is two words. Dali is a different word (they gave).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Yes-No Questions With da liLevel 1

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Yes-no questions with da li are easy to build once you know the basic word order.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

dali