Rhetorical Questions
Some questions do not ask for an answer. Кој ќе ти верува? (Who will believe you?) really says "Nobody will believe you."
How It Works
A question that makes a point. A rhetorical question is a statement dressed as a question. Nobody is expected to answer, because the answer is obvious. The voice falls at the end, and in writing you may see ?!.
The meaning flips.
- Without не, the answer is "nobody", "nothing" or "never": Кој ќе ти верува? (Nobody will believe you.) Кој можеше да знае дека ќе заврне? (Nobody could have known it would rain.)
- With не or нели, the answer is "yes": Нели ти реков да понесеш чадор? (I told you to bring an umbrella.) Зошто да не? (Why not? That is, yes, sure.)
Common patterns.
- кој + ќе or кој + би: Кој би помислил? (Who would have thought?)
- што да + present: Што да ти кажам? (What can I tell you?) It shows that there is nothing more to say. Compare што да правам.
- колку пати: Колку пати ти реков? (How many times have I told you?) It means "many times".
- нели and зарем ask for agreement or show surprise: see нели and зарем.
Use them with care. Rhetorical questions sound strong and can sound rude, as in Кој те прашува тебе? (Who asked you?) In writing they add feeling, which is why they are common in speeches, opinion columns and literature.
Examples (6)
- Кој ќе ти верува?
Who will believe you?
Word by Word: Who will to-you believe?
It means that nobody will believe you.
- Што да ти кажам? Така е животот.
What can I tell you? That's life.
Word by Word: What to to-you I-tell? So is life-the.
There is nothing more to say.
- Кој можеше да знае дека ќе заврне?
Who could have known it would rain?
Word by Word: Who could to he-knows that will it-starts-raining?
Nobody could have known.
- Колку пати ти реков?
How many times have I told you?
Word by Word: How-many times to-you I-said?
I have told you many times.
- Нели ти реков да понесеш чадор?
Didn't I tell you to bring an umbrella?
Word by Word: Isn't-it to-you I-said to you-take umbrella?
I did tell you.
- Зошто да не?
Why not?
Word by Word: Why to not?
It means yes, sure.
Common Mistakes
Adding не when you mean "nobody".
Кој нема да ти верува? (meaning: nobody will believe you)Кој ќе ти верува?A rhetorical question flips its meaning. Without не it means that nobody will believe you; Кој нема да ти верува? means that everybody will.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Rhetorical questions follow surprised questions.
Related Patterns
- нелиTag Questions
Нели asks for agreement and often makes a rhetorical question: Нели ти реков?
Level 2 - што да правамAsking What to Do
The same да pattern: Што да ти кажам? (What can I tell you?)
Level 3 - колку е убаво / каков убав денExclamations
Question words also start exclamations, another way to show feeling.
Level 4 - никој / ништо / никогаш + неDouble Negation
A rhetorical question often says what a никој-sentence says directly.
Level 2 - Free Indirect Discourse
Literary prose often shows a character's thoughts as rhetorical questions.
Level 6
Words in This Pattern
Practice Rhetorical Questions in Bubblegum
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