How to negate a sentence with saan, and the different ways to ask yes/no and open-ended questions.
saán (also haán or dí) is the general negator, confirmed in this app's dictionary as an adverb meaning "no." It goes right before whatever it's negating — a noun, a predicate, or a marked subject followed by nga.
Saán nga napíntas diáy baláy mo.
Your house is not beautiful.
Saán ka nga napíntas.
You are not beautiful.
Add kadí (or ayá) right after the first word of a statement to turn it into a simple yes/no question. Add saán kadí at the very end instead, and it becomes a tag question — "..., isn't it?"
Napíntas kadí diáy balásang?
Is the lady beautiful?
Napíntas diáy balásang, saán kádi?
The lady is beautiful, isn't she?
For "who/what/when/why/how" questions, an interrogative word takes the subject position at the front, and the rest follows the same definite-sentence pattern from earlier: subject, then ti, then the predicate.
Sinnó ti nakítam?
Whom did you see?
answered simply: Ni Pédro. — 'Peter.'
Aná ti gatángem?
What will you buy?
answered simply: Asín. — 'Salt.'
ánia
what, which
verified in this app's dictionary
kaáno
when
verified in this app's dictionary
apáy
why
verified in this app's dictionary
kasáno
how
verified in this app's dictionary
Grammar: Ch. 10.1–10.2, Negative & Interrogative Sentences, from Constantino's Ilokano Reference Grammar (1971, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).