InS: Interrogative phrases display in situ word order; that is, the IP appears in the same position in a question as would its equivalent phrase in the fullsentence answer to the question.
(1) nüŋ müw tɔ̄ɣi-nə rɔ̄pitʌə-ʌ-ən?
you what place-loc work-prs-2sg
‘Where do you work?’ (Pesikova – Pokačeva 2006: 5.)
(2) nüŋ müwəʌi wär-ʌ-ən?
you what do-prs-2sg
‘What are you doing?’ (Csepregi 1998: 48.)
(3) nüŋ qojaɣi paɣ wos-ən?
you who boy cop-2sg
‘Whose son are you?’ (Pesikova – Pokačeva 2006: 4.)
(4) məta pūɣəʌ-i īmi wəj-ən?
which village-abl woman come-pst.2sg
‘Which village is your wife from?’ (Pesikova – Pokačeva 2006: 4.)
(5) āťe näm-əʌ qoʌnə?
father.2sg name-3sg how
‘What is your father’s name?’ (Pesikova – Pokačeva 2006: 4.)
In Surgut Khanty, the question word takes the position of the element it substitutes. Adjuncts and the object are put before the verb (1)–(2), the possessive adjunct and postpositional modifiers follow their bases (3)–(4), and the predicate is put at the end of the sentence (5).