Advanced yes-no questions with "ma"

The question particle 吗 (ma) is a very simple way to convert it into a "yes/no question," and beginners will learn not to use 吗 with other question words, because it's redundant. More advanced students, however, will note that 吗 has some more complicated structures that do involve combining it with question words in order to ask very specific types of confirming questions.

Structure

You'll remember that this is the simple pattern for yes/no questions:

Statement + 吗 ？

If you embed a question that uses a question word instead of a statement, you can create a more complex kind of "confirming" 吗 (ma) question:

[Question Word] + 吗 ？

Examples of common question words include 什么 (shénme), 谁 (shéi), and 哪里 (nǎlǐ).

Examples

Note that the following examples typically contains some kind of "verb of understanding" such as 知道 (zhīdào),了解 (liǎojiě), 明白 (míngbai), 认识 (rènshi), etc. Then "吗" (ma) can still be added at the end of the question, turning it into a kind of confirmation. For example:

• 这 是 什么 ？Zhè shì shénmei?What is this?
• 你 知道 这 是 什么 吗？Nǐ zhīdào zhè shì shénme ma?Do you know what this is?

• 他 是 谁 ？Tā shì shéi?Who is he?
• 你 知道 他 是 谁 吗？Nǐ zhīdào tā shì shéi ma?Do you know who he is?

• 他 叫 什么 名字 ？Tā jiào shénme míngzi?What is his name?
• 你 知道 他 叫 什么 名字 吗？Nǐ zhīdào tā jiào shénme míngzi ma?Do you what his name is?

• 她 住 在哪儿 ？Tā zhù zài nǎr?Where does she live?
• 她 说 过 她 住 在哪儿 吗 ？Tā shuō guo tā zhù zài nǎr ma?Did she say where she lives?

• 这个 标志 是 什么 意思 ？Zhège biāozhì shì shénme yìsi?What does this sign mean?
• 你们 理解 这个 标志 是 什么 意思 吗？Nǐmen lǐjiě zhège biāozhì shì shénme yìsi ma?Do you understand what this sign means?

• 我们 想 要 什么 ？Wǒmen xiǎng yào shénme?What do we want?
• 他 问 过 我们 想 要 什么 吗？Tā wèn guo wǒmen xiǎng yào shénme ma?Did he care to ask what we want?

• 你 的 问题 是 什么 ？Nǐ de wèntí shì shénme?What is your question?
• 你 能 再 说 一 遍 你 的 问题 是 什么 吗 ？Nǐ néng zài shuō yī biàn nǐ de wèntí shì shénme ma?Can you repeat what your question is?

• 他 是 什么 时候 开始 学 中文 的 ？Tā shì shénme shíhou kāishǐ xué Zhōngwén de?When did he started to learn Chinese?
• 你 知道 他 是 什么 时候 开始 学 中文 的 吗 ？Nǐ zhīdào tā shì shénme shíhou kāishǐ xué Zhōngwén de ma?Do you know when he started to learn Chinese?

• 这 是 在哪儿 买 的 ？Zhè shì zài nǎr mǎi de?Where did you buy this?
• 你 能 告诉 我 这 是 在哪儿 买 的 吗 ？Nǐ néng gàosu wǒ zhè shì zài nǎr mǎi de ma?Can I tell me where you bought this?

See also

• Tag questions with "ma"
• Affirmative-negative questions
• Questions with "ne"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 138-40) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 29-30)　→buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (p. 21) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (pp. 23, 250) →buy

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