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| − | The question particle 吗 is a very simple way to form questions in Chinese. By placing 吗 on the end of a statement, you convert it into a yes / no question. Surprisingly enough, these are questions that could be answered with ''yes'' or ''no'' in English. They're also known as ''polar questions'' or ''binary questions''.
| + | #REDIRECT [[Yes-no questions with ma]] |
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| − | Any statement can be converted into a yes / no question with 吗. For example:
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| − | <div class="liju">
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| − | * 你 喜欢 咖啡。
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| − | </div>
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| − | "You like coffee" can easily be converted into "Do you like coffee?" by adding 吗:
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| − | <div class="liju">
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| − | * 你 喜欢 咖啡 <em>吗</em>？
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| − | </div>
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| − | You could think of 吗 as being like a question mark you say out loud. More examples of statements and their yes / no question forms:
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| − | <div class="liju">
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| − | * 你 是 警察。
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| − | * 你 是 警察 <em>吗</em>？
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| − | * 那 是 老虎。
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| − | * 那 是 老虎 <em>吗</em>？
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| − | * 他 是 老师。
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| − | * 他 是 老师 <em>吗</em>？
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| − | </div>
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| − | It's important to remember that you can not add 吗 to a sentence that's already a question. For example:
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| − | <div class="liju">
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| − | <ul>
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| − | <li class="x">你 是 谁<strong>吗</strong>？</li>
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| − | <li class="x">这个 是 不 是 书<strong>吗</strong>？</li>
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| − | </ul>
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| − | </div>
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| − | These would be something like "Do you who are you?" and "Does is this a book?" in English - obviously wrong.
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| − | However, this doesn't mean that a sentence can't have a question word and 吗. For example:
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| − | <div class="liju">
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| − | <ul>
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| − | <li class="o">你 知道 这 是 什么 东西 <em>吗</em>？</li>
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| − | </ul>
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| − | </div>
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| − | This is OK because the original sentence "你知道这是什么东西" is a statement even though it contains the question word 什么. It's the same in English. "You know ''what'' this is" can be converted into the question "''Do'' you know ''what'' this is?"
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| − | ==See also==
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| − | *[[Tag questions with ma]]
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| − | *[[Positive negative questions]]
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| − | *[[Questions with ne]]
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| − | == Sources and further reading ==
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| − | === Books ===
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| − | * [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)]] (pp. 21) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561910401 →buy]
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| − | [[Category:A1 grammar points]]
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