Difference between revisions of "Affirmative-negative questions"

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A common way to form questions in Chinese is to first use a [[verbs|verb]] in the positive, then repeat the same verb in its negative form. The structure is:
+
#REDIRECT [[Affirmative-negative question]]
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
Verb + 不 + Verb
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
It can also be done with [[adjectives]] (adjectives often behave like verbs in Chinese):
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
Adjective + 不 + Adjective
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
For example:
 
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
* 你 <em>是 不 是</em> 大人?
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
This is something like adding tag questions in English, in this case "Are you an adult or not?" If you wanted to translate it very literally, it would be "Are you or are you not an adult?" In any case, the structure is a very common way to ask questions in Chinese. The general sentence structure is:
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
Subject + Verb + 不 + Verb + Object
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
Some examples:
 
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
|+Positive negative questions
 
|-
 
! Subject !! <em>Verb</em> !! <em>不</em> !! <em>Verb</em> !! Object !!
 
|-
 
| 她 || <em>是</em> || <em>不</em> || <em>是</em> || 中国人 || ?
 
|-
 
| 他 || <em>吃</em> || <em>不</em> || <em>吃</em> || 肉 || ?
 
|-
 
| 你 || <em>想</em> || <em>不</em> || <em>想</em> || 我 || ?
 
|}
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
== 有 in positive-negative questions ==
 
 
 
Because the verb 有 is negated with 没 and not 不, the structure for positive-negative questions with 有 is:
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
Subject + 有没有 + Object
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
This could be for sentences about the present and possession, or to ask about verbs in the past. For example:
 
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
* 你 <em>有 没有</em> 我的 钱?
 
* 你 <em>有 没有</em> 看过 那 部 电影?
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
== Two-character verbs in positive-negative questions ==
 
 
 
All of the verbs used so far have been single-character verbs. Using two-characters verbs in positive-negative questions is slightly trickier. You usually put 不 after the first character, then put the entire verb. For example 喜不喜欢 is the usual question form of 喜欢. You can repeat the whole two-character verb twice, but it's more common (and more elegant) to insert 不 after the first character.  (The same is true of two-character adjectives.)  For example:
 
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
* 喜欢 不 喜欢 <span class="expl"> (the whole word is repeated)</span>
 
* 喜 不 喜欢 <span class="expl"> (only the first character is repeated)</span>
 
 
 
* 高兴 不 高兴 <span class="expl"> (the whole word is repeated)</span>
 
* 高 不 高兴 <span class="expl"> (only the first character is repeated)</span>
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
==See also==
 
*[[Tag questions with bu]]
 
*[[Yes - no questions with ma]]
 
*[[Offering choices with haishi]]
 
 
 
== Sources and further reading ==
 
 
 
=== Books ===
 
 
 
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)]] (pp. 87) [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]
 
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)]] (pp. 102) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561926235/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7561926235 →buy]
 
 
 
[[Category:A1 grammar points]]
 

Latest revision as of 04:14, 13 November 2014