Difference between revisions of "Affirmative-negative question"
NFiorentini (talk | contribs) m (Replaced English question marks with Chinese question marks.) |
|||
Line 107: | Line 107: | ||
<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
− | * 喜欢 <em>不</em> | + | * 喜欢 <em>不</em> 喜欢?<span class="expl">the whole word is repeated</span><span class="pinyin"><em>Xǐhuan bu xǐhuan</em>?</span><span class="trans">Do you like it?</span> |
− | * 喜 <em>不</em> | + | * 喜 <em>不</em> 喜欢?<span class="expl">only the first character is repeated</span><span class="pinyin"><em>Xǐ bu xǐhuan</em>?</span><span class="trans">Do you like it?</span> |
− | * 高兴 <em>不</em> | + | * 高兴 <em>不</em> 高兴?<span class="expl">the whole word is repeated</span><span class="pinyin"><em>Gāoxìng bu gāoxìng</em>?</span><span class="trans">Are you happy?</span> |
− | * 高 <em>不</em> | + | * 高 <em>不</em> 高兴?<span class="expl">only the first character is repeated</span><span class="pinyin"><em>Gāo bu gāoxìng</em>?</span><span class="trans">Are you happy?</span> |
* 他 女朋友 <em>漂亮 不 漂亮</em>?<span class="expl">the whole word is repeated</span><span class="pinyin"> Tā nǚpéngyou <em>piàoliang bu piàoliang</em>?</span><span class="trans">Is his girlfriend pretty?</span> | * 他 女朋友 <em>漂亮 不 漂亮</em>?<span class="expl">the whole word is repeated</span><span class="pinyin"> Tā nǚpéngyou <em>piàoliang bu piàoliang</em>?</span><span class="trans">Is his girlfriend pretty?</span> |
Revision as of 11:42, 28 February 2017
-
Level
-
Similar to
-
Used for
-
Keywords
- Also known as: 正反问句 (zhèng-fǎn wènjù) and alternative questions.
A common way to form questions in Chinese is to first use a verb in the positive, then repeat the same verb in its negative form, similar to how in English we can say, "Do you have money or not?" or "Have you or have you not been to the park?" This sentence pattern feels a lot more natural in Chinese than those admittedly awkward English equivalents, however.
Contents
Verb-Not-Verb
Structure
Verb + 不 + Verb
Examples
- 是 不 是 ? Is it (or not)?
- 他们 来 不 来 ? Are they going to come or not?
- 你 想 不 想 我 ? Do you or do you not miss me?
- 我们 要 去 酒吧, 你 去 不 去?We are going to the bar. Do you want to go?
- 我 去 买 咖啡 ,你 要 不 要 ? I'm going to buy coffee. Do you want some?
Note that the question provides the listener with both possible answers: it's either "Verb" or "不 (bù) Verb."
Verb-Not-Verb with an Object
Structure
If you want to add an object after the verb, the general sentence structure is:
Subj. + Verb + 不 + Verb + Obj.
Examples
- 你 回 不 回 家? Are you coming back home or not?
- 她 吃 不 吃 鱼? Does she eat fish?
- 你们 要 不 要 米饭? Do you want rice?
- 你爸爸 喝 不 喝 酒? Does your dad drink alcohol or not?
- 今天 老板 来 不 来 办公室?Is the boss coming to the office today?
Adjective-Not-Adjective
Structure
It can also be done with adjectives (adjectives often behave like verbs in Chinese):
Adj. + 不 + Adj.
Examples
- 好 不 好 ?Is it good? (or "good or not good?")
- 热 不 热 ?Is it hot?
- 他 帅 不 帅 ?Is he handsome?
- 这里 的 咖啡 贵 不 贵 ? Is the coffee expensive here?
- 中国 菜 辣 不 辣 ? Is Chinese food spicy?
Again, the question provides the listener with both possible answers: it's either "Adjective" or "不 (bù) Adjective."
These are 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.
Two-Character Verbs and Adjectives
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 (bù) after just the first character, then put the entire verb. For example 喜不喜欢 (xǐ bu xǐhuan) is the usual question form of 喜欢 (xǐhuan). You can repeat the whole two-character verb twice, but it's more common (and more elegant) to insert 不 (bù) after the first character (and the same is generally true of two-character adjectives).
Structure
It can be done with verbs:
[First Character of Verb] + 不 + Verb
It can also be done with adjectives:
[First Character of Adj.] + 不 + Adj.
Examples
- 喜欢 不 喜欢?the whole word is repeatedDo you like it?
- 喜 不 喜欢?only the first character is repeatedDo you like it?
- 高兴 不 高兴?the whole word is repeatedAre you happy?
- 高 不 高兴?only the first character is repeatedAre you happy?
- 他 女朋友 漂亮 不 漂亮?the whole word is repeatedIs his girlfriend pretty?
- 他 女朋友 漂 不 漂亮?only the first character is repeatedIs his girlfriend pretty?
- 中国 菜 好吃 不 好吃?the whole word is repeatedIs Chinese food good?
- 中国 菜 好 不 好吃?only the first character is repeatedIs Chinese food good?
- 那 个 地方 好玩 不 好玩?the whole word is repeatedIs that place fun?
- 那 个 地方 好 不 好玩?only the first character is repeatedIs that place fun?
有 (yǒu) Is a Special Case
Structure
Because the verb 有 (yǒu) is negated with 没 (méi) and not 不 (bù), the structure for positive-negative questions with 有 (yǒu) is:
Subj. + 有 没有 + Obj.
The possible answers are: "有 (yǒu)" or "没有 (méiyǒu)."
The questions could be be asking about current possession ("do you have it or not?"), or to ask about verbs in the past ("did you do it or not?").
Examples
- 你 哥哥 有 没有 女 朋友?Does your older brother have a girlfriend?
- 你们 有 没有 孩子? Do you have children?
- 你 有 没有 见 过 Obama?Have you met Obama?
- 奶奶 有 没有 坐 过 飞机? Has grandma been on a plane?
- 他 有 没有 上 过 大学?Has he been to college?
See also
Sources and further reading
Videos
- Yoyo Chinese: Verb-not-verb Questions
Books
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 141-4) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 86, 102-4) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (p. 87) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (pp. 102, 250-1) →buy