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:
 
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:
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== Verb Not Verb ==
  
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
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</div>
 
</div>
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For example:
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<div class="liju">
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* 你 <em>是 不 是</em> 大人？
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</div>
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Note that the question provides the listener with both possible answers: it's either "Verb" or "不 Verb."
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== Adjective Not Adjective ==
  
 
It can also be done with [[adjectives]] (adjectives often behave like verbs in Chinese):
 
It can also be done with [[adjectives]] (adjectives often behave like verbs in Chinese):
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<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
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* 你 <em>是 不 是</em> 大人？
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* <em>好 不 好</em>？
  
 
</div>
 
</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:
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Again, the question provides the listener with both possible answers: it's either "Adjective" or "不 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.
 +
 
 +
== Verb Not Verb with an Object ==
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If you want to add an object after the verb, the general sentence structure is:
  
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
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</div>
 
</div>
  
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This could be for sentences about the present and possession, or to ask about verbs in the past. For example:
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The possible answers are: "有" or "没有." 
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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?").
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For example:
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">

Revision as of 17:47, 21 January 2012

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. The structure is:

Verb Not Verb

Verb + 不 + Verb

For example:

  • 你 是 不 是 大人？

Note that the question provides the listener with both possible answers: it's either "Verb" or "不 Verb."

Adjective Not Adjective

It can also be done with adjectives (adjectives often behave like verbs in Chinese):

Adjective + 不 + Adjective

For example:

  • 好 不 好？

Again, the question provides the listener with both possible answers: it's either "Adjective" or "不 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.

Verb Not Verb with an Object

If you want to add an object after the verb, the general sentence structure is:

Subject + Verb + 不 + Verb + Object

Some examples:

Positive negative questions
Subject Verb 不 Verb Object
她 是 不 是 中国人 ？
他 吃 不 吃 肉 ？
你 想 不 想 我 ？

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:

Subject + 有没有 + Object

The possible answers are: "有" or "没有."

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?").

For example:

  • 你 有 没有 我的 钱？
  • 你 有 没有 看过 那 部 电影？

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:

  • 喜欢 不 喜欢 (the whole word is repeated)
  • 喜 不 喜欢 (only the first character is repeated)
  • 高兴 不 高兴 (the whole word is repeated)
  • 高 不 高兴 (only the first character is repeated)

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

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