Difference between revisions of "Questions with "le ma""

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* 你 去 <em>了 吗</em>?<span class="trans">Did you go?</span>
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* 你 去 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ qù <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you go?</span>
* 你 吃 饭 <em>了 吗</em>?<span class="trans">Did you eat?</span>
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* 你 吃 饭 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ chī fàn <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you eat?</span>
* 你 看 <em>了 吗</em>?<span class="trans">Did you see?</span>
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* 你 看 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ kān <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you see?</span>
* 他走 <em>了 吗</em>?<span class="trans">Did he leave?</span>
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* 他 走 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Tā zǒu <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did he leave?</span>
* 你 喝 酒 <em>了 吗</em>?<span class="trans">Did you drink alcohol?</span>
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* 你 喝 酒 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ hē jiǔ <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you drink alcohol?</span>
* 你 做 <em>了 吗</em>?<span class="trans">Did you make it?</span>
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* 你 做 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ zuò <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you make it?</span>
* 她 笑 <em>了 吗</em>?<span class="trans">Did she laugh?</span>
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* 她 笑 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Tā xiào <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did she laugh?</span>
* 你 给 我 打电话 <em>了 吗</em>?<span class="trans">Did you call me?</span>
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* 你 给 我 打电话 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ gěi wǒ dǎdiànhuà <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you call me?</span>
* 你 今天 喝 咖啡 <em>了 吗</em>?<span class="trans">Did you drink coffee today?</span>
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* 你 今天 喝 咖啡 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ jīntiān hē kāfēi <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you drink coffee today?</span>
* 你 吃 水果 <em>了 吗</em>?<span class="trans">Did you eat fruit?</span>
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* 你 吃 水果 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ chī shuǐguǒ <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you eat fruit?</span>
  
 
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Revision as of 07:53, 29 October 2014

Asking questions about completed actions will involve using both 了 (le) and 吗 (ma). These are simply added to the end of a sentence or statement. This means you might see questions with 了 (le) and 吗 (ma) in different structures.

General Usage

Structure

Subject + Verb + Object + 了吗?

Examples

  • 你 去 了 吗Nǐ qù le ma? Did you go?
  • 你 吃 饭 了 吗Nǐ chī fàn le ma? Did you eat?
  • 你 看 了 吗Nǐ kān le ma? Did you see?
  • 他 走 了 吗Tā zǒu le ma? Did he leave?
  • 你 喝 酒 了 吗Nǐ hē jiǔ le ma? Did you drink alcohol?
  • 你 做 了 吗Nǐ zuò le ma? Did you make it?
  • 她 笑 了 吗Tā xiào le ma? Did she laugh?
  • 你 给 我 打电话 了 吗Nǐ gěi wǒ dǎdiànhuà le ma? Did you call me?
  • 你 今天 喝 咖啡 了 吗Nǐ jīntiān hē kāfēi le ma? Did you drink coffee today?
  • 你 吃 水果 了 吗Nǐ chī shuǐguǒ le ma? Did you eat fruit?

With a Topic

Structure

Topic + (Subject) + Verb + 了吗?

NOTE: in this structure, the topic is also the object for the Verb.

Examples

  • 北京 你 去 了 吗Did you go to Beijing?
  • 晚饭 你 吃 了 吗Did you eat dinner?
  • 电影 你 看 了 吗Did you watch the movie?
  • 作业 你 写 了 吗Did you do homework?
  • 这 本 书 你 读 了 吗Did you read this book?
  • 衣服 你 买 了 吗Did you buy clothes?
  • 酒 你 喝 了 吗Did you drink alcohol?
  • 电话 你 给 我 打 了 吗Did you call me?
  • 咖啡 你 今天 喝 了 吗Did you drink coffee today?
  • 水果 你 吃 了 吗Did you eat fruit?

Notice that in these examples the object is introduced first as a topic.

Finally, please notice that this pattern is nothing more than the combination of the Expressing completion with le pattern and the Yes - no questions with ma pattern.

See also


Sources and further reading

Books