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

m (Text replacement - "kān " to "kàn ")
Line 18: Line 18:
 
* 你 去 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ qù <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you go?</span>
 
* 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="pinyin">Nǐ chī fàn <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you eat?</span>
 
* 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="pinyin">Nǐ kān <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you see?</span>
+
* 你 看 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ kàn <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you see?</span>
 
* 他 走 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Tā zǒu <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did he leave?</span>
 
* 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="pinyin">Nǐ hē jiǔ <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you drink alcohol?</span>
 
* 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>
Line 47: Line 47:
 
* 北京 你 去 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Běijīng nǐ qù <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you go to Beijing?</span>
 
* 北京 你 去 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Běijīng nǐ qù <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you go to Beijing?</span>
 
* 晚饭 你 吃 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Wǎnfàn nǐ chī <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you eat dinner?</span>
 
* 晚饭 你 吃 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Wǎnfàn nǐ chī <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you eat dinner?</span>
* 电影 你 看 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Diànyǐng nǐ kān <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you watch the movie?</span>
+
* 电影 你 看 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Diànyǐng nǐ kàn <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you watch the movie?</span>
 
* 作业 你 写 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Zuòyè nǐ xiě <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you do homework?</span>
 
* 作业 你 写 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Zuòyè nǐ xiě <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you do homework?</span>
 
* 这 本 书 你 读 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Zhè běn shū nǐ dòu <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you read this book?</span>
 
* 这 本 书 你 读 <em>了 吗</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Zhè běn shū nǐ dòu <em>le ma</em>?</span> <span class="trans">Did you read this book?</span>

Revision as of 08:51, 11 August 2015

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 kàn 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Běijīng nǐ qù le ma? Did you go to Beijing?
  • 晚饭 你 吃 了 吗Wǎnfàn nǐ chī le ma? Did you eat dinner?
  • 电影 你 看 了 吗Diànyǐng nǐ kàn le ma? Did you watch the movie?
  • 作业 你 写 了 吗Zuòyè nǐ xiě le ma? Did you do homework?
  • 这 本 书 你 读 了 吗Zhè běn shū nǐ dòu le ma? Did you read this book?
  • 衣服 你 买 了 吗Yīfu nǐ mǎi le ma? Did you buy clothes?
  • 酒 你 喝 了 吗Jiǔ nǐ hē le ma? Did you drink alcohol?
  • 电话 你 给 我 打 了 吗Diànhuà nǐ gěi wǒ dǎ le ma? Did you call me?
  • 咖啡 你 今天 喝 了 吗Kāfēi nǐ jīntiān hē le ma? Did you drink coffee today?
  • 水果 你 吃 了 吗Shuǐguǒ nǐ chī le ma? 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