Difference between revisions of "Rhetorical questions with "nandao""

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{{Grammar Box}}  
 
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Rhetorical questions use the form of a question to emphasize a point, and as such the question does not require an answer. A typical English rhetorical question might be: "you're not saying you actually believe him are you?" or "just how stupid are you?" In Chinese, 难道 (nándào) is used as a marker to form this kind of question.  
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Rhetorical questions use the form of a question to emphasize a point, and as such the question does not require an answer. A typical English rhetorical question might be: "you're not saying you actually believe him, are you?" or "just how stupid are you?" In Chinese, 难道 (nándào) is used as a marker to form this kind of question.  
  
 
==Structure==
 
==Structure==

Revision as of 04:01, 29 July 2014

Rhetorical questions use the form of a question to emphasize a point, and as such the question does not require an answer. A typical English rhetorical question might be: "you're not saying you actually believe him, are you?" or "just how stupid are you?" In Chinese, 难道 (nándào) is used as a marker to form this kind of question.

Structure

难道 + [rhetorical question]

Examples

  • 难道 你 真的 相信 他 吗? You're not telling me you actually believe this guy?
  • 难道 你 是 我 妈妈 吗? What are you, my mother or something?
  • 今天 是 我 的 生日,难道 你 不 知道 吗? Today's my birthday, you're not telling me you forgot?
  • 难道 跟 我 一起 走 一辈子 不 浪漫 吗?So "till death do us part" isn't romantic enough for you is it?

Note that 难道 can only be used for rhetorical questions which could be answered with yes or no, and generally end with 吗.

  • 难道 我 应该 给 你 多少 钱?
  • 难道我们 还 要 遭受 多少 年 的 压迫?

See Also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites