28 asking questions and replying to questions
Questions are used to ask for information. Here are the most common question types in Mandarin.28.1 Yes–no questions
Yes–no questions are questions that can be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ In Mandarin, there are
several ways to ask yes–no questions. Notice that unlike English, the overall phrase order of
statements and yes–no questions is the same. In addition, no helping word equivalent to ‘do’
is involved in yes–no questions in Chinese.28.1.1 yes–no questions with 吗/嗎 ma
When 吗/嗎 ma is added to the end of a statement, it turns the statement into a yes–no
question.Statement Yes–no question
她是中国人。 她是中国人吗？
她是中國人。 她是中國人嗎？
Tā shì Zhōngguo rén. Tā shì Zhōngguo rén ma?
She is a Chinese person. Is she a Chinese person?他们卖橘子。 他们卖橘子吗？
他們賣橘子。 他們賣橘子嗎？
Tāmen mài júzi. Tāmen mài júzi ma?
They sell tangerines. Do they sell tangerines?他会说中文。 他会说中文吗？
他會說中文。 他會說中文嗎？
Tā huì shuō Zhōngwén. Tā huì shuō Zhōngwén ma?
He can speak Chinese. Can he speak Chinese?28.1.2 yes–no questions with verb-not-verb structure
Yes–no questions may also be formed by repeating the first verb of the verb phrase in affirmative
and negative form. Here are examples with different types of verbs.Modal verbs
他会不会说中文？
他會不會說中文？
Tā huì bù huì shuō Zhōngwén?
Can he speak Chinese?C12.6.2