▎嗎, ma, (Ptc), Asking Questions (1)

 

Function Questions can be formed using the question particle 嗎. It is usually used for short questions.

1 你好嗎？

Nǐ hǎo ma?

How are you?

2 你來接我們嗎？

Nǐ lái jiē wǒmen ma?

Are you here to pick us up?

3 他是日本人嗎？

Tā shì Rìběn rén ma?

Is he Japanese?

 

Structures sentence＋嗎？The sentence in 嗎 questions can be either in the affirmative or negative.

Negation：

1 他不姓陳嗎？

Tā bú xìng Chén ma?

Isn’t he surnamed Chen?

2 你不是臺灣人嗎？

Nǐ bú shì Táiwān rén ma?

Aren’t you Taiwanese?

3 他不喝咖啡嗎？

Tā bù hē kāfēi ma?

Doesn’t he drink coffee?

 

Usage The A-not-A question form involves no assumption, and is used for neutral inquiries or longer inquiries. It does not take a 嗎 question particle at the end of the sentence. One cannot say ＊這是不是茶嗎？＊Zhè shì bú shì chá ma? ‘Is this tea?’. 嗎 questions, by contrast, are used for short inquiries.

1 你好嗎？

Nǐ hǎo ma?

How are you?

2 你要喝茶嗎？

Nǐ yào hē chá ma?

Do you want to drink tea?

3 你們要不要喝烏龍茶？

Nǐmen yào bú yào hē Wūlóng chá?

Do you want to drink Oolong tea?