{"id":3243,"date":"2019-11-08T03:34:23","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T03:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/chinese-grammar\/chinese-grammar-yes-no-questions-with-quot-ma-quot\/"},"modified":"2019-11-08T03:34:23","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T03:34:23","slug":"chinese-grammar-yes-no-questions-with-quot-ma-quot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/my\/chinese-grammar-yes-no-questions-with-quot-ma-quot\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese grammar:Yes-no questions with "ma""},"content":{"rendered":"
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The question particle \u5417 (ma) is a very simple way to form questions in Chinese. By placing \u5417 on the end of a statement, you co<\/em>nvert it into a yes\/no question. Surprisingly enough, these are questions that could be answered with yes or no in English. They’re also known as polar questions or binary questions.<\/p>\n

Basic Pattern<\/strong>
1.Any statement can be co<\/em>nverted into a yes \/ no question with \u5417. For example:<\/p>\n

N\u01d0 x\u01d0 hu\u0251n k\u0101 f\u0113i.
\u4f60 \u559c\u6b22 \u5496\u5561\u3002 (statement)<\/div>\n
You like coffee.<\/div>\n


<\/em>portant; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”>2. "You like coffee" can easily be co<\/em>nverted into "Do you like coffee?" by adding \u5417:<\/span>
<\/p>\n

N\u01d0 x\u01d0 hu\u0251n k\u0101 f\u0113i m\u0251 ?
\u4f60 \u559c\u6b22 \u5496\u5561 \u5417\uff1f (question)<\/div>\n
Do you like coffee?<\/div>\n


<\/em>portant; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”>3.You could think of \u5417 as being like a question mark you say out loud. More examples of statements and their yes\/no question forms:<\/span>
<\/p>\n

N\u01d0 shì bái ch\u012b .
\u4f60 \u662f \u767d\u75f4\u3002 (statement)<\/div>\n
You are an idiot.<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

N\u01d0 shì bái ch\u012b m\u0251?
\u4f60 \u662f \u767d\u75f4 \u5417\uff1f (question)<\/div>\n
Are you an idiot?<\/div>\n

It’s im<\/em>portant to remember that you can not add \u5417 to a sentence that’s already a question. For example:<\/p>\n

× N\u01d0 shì shuí m\u0251? \u4f60 \u662f \u8c01 \u5417\uff1f(\u8c01 is a question word)<\/div>\n
Are you who?<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

× Zhè shì bú shì sh\u016b m\u0251? \u8fd9 \u662f \u4e0d \u662f \u4e66 \u5417\uff1f(\u662f\u4e0d\u662f is a question pattern)<\/div>\n
Is this a book, is?<\/div>\n

These would be something like "Do you who are you?" and "Does is this a book?" in English – obviously wrong. Still if you’re not careful, you may find yourself throwing a \u5417 o<\/em>nto the end of a question that doesn’t need it. Many learners make this mistake, so don’t worry if it happens every o<\/em>nce in a while, just catch it and remember it the next time.<\/p>\n

More Advanced Usage<\/strong>
However, this doesn’t mean that a sentence can’t ever have a question word and \u5417. For example:<\/p>\n

N\u01d0 zh\u012b dào zhè shì shén me d\u014dn\u0261 xi m\u0251?
\u4f60 \u77e5\u9053 \u8fd9 \u662f \u4ec0\u4e48 \u4e1c\u897f \u5417\uff1f<\/div>\n
Do you know what this thing is?<\/div>\n

This is OK because the original sentence "\u4f60\u77e5\u9053\u8fd9\u662f\u4ec0\u4e48\u4e1c\u897f" is a statement even though it co<\/em>ntains the question word \u4ec0\u4e48. It’s the same in English. "You know what this is" can be co<\/em>nverted into the question "Do you know what this is?"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n