{"id":3249,"date":"2019-11-08T09:38:54","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T09:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/chinese-grammar\/chinese-grammar-placement-of-question-words\/"},"modified":"2019-11-08T09:38:54","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T09:38:54","slug":"chinese-grammar-placement-of-question-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/th\/chinese-grammar-placement-of-question-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese grammar: Placement of question words"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How does one ask questions in Chinese? This article will tell you how questions are formed and wher the questions words are supposed to go. After all, one of the best ways to learn is to ask questions!<\/p>\n

Structure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Question words are one way to form questions in Chinese. In English, question words are also known as wh-words, as the majority of them begin with wh:
\"Chinese<\/p>\n

In English, question words have to be placed at the beginning of the sentence. This involves changing the word order to allow this rearrangement. In Chinese, using question words is a lot simpler. You simply place a question word in the place of the thing you want to ask a<\/em>bout. Nothing needs to be rearranged.<\/p>\n

So if the statement is<\/strong><\/p>\n

W\u01d2 shì Xi\u01ceo L\u01d0 .
\u6211 \u662f \u5c0f\u674e\u3002<\/div>\n
I am Xiao Li.<\/div>\n

the question form – "who are you?" – has the same word order:<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u01d0 shì shuí \uff1f
\u4f60 \u662f \u8c01\uff1f<\/div>\n
Who are you?<\/div>\n

This works for whatever it is you want to ask a<\/em>bout. The question form has the same word order as the statement form.<\/p>\n

An example for asking and telling what:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zhè shì shénme \uff1f
\u8fd9 \u662f \u4ec0\u4e48\uff1f[\/ cn] <\/p>\n
What is this?<\/div>\n

An example for asking and telling wher:<\/strong>
[cn]N\u01d0 zài n\u01ce ér \uff1f
\u4f60 \u5728 \u54ea\u513f\uff1f<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

wher are you?<\/div>\n

An example for asking and telling when:<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u01d0 shénme shí hou lái de \uff1f
\u4f60 \u4ec0\u4e48\u65f6\u5019 \u6765\u7684\uff1f<\/div>\n
When are you coming?<\/div>\n

An example for asking and telling why:<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u01d0 wèi shén me xué zh\u014dn\u0261wén \uff1f
\u4f60 \u4e3a\u4ec0\u4e48 \u5b66 \u4e2d\u6587<\/div>\n

<\/em>portant; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);”>\uff1f<\/span> <\/p>

Why do you study Chinese?<\/div>\n

An example for asking and telling how:<\/strong><\/p>\n

N\u01d0 z\u011bnme xuéxí zh\u014dn\u0261wén \uff1f
\u4f60 \u600e\u4e48 \u5b66\u4e60 \u4e2d\u6587\uff1f<\/div>\n
How do you study Chinese? <\/div>\n<\/div>\n