Lesson 2.4: Negation and Questions
Two very important concepts that exist in all languages are negation (“not” statements) and questions, both of which are very straightforward in Chinese.
Negation
The standard way to negate a Chinese sentence is to insert the word 不 (bù, not) before the verb.
Example: 我喜欢苹果。 (wǒ xǐhuān píngguǒ, I like apples.) becomes 我不喜欢苹果。 (wǒ bù xǐhuān píngguǒ, I don't like apples.)
Example: 你是王先生。 (nǐ shì Wáng xiānsheng, You are Mr. Wang.) becomes 你不是王先生。 (nǐ bù shì Wáng xiānsheng, You are not Mr. Wang.)
Example: 人可以去那儿。 (rén kěyǐ qù nàr, People can go there.) becomes 人不可以去那儿。 (rén bù kěyǐ qù nàr, People cannot go there.)
The only exception to that rule is when the verb of the sentence is 有 (yǒu, to have); in that case, use the word 没 (méi, not) instead of 不.
Example: 他有手机。 (tā yǒu shǒu jī, He has a phone.) becomes 他没有手机。 (tā méi yǒu shǒu jī, He doesn't have a phone.)
Example: 我有看那部电影。 (wǒ yǒu kàn nà bù diànyǐng, I have watched that movie.) becomes 我没有看那部电影。 (wǒ méi yǒu kàn nà bù diànyǐng, I haven't watched that movie.)
And that’s all you need to know about negation!
Yes-or-no questions
There are two different formats that you can use to form yes-or-no questions. The first one is extremely simple: simply add the word 吗 (ma, question particle) to the end of a statement.
Example: 你在这里工作。 (nǐ zài zhè lǐ gōngzuò, You work here.) becomes 你在这里工作吗？ (nǐ zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò ma, Do you work here?)
Example: 那是我。 (nà shì wǒ, That is me.) becomes 那是我吗？ (nà shì wǒ ma, Is that me?)
In most languages, the question mark would indicate a change in tonality, like a rise in pitch at the end of the sentence. Since Chinese is tonal, though, the tones are already determined by the words in the sentence, so that doesn’t happen. That’s why, when you’re listening to Chinese, it’s important to look out for words like 吗 that indicate that you’re hearing a question.
The other format for yes-or-no questions involves replacing the verb in the statement with the pattern [verb]不[verb], similar to the English phrase “Do you or do you not…”. This format is totally interchangeable with the 吗 format, but you should only use one or the other—not both.
Example: 你是中国人。 (nǐ shì zhōng guó rén, You are Chinese.) becomes 你是不是中国人？ (nǐ shì bù shì zhōngguó rén?, Are you Chinese?)
Example: 这个商店出售书。 (zhè ge shāng diàn chū shòu shū, This store sells books.) becomes 这个商店出售不出售书？ (zhè ge shāng diàn chū shòu bù chū shòu shū?, Does this store sell books?)
If the verb is 有, the pattern is 有没有 (yǒu méi yǒu), not 有不有.
Example: 你有铅笔。 (nǐ yǒu qiā bǐ, You have a pencil.) becomes 你有没有铅笔？ (nǐ yǒu méi yǒu qiān bǐ?, Do you have a pencil?)
Answering yes-or-no questions
When you’re answering a yes-or-no question, there are a few general words for yes and no that can be used:
- 是的 (shì de, yes)
- 是 (shì, yes)
- 不是 (bú shì, no)
- 不 (bù, not)
Another common way to answer “yes” is to repeat the verb from the question.
Example: “你喜欢这个吗？” (nǐ xǐ huān zhè ge ma?, Do you like this?) “喜欢。” (xǐ huān, Yes.)
To answer “no,” add 不 to the verb (or 没 for 有).
Example: “你喜欢这个吗？” (nǐ xǐ huān zhè ge ma?, Do you like this?) “不喜欢。” (bù xǐ huān, No.)
Example: “你有笔吗？” (nǐ yǒu bǐ ma?, Do you have a pen?) “没有。” (méi yǒu, No.)
Other questions
The two formats above are only for yes-or-no questions. Other questions are formed by taking a question word (listed below) and just inserting it into a statement. In English, forming one of these questions requires you to change the word order, but in Chinese, the word order is always the same as it would be in a Chinese statement.
The most useful question words are:
- 谁 (shéi, who)
- 什么 (shén me, what)
- 怎么 (zěn me, how)
- 哪里 (nǎ lǐ, where)
- 哪儿 (nǎr, where; interchangeable with 哪里)
- 哪个 (nǎ ge, which; or 哪 + any quantifier)
- 几个 (jǐ ge, how many; when expecting a one-digit number)
- 多少 (duō shǎo, how many/much; when expecting a multi-digit number)
- 为什么 (wèi shén me, why)
- 怎么样 (zěn me yàng, how is)
Example: 谁在敲门？ (shéi zài qiāo mén, Who is knocking on the door?)
Example: 你想做什么？ (nǐ xiǎng zuò shén me, What do you want to do?)
Example: 鸟怎么飞？ (niǎo zěnme fēi, How do birds fly?)
Example: 我的手机在哪里？ (wǒ de shǒu jī zài nǎlǐ, Where is my phone?)
Example: 我的手机在哪儿？ (wǒ de shǒu jī zài nǎr, Where is my phone?)
Example: 你喜欢哪件衬衫？ (nǐ xǐ huān nǎ jiàn chèn shān, Which shirt do you like?)
Example: 这里有几个人？ (zhè lǐ yǒu jǐ gè rén?, How many people are here?)
Example: 公司有多少钱？ (gōng sī yǒu duō shǎo qián?, How much money does the company have?)
Example: 他们为什么不来？ (tā men wèi shén me bù lái?, Why aren’t they coming?)
Example: 你怎么样？ (nǐ zěn me yàng?, How are you?)
Some of those last sentence structures may still be confusing, and that’s perfectly normal. In future lessons, you’ll learn more grammar concepts that will help these examples make more sense. For now, just remember that the words in Chinese questions are ordered just like they would be in a statement.