Yes / No Questions in Mandarin

Why do people study Mandarin?

– it is easier than you think- no tenses, no genders, simple grammar!

– it is spoken by more than a billion people

– it will give you a huge advantage if you need to get into the Chinese job market

– it will enrich your understanding of China’s fascinating culture and history

– it will lower communication barriers between yourself and your Chinese coworkers

Simply add 吗 to the end of the statement to turn a statement into a question that has the answer Yes or No.

他会开车吗？ tā huì kāi chē ma ？

Can he drive?

Alternatively, you can repeat the verb (or the first verb in a phrase) in the negative form.

他会不会开车？tā huì bú huì kāi chē

Can he drive? (She can, can’t drive?)

When the verb is 有yǒu，the negative form is 没有méi yǒu。

你有钱吗？nǐ yǒu qián ma ？/你有没有钱？nǐ yǒu méi yǒu qián ？

Do you have any money?

To say yes, you can use the verb in the question or reply 是shì ，对duì ，没错 méi cuò .，

To say no, answer with 不bú+verb or 不是的bú shì de ，不对bú duì，错cuò.

Remember to sign up for a free Mandarin lesson with me, Sophie, by going to our Shop page. I can’t wait to meet you!

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