Ch 2 · Lesson 38Mandarin · Chapter 2 · Lesson 38 · Grammar primer
呢 (ne) and 去不去: two more ways to ask
，？ bounces a question back: and you? And asks with the verb, and the verb again, never with as well.
The short version
，？Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
Why?Hide
Once a question has been asked and answered, (ne) sends it back without repeating it: (wǒ hěn hǎo), (nǐ ne)? I'm fine, and you? It cannot start a fresh yes-no question, which is the job of (ma). And (nǐ qù bu qù), verb + (bu) + verb, is already a question, so it never takes (ma) as well.
呢 (ne): the bounce-back
Once a question has been asked and answered, (ne) sends it back without repeating it:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
，？ | Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne? | I'm fine, and you? |
，？ | Wǒ bú qù, nǐ ne? | I'm not going. What about you? |
，？ | Wǒ yào zhège, nǐ ne? | I want this one. And you? |
- 。？
- 。
- ？
The waiter (3) asks with 吗 ma. She answers by echoing the verb, 要 yào, and bounces it on with 呢 ne; he echoes 要 too.
(ne) cannot make a yes-no question from nothing; that is (ma)'s job, and the two never swap. With no question on the table, (ne) after a person asks where they are:
明？(Xiǎo Míng ne?) - Where's Xiaoming?
A preview: the verb-not-verb question
The second way to ask: say the verb, then (bù), then the verb again. It means the same as (ma) and sounds a little more direct:
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
？ | Nǐ qù bu qù? | Are you going or not? |
明？ | Nǐ shì bu shì Xiǎo Míng? | Are you Xiaoming? |
？ | Hǎo bu hǎo? | Is that all right? |
The (bù) in the middle is light and toneless: shì bu shì. The pattern never takes (ma) as well, and it is answered with the same echo. The question words page covers it with (háishi), "A or B?".
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
？ | ？ | one question marker, not two |
明？ | 明？ | a fresh question takes (ma) |
。 to 你去吗 | 。 | echo the verb, not (shì) |
。 | 。 | (yǒu) never takes (bù) |
Going further: The whole system on one screen and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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Lesson 38 of 44 in this chapter