Free Online Mandarin Chinese Self-Study Textbook

Lesson 11

Lesson 12

Lesson 13

Lesson 14

Lesson 15

Lesson 16

Lesson 17

Lesson 18

Lesson 19

Lesson 20

Lesson 21

Lesson 22

Lesson 23

Lesson 24

Lesson 25

In the tenth lesson we will learn a new interrogative form, called the affirmative-negative form. This form has the following pattern:

verb not verb - 是不是

attributive not attributive - 累不累，忙不忙

If this sounds complex, it isn't, we swear. We'll take a look at some concrete examples here in a second.

First, we want to explain both the nuances and use of this form. For starters, it is a bit more conversational than the ...吗？form; secondly, it is a bit more rhetorical, meaning that the person giving the question in the affirmative-negative form usually expects one answer or the other (or is even upset, see below).

10.01 Question forms with comparison

你是老师吗？
Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?
Are you a teacher? 你是不是老师？
Nǐ shì bú shì lǎoshī?
Are you a teacher?

她是日本人吗
Tā shì Rìběnrén ma?
Is she Japanese? 她是不是日本人？
Tā shì bú shì Rìběnrén?
Is she Japanese?

张老师是青岛人吗？
Zhāng lǎoshī shì Qīngdǎorén
ma?
Is Teacher Zhang from Qingdao? 张老师是不是青岛人？
Zhāng lǎoshī shì bú shì
Qīngdǎorén?
Is Teacher Zhang from Qingdao?

10.02 Not everyone is an American!

A: 你是不是美国人？
Nǐ shì bú shì Měiguórén?

大卫: 不是，我是英国人。
Bú shì, wǒ shì Yīngguórén.

A: 你是不是老师？
Nǐ shì bú shì lǎoshī?

大卫: 不是，我是商人。
Bú shì, wǒ shì shāngrén.

10.03 Affirmative-negative form with attributives

李小姐忙吗? Lǐ xiǎojiě máng ma? Is Ms. Lee busy?	李小姐忙不忙? Lǐ xiǎojiě máng bù máng? Is Ms. Lee busy?
他累吗? Tā lèi ma? Is he tired?	他累不累? Tā lèi bú lèi? Is he tired?
你饿了吗? Nǐ è le ma? Are you hungry?	你饿不饿? Nǐ è bú è? Are you hungry?
孩子渴了马? Háizi kě le ma? Is the child thirsty?	孩子渴不渴? Háizi kě bù kě? Is the child thirsty?

10.04 Is China good or not good?

A:	你是哪国人？ Nǐ shì nǎ guórén?
李智慧:	我是韩国人。 Wǒ shì Hánguórén.
A:	你是留学生吗？ Nǐ shì liúxuéshēng ma?
李智慧:	是，我是留学生。 Shì, wǒ shì liúxuéshēng.
A:	中国好不好？ Zhōngguó hǎo bù hǎo?
李智慧:	很好！ Hěn hǎo!

10.05 Are you or aren't you a man?

你是不是男人？ Nǐ shì bú shì nánrén？	Are you or aren't you a man?
你是不是女人？ Nǐ shì bú shì nǚrén？	Are you or aren't you a woman?
你是不是老师？ Nǐ shì bú shì lǎoshī？	Are you or aren't you a teacher?

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