Mastering Questions in GCSE Chinese (Mandarin): Interrogatives Guide

Welcome to your complete revision guide for asking questions in Mandarin Chinese! Whether you are preparing for Foundation or Higher tier in your AQA GCSE Chinese (8673), interrogatives are essential. You will use them constantly in Paper 2 (Speaking role-plays and conversations), Paper 4 (Writing emails and letters), and need to understand them accurately in Paper 1 (Listening) and Paper 3 (Reading).

The great news about Chinese grammar is that word order stays natural. Unlike English, where you have to flip words around ("You are" becomes "Are you?") or add helper words like "do" or "does", Chinese sentence structures remain consistent. Let's break down each question type step by step!


1. Yes/No Questions with 吗 (嗎)

The simplest way to turn any normal statement into a yes/no question is by adding the question particle 吗 / 嗎 (ma) right at the end.

The Formula:

[Statement] + 吗 / 嗎？

Examples:

• Statement: 你是学生。 / 你是學生。 (You are a student.)
• Question: 你是学生吗？ / 你是學生嗎？ (Are you a student?)

• Statement: 他喜欢看电影。 / 他喜歡看電影。 (He likes watching films.)
• Question: 他喜欢看电影吗？ / 他喜歡看電影嗎？ (Does he like watching films?)

Quick Review:

Keep your statement exactly as it is, pop 吗 / 嗎 on the end, and you have built a perfect yes/no question!


2. Choice Questions: Affirmative-Negative (A-not-A)

Another very common way to ask a yes/no question in Chinese is to offer both the positive (affirmative) and negative options together. This is called the A-not-A structure.

The Formula:

[Verb / Adjective] + 不/没 + [Verb / Adjective]？

Examples:

• 你去不去？ (Are you going or not? / Are you going?)
• 这件衣服贵不贵？ / 這件衣服貴不貴？ (Is this piece of clothing expensive or not?)
• 你有没有钱？ / 你有沒有錢？ (Do you have money or not? / Do you have money?)

Top Examiner Tip: Never add 吗 / 嗎 to an A-not-A question! Saying 你去不去吗？ is incorrect because the choice structure already turns the sentence into a question.


3. Choice Questions with 还是 (還是)

When you want to offer two distinct alternatives to someone (e.g., "Option A or Option B?"), use the conjunction 还是 / 還是 (háishì).

The Formula:

[Option A] + 还是/還是 + [Option B]？

Examples:

• 你喝茶还是喝咖啡？ / 你喝茶還是喝咖啡？ (Do you drink tea or coffee?)
• 你想星期六去还是星期天去？ / 你想星期六去還是星期天去？ (Do you want to go on Saturday or Sunday?)

Crucial Pitfall: 还是 (還是) vs. 或者 (huòzhě)

In English, we use the word "or" for both statements and questions. In Chinese, there are two different words:
• 还是 / 還是: Used only in questions (e.g., Do you like cats or dogs?)
• 或者: Used only in declarative statements (e.g., I can go on Saturday or Sunday.)


4. Question Words (Interrogative Pronouns)

In English, question words like "what", "where", or "who" always jump to the very beginning of the sentence. In Chinese, question words follow the "Slot-In Rule": the question word sits in the exact same spot where the answer would go!

Core Foundation Question Words:

• 什么 / 什麼 (shénme) — What
Pattern: Subject + Verb + 什么？
Example: 你买什么？ / 你買什麼？ (What are you buying?)
Answer slot: 我买苹果。 / 我買蘋果。 (I am buying apples.)

• 谁 / 誰 (shéi / shuí) — Who / Whom
Example: 他是谁？ / 他是誰？ (Who is he?)
Example: 谁喜欢中文？ / 誰喜歡中文？ (Who likes Chinese?)

• 哪儿 / 哪兒 (nǎr) or 哪里 / 哪裡 (nǎlǐ) — Where
Example: 你在哪儿工作？ / 你在哪兒工作？ (Where do you work?)
Example: 火车站在哪里？ / 火車站在哪裡？ (Where is the train station?)

• 什么时候 / 什麼時候 (shénme shíhou) — When / What time
Example: 你什么时候回英国？ / 你什麼時候回英國？ (When do you return to the UK?)

• 为什么 / 為什麼 (wèishénme) — Why
Example: 你为什么学中文？ / 你為什麼學中文？ (Why do you study Chinese?)

• 怎么 / 怎麼 (zěnme) — How / In what manner
Example: 你怎么去学校？ / 你怎麼去學校？ (How do you go to school?)

• 怎么样 / 怎麼樣 (zěnmeyàng) — How is it? / What about?
Example: 今天天气怎么样？ / 今天天氣怎麼樣？ (How is the weather today?)

• 哪个 / 哪個 (nǎ ge) — Which / Which one
Example: 你喜欢哪个？ / 你喜歡哪個？ (Which one do you like?)

Asking About Numbers and Ages:

• 几 / 幾 (jǐ) — How many (for small numbers, usually under 10):
Always needs a measure word: 你有几本书？ / 你有幾本書？ (How many books do you have?)

• 多少 (duōshao) — How many / How much (for large numbers or prices):
Does not strictly require a measure word: 这个多少钱？ / 這個多少錢？ (How much money is this?)

• 几岁 / 幾歲 (jǐ suì) vs. 多大 (duō dà) — Asking age / size:
• 几岁 / 幾歲: Used for children or young people (e.g., 你弟弟几岁？ / How old is your younger brother?)
• 多大: Used for older people or general size (e.g., 你的学校多大？ / How big is your school?)


5. Tag Questions: 呢 (ne) and 吧 (ba)

The Bounce-Back Particle: 呢 (ne)

呢 is a handy shortcut particle used to bounce a question back to the other person, translating as "how about...?" or "and...?".

• Context: 我喜欢看电影，你呢？ / 我喜歡看電影，你呢？ (I like watching films, what about you?)
• Location shortcut (Noun + 呢): 我的手机呢？ / 我的手機呢？ (Where is my mobile phone?)

The Confirmation Particle: 吧 (ba)

When you are fairly confident about a fact and want gentle confirmation (like saying "..., right?" or "..., isn't it?"), place 吧 at the end of the sentence.

• Example: 你是英国人吧？ / 你是英國人吧？ (You are British, right?)
• Example: 明天没有课吧？ / 明天沒有課吧？ (There are no classes tomorrow, right?)


6. Higher Tier Interrogatives

A. Measurement and Distance Questions

For Higher tier, you need to ask about distances and durations of time with precision:

• 多远 / 多遠 (duō yuǎn) — How far
Pattern: A + 离/離 + B + 有多远？
Example: 你的家离学校有多远？ / 你的家離學校有多遠？ (How far is your home from school?)

• 多长时间 / 多長時間 (duō cháng shí jiān) or 多久 (duō jiǔ) — How long (duration)
Pattern: [Verb] + (了) + 多长时间 / 多久？
Example: 你学了多长时间的汉语？ / 你學了多長時間的漢語？ (How long have you studied Chinese?)
Example: 你在北京住多久？ (How long will you stay in Beijing?)

B. Indirect Questions (Embedded Clauses)

An indirect question is a question tucked inside a larger statement (e.g., "I don't know where he is"). In Mandarin, you simply place the question clause after verbs like 知道 (know), 想知道 (want to know), 问 / 問 (ask), or 告诉 / 告訴 (tell).

Key Rule: No word order change or auxiliary verb shifts are needed!

• Example 1: 我不知道他什么时候来。 / 我不知道他什麼時候來。 (I do not know when he is coming.)
• Example 2: 请告诉我火车站怎么走。 / 請告訴我火車站怎麼走。 (Please tell me how to get to the train station.)
• Example 3: 我想知道他去不去。 (I want to know whether he is going or not.)


7. Summary of Common Exam Mistakes to Avoid

1. Double Question Marking:
Do not mix 吗 / 嗎 with a question word. Once you have 什么, 谁, or 哪儿, the sentence is already a question!
• Incorrect: 你是谁吗？
• Correct: 你是谁？ / 你是誰？

2. Wrong Word Order (English Interference):
Do not drag question words to the front if they belong elsewhere.
• Incorrect: 什么你喜欢？
• Correct: 你喜欢什么？ / 你喜歡什麼？ (Subject + Verb + Question Word)

3. Mixing up 还是 (還是) and 或者:
Always use 还是 / 還是 when offering choices in a question, never 或者.
• Incorrect: 你想喝茶或者咖啡？
• Correct: 你想喝茶还是喝咖啡？ / 你想喝茶還是喝咖啡？

4. Omitting Measure Words with 几 (幾):
Remember that 几 / 幾 must always be paired with an appropriate measure word when counting nouns.
• Incorrect: 你有几人？
• Correct: 你有几个人？ / 你有幾個人？


Key Takeaway:

Keep your basic Chinese sentence structure (Subject + Time + Location + Verb + Object) in mind. To ask a question, either tag 吗 at the end, provide an A-not-A / 还是 choice, or simply slot the relevant question word directly into the spot of the missing information!