MANDARIN SENTENCE PATTERN

Yes/no questions with 吗

Turn a statement into a question without reversing its word order.

Statement + 吗 (ma) + ？

Add the neutral-tone particle 吗 at the end of a statement to ask a yes/no question. Keep the word order of the statement.

Answers often repeat the relevant verb or adjective rather than using a single universal word for yes.

Examples

你是老师吗？

Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?

Are you a teacher?

你喝茶吗？

Nǐ hē chá ma?

Do you drink tea?

是，我是老师。

Shì, wǒ shì lǎoshī.

Yes, I am a teacher.

Do not normally add 吗 to questions already using a question word such as 什么.