A-not-A Question Grammar

One common way to form a “yes or no” question sentence in Chinese is to use a verb (or adjective) plus its negative form. It is similar to when we say “Do you like this or not?” in English.  

There are 5 different A-not-A Question forms,

1. Verb + 不 + Verb

One of the most common A-not-A question forms. Simply repeat the ONE word verb twice and place a “不” in between.

For example,

是不是？

买不买？

来不来？

去不去？

 

2. Subj. + Verb + 不 + Verb + Obj.

If you would like to form a complete sentence, add the subject in the beginning and the object after A-not-A part.

For example,

你是不是王朋？

他去不去上班？

 

3. Adj. + 不 + Adj.

Another common form. Simply repeat the ONE word adjective twice and place a “不” in between.

For example,

难不难？

冷不冷？

累不累？

贵不贵？

 

4. Two-Character Verbs and Adjectives

Sometimes the verb or the adjective you would like to use is “two characters,”

like 喜欢, 漂亮. In this case, we usually put “不” after just the first character

and then put the two characters after that.

There is nothing wrong with putting the whole verb/adjective first and then repeat after 不.

(喜欢不喜欢 vs. 喜不喜欢) It is more common to use the abbreviated way.

For example,

喜不喜欢？

漂不漂亮？

好不好吃？

高不高兴？

 

5. Special case “有” with “没”

The word “有” is always negated with “没” (not “不”). So when you form a question sentence with “有”, use “有没有.”

For example,

他有没有女朋友？

你学校有没有中文课？

 

Simplified Chinese Version

 

Traditional Chinese Version