是非问句 [shì fēi wèn jù] Yes/No Questions

Yes/No Questions are questions that require us to answer only “YES/NO.”

Form of Yes/No questions in Chinese
Affirmative (positive) Sentence + 吗?
But before we get started, please see the following details:

• Affirmative (positive) Sentence is a sentence that tell us about something is so.
• 吗 [ma] is a particle that we use to create question, especially Yes/No questions. Normally, we add this particle at the end of sentences.

Examples:

你是老师。
[Nǐ shì lǎo shī]
 You are a teacher.

你是老师吗？
[Nǐ shì lǎo shī ma?]
Are you a teacher?

是。
[shì]
Yes, I am.

不是。
[Bù shì]
No, I am not.

你的朋友很漂亮。
[Nǐ de péng yǒu hěn piào liang]
Your friend is so beautiful.

你的朋友很漂亮吗?
[Nǐ de péng yǒu hěn piào liang ma?]
Is your friend so beautiful?

漂亮。
[Piào liang]
Yes, she is.

不漂亮。
[Bù piào liang]
No, she is not.

今天的天气很热。
[Jīn tiān de tiānqì hěn rè]
Today, the weather is so hot.

今天的天气很热吗?
[Jīn tiān de tiān qì hěn rè ma?]
Is the weather so hot today?

他喜欢你。
[Tā xǐ huān nǐ]
He loves you.

他喜欢你吗?
[Tā xǐ huān nǐ ma?]
Does he love you?

喜欢。
[Xǐ huān]
Yes, he does.

不喜欢。
[Bù xǐ huān]
No, he does not.

你可以说英语。
[Nǐ kě yǐ shuō yīng yǔ]
You can speak English.

你可以说英语吗？
[Nǐ kě yǐ shuō yīng yǔ ma?]
Can you speak English?

可以。
[Kě yǐ]
Yes, I can.

不可以。
[Bù kě yǐ]
No, I cannot.

我去过美国。
[Wǒ qù guò měi guó]
I have been to USA.

你去过美国吗？
[Nǐ qù guò měi guó ma?]
Have you ever been to USA?

去过。
[Qù guò]
Yes, I have.

没去过/没有。
[Méi qù guò/Méiyǒu]
No, I have not.


Note: If Yes/No Questions formed by the aspect particle ”了”, the answer should be:
- Positive answer: Verb + 了
- Negative answer: 没 + verb/ 没有

Example:

你吃饭了吗？
[Nǐ chī fàn le ma?]
Have you eaten?

吃了。
[Hǎo le]e
Yes, I have.

没好/没有。
[Méi hǎo/Méiyǒu]
No, I have not.