什么 , 哪儿 and (6, 7)

The question word 什么 shénme what does not have a fixed position in a question. It changes according to the position of the subject or the object of a sentence. In the following question 什么 shénme what refers to an object:

你吃

nĭ chī shénme

W hat are you eating? (lit. you eat what).

什么 shénme what can also refer to the subject of a question, as in

饭?

shénme rén chī zhōngguo fàn

What kind of people eat Chinese food ?

哪儿 năr where and shuí who are like 什么 shénme what can refer to the subject or the object of a question. The following question words are used as the objects of the questions:

你去 哪儿

nĭ qù năr

Where are you going? (lit. you are going where?)

你找

nĭ zhăo shuí

Who are you looking for? (lit. you are looking for whom).

The question words refer to the subjects of the following questions.

哪儿 图书馆 ?

năr shì túshūguăn ?

Where is the library?

shuí chī zhōngguuó fàn

W ho eats Chinese food?

If you listen to a question very carefully and remember its word order, it is easy to form an answer in Chinese, because the word order of an answer is the same as that of the question. If you use an appropriate noun or pronoun and replace the question word with an appropriate word, you will be your answer in Chinese. Take a question like

你去 哪儿

nĭ qù năr

Where are you going? (lit. you go where).

If your answer is the library, you just have to replace the pronoun you with I and replace the question word 哪儿 năr where with the word 图书馆 túishūguăn library . The answer is then

图书

wǒ qù túshūguăn

I am going to the library.

When forming a Chinese question, you should try to form the sentence pattern for the answer and replace the required information with a question word. For instance, 去图书馆 …qù túshūguăn ( someone) is going to the library . Replace "someone" with the question word shuí who and the question will be

图书 ?

shuí qù túshūguăn

W ho is going to the library?

If you have any questions about this explanation, please click here.

Assignments .

Translate the following sentences into Chinese (13, question words).

  1. What is this? What is that?
  2. What nationality is he?
  3. He is Chinese.
  4. Who is she?
  5. I don't know her. Do you?
  6. Where is my book?
  7. Your books is in my place.
  8. Who is using my dictionary?
  9. Could I use your dictionary for a little while?
  10. Please give me some tea.
  11. What kind of tea do you want, Chinese or English?