The question particle 吗 (ma) is a very simple way to convert it into a "yes/no question," and beginners will learn not to use 吗 with other question words, because it's redundant. More advanced students, however, will note that 吗 has some more complicated structures that do involve combining it with question words in order to ask very specific types of confirming questions.

Contents

  1. Structure
  2. Examples
  3. See also
  4. Sources and further reading
    1. Books

Structure

You'll remember that this is the simple pattern for yes/no questions:

Statement + 吗 ？

If you embed a question that uses a question word instead of a statement, you can create a more complex kind of "confirming" 吗 (ma) question:

[Question-word Question] + 吗 ？

Examples of common question words include 什么 (shénme), 谁 (shéi), and 哪里 (nǎlǐ).

Examples

Note that the following examples typically contains some kind of "verb of understanding" such as 知道 (zhīdào),了解 (liǎojiě), 明白 (míngbai), 认识 (rènshi), etc. Then "吗" (ma) can still be added at the end of the question, turning it into a kind of confirmation. For example:

See also

Sources and further reading

Books