<!DOCTYPE html> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta name="generator" content= "HTML Tidy for HTML5 for Linux version 5.2.0" /> <title></title> </head> <body> <p>The particle 嘛 (ma) is a sentence-final particle identical in pronunciation to the simple <a href="Yes_-_no_questions_with_ma" title="wikilink">"yes/no question" particle 吗 (ma)</a> you learned back in the day, but with a rather different function. It can be used when the speaker feels what he is saying is obvious (from his point of view).</p> <h2 id="sentence-final-structure">Sentence-Final Structure</h2> <div class="jiegou"> <p>Statement + 嘛</p> </div> <h3 id="examples">Examples</h3> <div class="liju"> <ul> <li>你的 妹妹 很 漂亮 <em>嘛</em>。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ de mèimei hěn piàoliang <em>ma</em>.</span><span class="trans">Your sister is pretty.</span></li> <li>中国 人口 很 多 <em>嘛</em>。<span class="pinyin">Zhōngguó rénkǒu hěn duō <em>ma</em>.</span><span class="trans">The Chinese population is huge.</span></li> <li>美国人 很 开放 <em>嘛</em>。<span class="pinyin">Měiguó rén hěn kāifàng <em>ma</em>.</span><span class="trans">Americans are very open-minded.</span></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="topic-marking-structure">Topic-Marking Structure</h2> <p>An alternate form is:</p> <div class="jiegou"> <p>Topic + 嘛， + Statement</p> </div> <p>This basically allows the speaker to state the topic, then gather his thoughts before making a comment on it. In this pattern, the following comment may or may not be one the speaker feels is obvious.</p> <h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3> <div class="liju"> <ul> <li>大熊猫<em>嘛</em>，孩子们都很喜欢。<span class="pinyin">Dà xióngmāo <em>ma</em>, háizimen dōu hěn xǐhuan.</span><span class= "trans">Pandas. All children like them.</span></li> <li>男人 <em>嘛</em>，总是要喝点酒，抽点烟。<span class="pinyin">Nánrén <em>ma</em>, zǒng shì yào hē diǎn jiǔ, chōu diǎn yān.</span><span class="trans">Men. They're always going to drink and smoke.</span></li> </ul> </div> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li><a href="Yes-no_questions_with_"ma"" title= "wikilink">Yes-no questions with "ma"</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2> <h3 id="books">Books</h3> <ul> <li><a href= "Common_Chinese_Patterns_330_(%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E5%B8%B8%E7%94%A8%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F330%E4%BE%8B)" title="wikilink">Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例)</a> (pp. 225) <a href= "http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7802006473/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7802006473"> →buy</a> <a href= "http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B002ZNK7JE&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B002ZNK7JE"> →买</a></li> <li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_2,_Part_2" title= "wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2</a> (pp. 19) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276881/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0887276881"> →buy</a></li> <li><a href="Intermediate_Chinese_-_A_Grammar_and_Workbook" title= "wikilink">Intermediate Chinese - A Grammar and Workbook</a> (Unit 23) <a href= "http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415160391/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0415160391"> →buy</a></li> </ul> <h3 id="websites">Websites</h3> <ul> <li><a href= "http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2012/01/31/the-other-ma-on-a-bag/"> Three Simple Uses of the Other “Ma” on a Bag</a></li> </ul> <p><a href="Category:B1_grammar_points" title= "wikilink">Category:B1 grammar points</a> <a href= "Category:Particles" class="uri" title= "wikilink">Category:Particles</a></p> </body> </html>