Yes/No Questions with 吗

Chinese grammar · HSK 1 · 是非问句 · By Carson 木林森

Add 吗 to the end of any statement to form a yes/no question. No word order change needed!

吗 ma (question particle for "yes-no" questions) 用吗提问 yòng ma tí wèn

Forming questions:
- 你是学生。→ 你是学生吗？
- 他有书。→ 他有书吗？
- 她好。→ 她好吗？

Answering 吗 questions:

| Answer | Method | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Repeat the main verb | 是。/ 有。/ 好。 |
| No | 不 + verb | 不是。/ 没有。 |

Important: Chinese does not use a single word for 'yes' or 'no'. Echo the verb of the question.

Worked examples

Chinese	Pinyin	English	What it shows
你是老师吗？	Nǐ shì lǎo shī ma?	Are you a teacher?	Statement 你是老师 + 吗 = yes/no question. No word order change.
是，我是老师。	Shì, wǒ shì lǎo shī.	Yes, I am a teacher.	Affirmative: echo the verb 是.
不是，我是学生。	Bù shì, wǒ shì xué shēng.	No, I am a student.	Negative: 不是 = am not. Then give the correct information.
你吃饭了吗？	Nǐ chī fàn le ma?	Have you eaten?	了 marks completion. Adding 吗 asks about it. Answer: 吃了 / 没有.

Produce this pattern without stopping to think about it. GraphChinese drills Yes/No Questions with 吗 across 15 exercises and schedules the review that keeps it.

What this opens up

These patterns list Yes/No Questions with 吗 among their own prerequisites, so they become readable once this one holds.

Yes/No Questions with 吗 is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.

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