use of shénme

[etribe]

hi guys,

i was wondering if this sentence is grammatically correct:

Nǐ yǒu shénme Zhōngguó chá ma?

basically just wondering if you can use 'shénme' in this way to say 'any Chinese tea?'

thanks again

etribe

[Don_Horhe]

I don't know if it's correct from a prescriptivist standpoint, but you hear 什么 used like that all the time. Other frequently heard sentences of this type are "您需要什么吗？"and "你还有什么问题吗？".

[renzhe]

It sounds very colloquial, and you'd never write it like that, but it's ok.

[Glenn]

What would be the more formal version, then? 你有怎樣中國茶？

[dumdumdum]

a typical conversation in a teashop would be 'nin zhe'r you shenme cha?', or 'what types of tea you have here?'. usually its understood you are looking for chinese tea unless otherwise specified. its a chinese tea shop anyway.

and no, it doesnt mean 'any tea' here. 'shenme' + a noun usually demands some kind of classification of the noun.

shenme ren = who is that = require personal identification, address yourself.

shenme shi = whats the matter = require a description of the matter.

shenme shu = what kind of book = require further ID or description of the book.

shenme che = what type of vehicle/what model = classification of vehicle types, like bus, truck, sedan, or the make and model.

so 'shenme cha' here would imply you knew this is a chinese tea shop and there is tea. but you are looking for a catelogue or some recommendation from the shopkeeper.

if you want to know whether this shop sells tea leaves or not, it would be 'nin zhe'r mai/you cha'ye ma?' or 'do you sell/have tea (leaves) here?'

[dumdumdum]

What would be the more formal version, then? 你有怎樣中國茶？

err... nope, it actually sounded strange not formal, unless you have a '的' after '怎样', 你有怎么样的中国茶, (怎样 alone is usually 'how' instead of 'what'). like 'what type of chinese tea you have?', you'll need the 'of'. but this is strange too, though grammatically correct.

more commonly, it would be 您（这儿）有什么（中国）茶, usually understood its chinese tea so 'chinese' can be removed. and this is very informal. you‘ll have to refer to the usage of 什么 and 怎么. its quite tough for non-native.

[Shi Tong]

I think it sounds ok "do you have any Chinese tea?" yeah.. sure.

I'd think about using a few other little useful words to make the sentence sound better, one of my favorites is 种.. which means type(s)

So you could say "Nǐ yǒu 哪种nǎ​zhǒng​ Zhōngguó chá".. what type of Chinese tea(s) do you have? Or even, "Nǐ yǒu 卖 mài​哪种nǎ​zhǒng​ chá?" (what types of tea do you sell?).

These are maybe a little more specific and could be more useful, the answers being "we have these types of Chinese teas- x,y and z", and "We sell Chinese teas" at which point you could ask "哪种nǎ​zhǒng​"-- which types, and get the lists.

怎么样的 is pretty useful too I must say.