babygodzilla Posted July 13, 2005 at 03:40 AM Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 at 03:40 AM Sorry I wont be putting the tones cause i dont have em memorized. so 2 sentences: 1) Is she Chinese? Ta shi Zhongguoren ma? 2) Is she Chinese or American? Ta shi Zhongguoren, haishi Meiguoren? Why does #2 does not use "ma"? I'm confused as when to use "ma" and when not to. Hope the question is clear. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
盤古 Posted July 13, 2005 at 03:55 AM Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 at 03:55 AM Sorry I wont be putting the tones cause i dont have em memorized.so 2 sentences: 1) Is she Chinese? Ta shi Zhongguoren ma? 2) Is she Chinese or American? Ta shi Zhongguoren' date=' haishi Meiguoren? Why does #2 does not use "ma"? I'm confused as when to use "ma" and when not to. Hope the question is clear. Thanks![/quote']When you type Hanyu Pinyin in the standard way like you did, you don't really need tones as it's easier to read than if someone typed it "syllable-by-syllable". The reason why the second sentence doesn't use "ma" is because the person responding to the question is given a choice (Chinese or American). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Song You Shen Posted July 13, 2005 at 04:28 AM Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 at 04:28 AM You only use "Ma" when you are asking a "yes or no" type of question. There are 3 types of questions that people ask.... 1) "yes or no" questions 2) "wh-" questions. ("Wh-" questions are questions that use "What, where, when why, etc.") 3) Multiple choice questions. Hope this helps. Youshen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 13, 2005 at 06:27 AM Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 at 06:27 AM So how does one differentiate a statement from a question in the second format? For instance, would you say "he's either at home or at work," and "is he at home or at work?" the same way, or is there some difference in the structure (like the use or lack thereof of the word "either" in the English versions)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beirne Posted July 13, 2005 at 10:59 AM Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 at 10:59 AM So how does one differentiate a statement from a question in the second format? For instance, would you say "he's either at home or at work," and "is he at home or at work?" the same way, or is there some difference in the structure (like the use or lack thereof of the word "either" in the English versions)? The word for "or" is different in the two cases. Haishi is used for questions and huozhe is used for statements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babygodzilla Posted July 13, 2005 at 04:50 PM Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 at 04:50 PM thanks for your replies. i think i understand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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