Saltar al contenido
HSK 2.0 Nivel 1+ HSK 3.0 Nivel 1+ 6 min de lectura

A-not-A Questions

Make compact yes-or-no questions like 好不好 and 去不去 without 吗.

Pattern

Verb/Adjective + 不 + Verb/Adjective？

Ask “is it or isn’t it?” by repeating the key word.

他是不是老师？

When to use A-not-A Questions

A-not-A questions present both possibilities inside the sentence. The repeated verb or adjective carries the yes-or-no meaning.

你有没有时间？

Do you have time?

我们现在去，好不好？

Let us go now, okay?

你去不去？

Are you going or not?

这个贵不贵？

Is this expensive?

Common traps

  • Do not add 吗 to an A-not-A question.
  • Use 有没有 rather than 有不有 in normal Mandarin.
  • Keep the repeated word close together.

Ejercicio dirigido

Practica exactamente este patrón antes de seguir.

他 老师？

Missing grammar piece
Significados
is it or not