Interrogative sentence
There are few types of interrogative sentences (疑问句) in Chinese. Let's look at each of them.
Tag questions with a “yes” or “no” answer
If a question can be answered “yes” or “no”, it is called a general question. It is constructed by adding the question particle 吗 
at the end of an affirmative sentence.
at the end of an affirmative sentence.Scheme
affirmative sentence
吗?
Examples
你是中国人吗？
Are you Chinese?
nǐ shì zhōngguó rén ma
你认识他吗？
Do you know him?
nǐ rènshí tā ma
“A 不/没 A” question
This question is made with both the affirmative and negative forms of the predicate. The predicate or “A” can be a verb or an adjective.
Pay attention
There is no 吗 at the end of these sentences.
This type of question has a more emphatic tone compared to a general question with the particle 吗.
“A不/没A” is mostly used in colloquial speech.
Scheme
subject
predicate
不/没
object
Examples
你认识不认识我妹妹？
Do you know my sister?
nǐ rènshi bú rènshi wǒ mèimei
琳娜有没有书？
Does Lina have a book?
línà yǒu méi yǒu shū
这个箱子重不重？
Is this box heavy?
zhè ge xiāngzi zhòng bú zhòng
When there is a two-syllable predicate, we can make a question using the pattern “A不AB” or “A没AB”.
Examples
你喜不喜欢？
Do you like it?
nǐ xǐ bù xǐhuan
你今天高不高兴？
Are you happy today?
nǐ jīntiān gāo bù gāoxìng
We cannot use this question form when the predicate is preceded by an adverb.
In this case, we should use the general question form with the particle 吗.
Examples
你也是老师吗？
Are you a teacher too?
nǐ yě shì lǎoshī ma
Specific interrogative words
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask a specific question. For example, there are such interrogative pronouns such as:
多少
哪
什么
哪
什么
In a sentence, interrogative pronouns take the place of the word to which the question is being asked.
Pay attention
In this type of interrogative sentences we don't use the particle 吗.
Examples
你喜欢喝什么？—— 我喜欢喝茶
What do you like to drink? — I like to drink tea
nǐ xǐhuān hē shénme — wǒ xǐhuan hē chá
你想买哪件裙子？—— 我想买这件裙子
Which skirt do you want to buy? — I want to buy this skirt
nǐ xiǎng mǎi nǎ jiàn qúnzi — wǒ xiǎng mǎi zhè jiàn qúnzi
“A or B” type of question
When we ask a question that offers two options to choose from, it is called an alternative question.
It is formed with the interrogative conjunction 还是 .
This interrogative conjunction can connect any part of a sentence — subjects, predicates or objects.
.
This interrogative conjunction can connect any part of a sentence — subjects, predicates or objects. Pay attention
We don’t use the particle 吗 at the end of these sentences.
Scheme
A
还是
B?
Examples
你喝茶还是咖啡？
Do you drink tea or coffee?
nǐ hē chá háishi kāfēi
要说还是写？
Should I speak or write?
yào shuō háishi xiě
If the question is asked about the object, the conjunction 还是 can be omitted.
In such cases we name both of the subjects in order. However we should repeat the predicate after the first and the second objects.
Pay attention
In colloquial speech, we emphasize the question using intonation.
Examples
他们星期五去，星期六去？
Will they go on Friday or Saturday?
tāmen xīngqīwǔ qù, xīngqīliù qù
今天上班你坐地铁，坐公交车？
Will you go by bus or by train to work today?
jīntiān shàngbān nǐ zuò dìtiě, zuò gōngjiāo chē
Tag question with 吗: “okay?”
This type of question is often used when the speaker wants the listener to make a positive or negative judgment about his suggestion, or to ask for permission from the listener:
….., 好吗？
….., 行吗？
….., 是吗？
….., 对吗？
….., 可以吗？
….., 行吗？
….., 是吗？
….., 对吗？
….., 可以吗？ Pay attention
With this type of question, you can soften the tone of a sentence and ask for confirmation.
Examples
我要借你的词典，可以吗？
I couldn't borrow your dictionary, could I?
wǒ yào jiè nǐ de cídiǎn, kěyǐ ma
你是王老师，是吗？
You're teacher Wang, aren't you?
nǐ shì wáng lǎoshī, shì ma
To form the answer we should use the same tag words as in the question but without 吗.
Examples
明天八点见，行吗？—— 行
See you tomorrow at eight, okay? — Okay
míngtiān bā diǎn jiàn, xíng ma — xíng
We also can form tag questions by repeating the predicate after the negative particle 不.
For example:
...对不对？
...好不好？
...好不好？ Examples
你没有跟他说，对不对？
You didn't tell him, right?
nǐ méiyǒu gēn tā shuō, duìbuduì
我去跟朋友见面，行不行？
I'm going to meet my friends, okay?
wǒ qù gēn péngyou jiànmiàn, xíngbuxíng