QUESTION for FINISHED ACTION

 
 
_THIS IS A TESTING BETA VERSION OF THE SITE_
 
DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?

DID HE GO TO CHINA?

HAVE YOU BOUGHT A CAR?

DID HE TELL YOU?

To ask if something happened (or has happened), we use the construction 有没有 /yǒu-meiyou/

We don’t use this construction to ask what or when or where or how something happened

We don’t use 了 /le/

 

EXAMPLES

Did he tell you?
他 有 没有 给 你 说？
<Tā yǒuméiyǒu gěi nǐ shuō?>
Have you bought (any) fruits?
你 有 没有 买 水果？
Nǐ yǒu-meiyou mǎi shuǐguǒ?
Did you tell her?
你 有 没有 给 她 说？
<Nǐ yǒumeiyou gěi tā shuō?>
Have you bought a coke?
你 有 没有 买 可乐？
Nǐ yǒumeiyou mǎi kělè?

 

DID SOMETHING JUST HAPPEN?

DID YOU (JUST) EAT?

DID YOU (JUST) BUY A BOOK?

To ask whether something JUST HAPPENED, we use 了吗 /lema/ at the END of a sentence

 

EXAMPLES

Are you ready?
你 准备 好 了 吗？
Nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎo le ma?
BASIC ACT
Have you received (it)?
你 收到 了 吗？
Nǐ shōudào le ma?

 

WHAT HAPPENED?

WHAT DID YOU SAY?

WHAT DID YOU BUY?

To ask what happened, we ask question using a question word 什么 /shénme/

The question is a standard question just like in “present tense”, only with the difference that we put 了 /le/ behind the verb

 

EXAMPLES

What did you drink?
你 喝 了 什么？
Nǐ hē le shénme?
What fruits have you bought?
你 买 了 什么 水果？
Nǐ mǎi le shénme shuǐguǒ?
What stuff have you bought?
你 买 了 什么 东西？
Nǐ mǎile shénme dōngxi?
What clothes have you bought?
你 买 了 什么 衣服？
Nǐ mǎi le shénme yīfu?
什么 / WHAT?

 

When we already know that something happened and we want to know more (like WHEN or WHERE or BY WHO) something happened, we use the construction CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE EVENT 

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