Thursday 20 October 2011

Special Questions and Interrogative Pronouns


特殊疑问句与疑问代词
tèshū yíwènjù yú yíwèn dàicí



Author: Youxuan Wang
Date: 2011-10-14



Contents

What is special about the special question?

Unlike a general question which is intended to resolve an uncertainty, a special question is intended to secure a piece of specific information concerning, for instance:
  
·         the identity of a person: shuí ; nǎwèi 哪位
·         the location of an event: nǎr 哪儿
·         the time of an event: shéme shíhòu 什么时候
·         the purpose of an action: shénme yuányīn 什么原因
·         the method of a job: zěnme 怎么,rúhé 如何
·         the quantity of some objects: duōshao 多少, jǐ .

What is an interrogative pronoun?

An interrogative pronoun is a like a variable in a mathematical formula. As such it is not a term, but a placeholder in a formula yet to be occupied by a term. For example, in x + 2 = 5, x is not a number, but a placeholder where any real number can be filled in. If x is occupied by 3, we get a true statement: 3 + 2 = 5. If it is occupied by any other real number, we get a false statement.

An interrogative pronoun is used to generate an interrogative statement when the speaker intends to obtain a piece of specific information. For instance, if you want to turn x + 2 = 5 into a question, you might say:

            2加多少等于5Èr jiā duōshao děngyu wǔ? (What number plus 2 equals 5?)

In the above sentence, the interrogative pronoun ‘多少 is actually a placeholder like x in ‘x + 3 = 5’. The question ‘2加多少等于5?’ is answered correctly only when the place marked by ‘多少’ is occupied by the real number 3: 23等于5”(Èr jiā sān děngyu wǔ. Here, the real number is the specific information sought for in the question ‘2加多少等于5?’.

A list of interrogative pronouns

Int. Pr. Pinyin Meaning Sentence examples
shuí who; whom
A:  你们的老师是谁?
B:  我们的老师是王老师。
(Specific information: 王老师)
什么 shénme what
A: 你在学习什么?
B: 我在学习汉语。
(Specific information: 汉语)
which
A: 哪位是王老师?
B: 左边那位是王老师。
(Specific information: 左边那位)
哪儿 nǎr where
A: 你在哪儿学习汉语?
B: 我在北京学习汉语。
(Specific information: 北京)
什么时候 Shénme shíhòu whenwhat time
A: 现在是什么时候了?
B: 现在是中午了。
(Specific information: 中午)
how many/much
A: 你要买几斤苹果?
B: 我要买四斤苹果。
(Specific information: 四斤)
多少 duōshao
A: 多少钱一斤橘子?
B: 两块钱一斤橘子。
(Specific information: 两块)
怎么 zěnme how
A: 你怎么知道我在这儿?
B: 我问了你的妻子。
(Specific information: 我问了你的妻子。)
怎样 zěnyàng how
A: 怎样才能把声调学好?
     (How can I get my tones right?)
B: 要特别注意每个声调的调值。
     (You should pay particular attention to the pitch values of each tone.)
(Specific information: 要注意每个声调的调值。)
Note: Please concentrate on those which figure in our textbook.
  

Exercises

(i)                 My SlideShare. ‘Lessons 08-10’, slide 7. URL: <http://www.slideshare.net/eusonking/lessons-0810>
(ii)               Hanyu Jiaocheng, I-a, pp. 104-105.

Related articles

    - Alternative question
    - General question
    - Special question



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