Using question words in a non-interrogative way in Mandarin Chinese
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Interrogative pronouns outside questions
It is possible to use interrogative pronouns in a non-interrogative way, below you can see what meaning the words have if used in an interrogative way, and in a non-interrogative way:
- 谁 (shéi/shuí) - who? - somebody
- 什么 (shénme) - what? - something
- 为什么 (wèi shénme) - why? - for some reason
- 什么时候 (shénme shíhou) - when? - sometime
- 哪 (nǎ) - which? (singular) - something
- 哪些 (nǎxiē) - which? (plural) - something
- 哪儿/哪里 (nǎr/nǎli) - where? - there
- 干吗 (gànma) - why? - for some reason
- 怎么/怎么样 (zěnme/zěnmeyang) - how? - in some way
- 多少 (duōshao) - how many? - so many
- 几 (jī) - how many (under ten, requires measure particle)? - so many
Some examples:
- 我找谁? (wǒ zhǎo shéi?) - Who do I search?
- 我找谁 (wǒ zhǎo shéi) - I search somebody
- 我看见什么? (wǒ kànjiàn shénme?) - What do I see?
- 我看见什么 (wǒ kànjiàn shénme) - I see something
Transforming interrogative constructs to an every-construct
There are two particles that change the meaning of an interrogative pronoun, instead of having an interrogative meaning, the interrogative pronoun will function more like an adverb. These two particles are 都 (dōu) and 也 (yě). The latter can be used only in negated sentences and the former can be used in both.
Take a look at the following example, in negations 都 (dōu), can be replaced by 也 (yě).
- 谁都 (shéi dōu) - everybody
- 什么都 (shénme dōu) - everything
- 什么时候都 (shénme shíhou dōu) - always
- 哪里都 (nǎli dōu) - everywhere
- 怎么都 (zěnme dōu)- in every way
Note that in negations, the opposite is expressed: nobody instead of everybody etc...
- 谁都去北京 (shéi dōu qù běijīng) - Everybody goes to Beijing
- 谁都不去北京 (shéi dōu bú qù běijīng) - Nobody goes to Beijing
- 谁也不去北京 (shéi yě bú qù běijīng) - Nobody goes to Beijing
- 我看见什么都 (wǒ kànjiàn shénme dōu) - I see everything
- 我不看见什么都 (wǒ bú kànjiàn shénme dōu) - I don't see anything / I see nothing
- 我不看见什么也 (wǒ bú kànjiàn shénme yě) - I don't see anything / I see nothing
- 我什么时候都看见你 (wǒ shénme shíhou kànjiàn nǐ) - I always see you
- 我什么时候都不看见你 (wǒ shénme shíhou dōu bú kànjiàn nǐ) - I never see you
- 我什么时候也不看见你 (wǒ shénme shíhou yě bú kànjiàn nǐ) - I never see you
Interrogative pronouns in pairs
The chinese word for "so", 就 (jiù), can be used with interrogative pronouns in pairs, these pronouns will not be used interrogatively and are bound to eachother. An example will illustrate how to form such a construct and what its function is:
- 你看见什么, 就看见什么 (n kànjiàn shénme, jiù kànjiàn shénme) - Literal: you see [what], so you see [what] - You see whatever you (want to) see
- 你去哪里, 就去哪里 (nǐ qù nǎli, jiù qù nǎli) - Literal: you go [where], so you go [where] - You go whereever you (want to) go
- 你看见什么, 我也看见什么 (nǐ kànjiàn shénme, wǒ yě kànjiàn shénme) - Literal: you see [what], I also see [what] - You see what(ever) I see as well
- 你看见什么, 我看见什么 (nǐ kànjiàn shénme, wǒ kànjiàn shénme) - Literal: you see [what], I see [what] - You see what(ever) I see
- 你去哪里, 我也去哪里 (nǐ qù nǎli, wǒ yě qù nǎli) - Literal: you go [where], I also go [where] - You go where(ever) I go
The first two example make use of 就 (jiù), the last three don't, but note that the interrogative pronouns are also bound here. It is recommended to use the sentences with the 也(yě).
