Yes / No Question Form

[Jamie]

Which is more common when asking a yes / no question?

1) Ni yao bu yao?

2) Ni yao ma?

I've heard the positive/negative form is the most common, but then heard otherwise from a different source. Are there times when a person would use one form over another?? Or is it just personal preference?

[benotnobody]

I'm certainly no authority no authority on this, but I personally use the modal particle 吗 more often than the positive/negative structure. Reason: it's quicker!

This is probably just another one of my half-baked theories, but to me, the positive/negative structure seems to be used a little more often in written Chinese.

[Lu]

In my grammar book, it says that 吗 is used a bit more often when expecting a negative answer, and 要不要 when expecting a positive answer. But mostly, they're interchangable.

[shichao]

i think it just personal preference. even i was a native speacker, i dont know the deferents.

[Altair]

The grammar book I trust the most says that either question form can be used for neutral questions, but only the "ma" form works when wants to confirm an expected "yes" or "no" answer.

According to this explanation, if you want to offer someone a beer, you could ask either "你喝不喝酒 (ni3 he1 bu he1 jiu3)? or 你喝酒吗 (ni3 he1 jiu3 ma)?" If a ten-year old overheard your offer and asked for a beer as well, you could only ask: 你真的喝酒吗 (ni3 zhen1 de he1 jiu3 ma)? You could not ask: 你真的喝不喝酒?

If what I say is correct, I would presume that the alternative form is slightly preferred for neutral questions, since it is unambiguous, and that the "ma" questions must be used for questions that are open-ended or expecting a specific answer. I would also guess that "ma" questions sound slightly less demanding and are therefore slightly more polite. Maybe there is also a connection with the supposed preference southern speakers have for ending "alternative" questions with the "a" particle to soften the force of a question.