Answering: [xxx]在吗？ 没有，没在，不在

[davoosh]

Hello all,

A question came to me today and I realised I wasn't too sure of the answers...

If someone asks the question ．．．在吗？（你弟弟在吗？）　

What is the difference between answering: 没有／没在 and 不在。

My intuition tells me that it is similar to the verbal pattern of this:

不去　doesn't go, will not go

没去 didn't go, hasn't gone

so, 没在 would be something like 'he hasn't come (or more literally, 'been present), he didn't come; whereas 不在 is a simple statement without referring to aspect.

How would we say:

He wasn't in (at that time) - 他那个时候没在／不在

Thanks!

[anonymoose]

不在 is correct, regardless of whether it is in the past or present.

没在 is also said, but I suspect it is a more colloquial usage.

没有 could also be said for a past situation, but as with 没在, I suspect it is a more colloquial usage.

Perhaps a native speaker could confirm or otherwise.

[davoosh]

My main problem is that I have definitely heard it with a present-like meaning...

Someone asked '你弟弟在中国吗'　and the answer was '没在‘

I've heard stuff like ‘他来了吗‘　’没有　他没在‘　etc.

I was wondering what the exact nuance might be?

[大肚男]

as I understand it, you can generally use "没有“ to answer a question regarding if someone did something in the past, which is apparent by the 了 or 过 in the question.

This is similar to saying "I/he/they have not". This is addition to "没有“ meaning "don't have".

However, even if you want to ask if some WAS somewhere in the past, then you can add 了or 过， but you can tell that the question refers to the past from context, i.e. the use of 昨天 or 那天。

The answer to "他在吗” in the negative would be "不在".

Of course, this is all based on my limited experience with Chinese, so take it with a HUGE grain of salt.

[imron]

没在 is probably the most common response to this question that I would hear in Beijing/Hebei. People would rarely answer ...在吗? with 不在, and this is not talking about answering in the past, but talking about the current situation e.g. someone calls up the office on the phone and asks if such-and-such is there and the person who answered the phone answers 没在. I can't explain the grammar or reason behind it, but that's just what I noticed people would say.

[Michaelyus]

I agree that I hear 没在 more often than 不在. By my intuition, I think there may be a connection to the negation of 在 as indicating the "continuative"/"(durative) progressive" aspect, described on page 123 of Yip & Rimmington's Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar for "negative descriptive sentences":

没(有) méi(yǒu) is simply factual and objective while 不 bù implies a degree of intention

E.g. 昨天上午我没/不在打球。With this sentence, they point out that 没 makes it a descriptive sentence [defined as a sentence where the focus "is on the continuous action"], while 不 causes it to be expository [giving an explanation; states intention in the future and/or performing an action "out of habit, experience, or nature"].

I think the reason 没 is more common in this case is due to the nature of the verb 在 in this context; it's bound to be a continuous state when you're asking them about the current state of affairs, so a sentence describing that current state is the most appropriate. Whether the corollary (that 不 is less often used because it implies a habitual nature) is harder to ascertain - if it's something like 星期二他是不在的呢！then it's obvious, but I'm not sure whether 不在 alone can imply something like that.

[davoosh]

Thanks guys - confirmed my suspicions that 沒在 is indeed more common in Beijing (&North East). On a side note, is it possible to answer with 沒有 (meaning 沒有在)？

[davoosh]

I wonder if any native speakers can help us out with the nuance they feel these two phrases carry?

Also, what about the sentence:

他那個時候不在/沒在

Actually, come to think about it, what exactly is the difference between:

他（那個時候）不看/沒看（電視 or whatever）

Is it something like:

He wasn't watching TV at that time / He didn't used to watch TV (bu kan)

He didn't / hasn't watched TV (mei kan)

[shinewind]

Someone asked '你弟弟在中国吗'　and the answer was '没在‘ (I am sure you will hear "不在" as an answer)

I've heard stuff like ‘他来了吗‘　’没有　他没在‘　etc. (他没在is not an answer to“ 他来了吗”but a native speaker won’t have problem figuring out what’s going on )

I was wondering what the exact nuance might be?

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There is no such a thing as tense in Chinese so I would not say that either 没or不indicates past, present or future. But there’s nuance if you add a momentary verb to them.

1. 没+在= /不+在 （在is a durational action）
   
2. Nuance:
   

• 没+momentary verb indicates an action in the past, e.g., 我没去 should be “I did not go.”
  
• 不+momentary verb indicates an action in the future (say, an intention), e.g., 他不来should be “He will not come.”
  

You might ask what if we add a time to those sentences. It’s fine if you want to highlight that. For example: 我昨天没去。他后天不来。etc.

3.If you are translating English sentences into Chinese you HAVE TO note the specific time in order to make the meaning complete. Take your sentence “he wasn’t in” as example, it should be “他那时不在” instead of “他不在”.

4. 不+Verb can indicate different meanings whereas 没+verb only says that somebody didn’t do (like in No. 2):

• 我不吃肉:I don’t eat meat (a habit)
  
• 我不吃肉: I am not going to eat meat this time (maybe next time)
  
• 我没吃肉: I didn’t eat meat (the other day or whatever).
  

[hjb8796627]

不在is the correct answer.

Chinese usually don't use 没有to answer this question.

没在and不在 have the same meaning.But as our speaking habbit,we use 不在。