The Question Word 吗

[nathanuk88]

When do you use the question word 吗 in a sentence?

I am a little confused because in some questions you use it like in:

你好吗？

and some you dont like in :

你叫什么？

So when is the question word used???

[confucius]

吗 is generally used in "yes or no" questions.

The other example you gave is a "what" question (什么).

Ni mingbai ma?

[Quest]

Nathan （英文话）

--------

彭努泰（中文话名字）

You do not need 话 after 文. 文 denotes a language already

You should say 中文名字/英文名字.

[林彪]

When do you use the question word 吗 in a sentence?

I am a little confused because in some questions you use it like in:

你好吗？

and some you dont like in :

你叫什么？

So when is the question word used???

Every question has to have a question word. 吗 and 什么 are both question words. 吗 is used for "Yes or No" questions. The question "你叫什么？" is not a yes-or-no question, and the 什么 functions as the question word.

[889]

Every question has to have a question word.

对不对？Dui bu dui?

[Vellu]

Either a question word, or by forming a positive-negative question, such as used in the "dui bu dui" question.

The most common question would probably be:

Hao ma? and the alternative Hao bu hao?