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BeginnerYes-No Questions
How Spanish, English and Chinese form questions that can be answered with yes or no.
Compare languages
Yes-no questions (polar questions) seek confirmation or denial. English uses auxiliary inversion or rising intonation. Spanish uses rising intonation, inversion, or the tag verdad. Chinese adds the particle 吗 at the end of a statement or uses the affirmative-negative verb construction.
Overview
Yes-no questions expect a simple confirmation or denial. The three languages use fundamentally different strategies.
- English: Grammaticalized auxiliary inversion (Are you…?) or rising intonation for informal speech.
- Spanish: Flexible word order with obligatory question marks; intonation carries the primary interrogative force.
- Chinese: Dedicated particle 吗 transforms a statement into a question without changing word order.
English
English yes-no questions require auxiliary movement:
- With be/modals: Invert subject and auxiliary — Are you ready? Can she swim?
- With lexical verbs: Add do-support — Do you like coffee? Did he arrive?
- Intonation only: You’re coming? (rising pitch, no grammar change)
Negative questions carry a bias:
- Aren’t you coming? = I expected you to come
- Don’t you like it? = I thought you would like it
Spanish
Spanish yes-no questions have more flexibility:
- Intonation alone: ¿Tú vienes? (same word order as statement, rising intonation)
- Inversion: ¿Vienes tú? (verb-subject, more emphatic)
- With tags: ¿Vienes, verdad? / ¿Vienes, no?
- Negative: ¿No vienes? (assumes the negative)
Written Spanish requires ¿ at the start and ? at the end.
Chinese
Chinese has three distinct yes-no question strategies:
-
Particle 吗: Statement + 吗
- 你好吗？(How are you? / Are you well?)
- 你喜欢咖啡吗？(Do you like coffee?)
-
Affirmative-negative (A-not-A): Verb + 不 + verb
- 你来不来？(Are you coming or not?)
- 这个好不好？(Is this good or not?)
-
Intonation alone: Rising pitch on a statement (informal)
- 你来了？(You’ve come?)
- 吗 is never used with question words (什么, 谁, 哪里).
- A-not-A questions are more direct and expect a decisive answer.
- 是不是 can function as a general tag: 你是学生，是不是？
Answering yes-no questions
| Language | Positive | Negative | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Yes, I am / Yes, I do | No, I’m not / No, I don’t | Must match the auxiliary |
| Spanish | Sí / Sí, vengo | No / No, no vengo | Can repeat the verb for emphasis |
| Chinese | 是/对/好/嗯 | 不/没有 | Echo the verb or use generic particles |
Chinese answers often echo the main verb rather than using a generic yes/no:
- 你喜欢吗？喜欢。(Do you like it? Like.)
- 你饿不饿？不饿。(Are you hungry? Not hungry.)
Examples
Rising intonation only
¿Tú vienes? (informal, common)
Inversion / auxiliary change
¿Vienes tú? (subject-verb inversion)
Question particle
No dedicated particle
Affirmative-negative form
No
Tag question
¿Vienes, verdad/no?
Negative question bias
¿No vienes? (negative assumption)
Examples
Rising intonation only
You're coming? (informal)
Inversion / auxiliary change
Are you coming? (auxiliary before subject)
Question particle
No dedicated particle
Affirmative-negative form
No
Tag question
You're coming, aren't you?
Negative question bias
Aren't you coming? (surprise/expectation)
Examples
Rising intonation only
你来？ (informal, context-dependent)
Inversion / auxiliary change
N/A (no inversion)
Question particle
你来吗？ (particle 吗)
Affirmative-negative form
你来不来？ (verb + 不 + verb)
Tag question
你来，是不是？
Negative question bias
你不来吗？ (neutral or surprise)
Comparison at a glance
| Grammar concepts | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising intonation only | ¿Tú vienes? (informal, common) | You're coming? (informal) | 你来？ (informal, context-dependent) |
| Inversion / auxiliary change | ¿Vienes tú? (subject-verb inversion) | Are you coming? (auxiliary before subject) | N/A (no inversion) |
| Question particle | No dedicated particle | No dedicated particle | 你来吗？ (particle 吗) |
| Affirmative-negative form | No | No | 你来不来？ (verb + 不 + verb) |
| Tag question | ¿Vienes, verdad/no? | You're coming, aren't you? | 你来，是不是？ |
| Negative question bias | ¿No vienes? (negative assumption) | Aren't you coming? (surprise/expectation) | 你不来吗？ (neutral or surprise) |
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Side-by-side comparison
| Grammar concepts | Spanish | English | Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rising intonation only | ¿Tú vienes? (informal, common) | You're coming? (informal) | 你来？ (informal, context-dependent) |
| Inversion / auxiliary change | ¿Vienes tú? (subject-verb inversion) | Are you coming? (auxiliary before subject) | N/A (no inversion) |
| Question particle | No dedicated particle | No dedicated particle | 你来吗？ (particle 吗) |
| Affirmative-negative form | No | No | 你来不来？ (verb + 不 + verb) |
| Tag question | ¿Vienes, verdad/no? | You're coming, aren't you? | 你来，是不是？ |
| Negative question bias | ¿No vienes? (negative assumption) | Aren't you coming? (surprise/expectation) | 你不来吗？ (neutral or surprise) |
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Examples in context
Rising intonation only
Spanish
¿Tú vienes? (informal, common)
English
You're coming? (informal)
Chinese
你来？ (informal, context-dependent)
Inversion / auxiliary change
Spanish
¿Vienes tú? (subject-verb inversion)
English
Are you coming? (auxiliary before subject)
Chinese
N/A (no inversion)
Question particle
Spanish
No dedicated particle
English
No dedicated particle
Chinese
你来吗？ (particle 吗)
Affirmative-negative form
Spanish
No
English
No
Chinese
你来不来？ (verb + 不 + verb)
Tag question
Spanish
¿Vienes, verdad/no?
English
You're coming, aren't you?
Chinese
你来，是不是？
Negative question bias
Spanish
¿No vienes? (negative assumption)
English
Aren't you coming? (surprise/expectation)
Chinese
你不来吗？ (neutral or surprise)
Select at least one language to view comparisons
Key Takeaways
Spanish: Flexible word order with obligatory question marks; intonation carries the primary interrogative force.
English: Grammaticalized auxiliary inversion (Are you...?) or rising intonation for informal speech.
Chinese: Dedicated particle 吗ma transforms a statement into a question without changing word order.
Key concepts compared: Rising intonation only, Inversion / auxiliary change, Question particle.
Last updated: June 4, 2026