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Mythic Mandarin

Questions with 吗 and your name with 叫

Chinese Foundations · Lesson 6 of 11 · About 15 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can ask and answer yes-no questions with 吗 and say your name with 我叫.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Grammar

    Quick recall: how do you say I am not a student?

    1. 我不是学生。
    2. 我是不学生。
    3. 我学生不是。
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 我不是学生。.

    我不是学生。 不 comes right before 是.

New words

  • 吗ma(turns a statement into a yes-no question)
  • 叫jiàoto be called

Turn a statement into a question with 吗

Add 吗 (ma, neutral tone) to the end of a statement and it becomes a yes-no question. Nothing else moves.

  • 你是学生。

    Nǐ shì xuésheng.

    You are a student.

  • 你是学生吗？

    Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?

    Are you a student?

  • 他是老师吗？

    Tā shì lǎoshī ma?

    Is he a teacher?

Chinese has no all-purpose yes or no. Answer with the verb: 是 for yes, 不是 for no, then add the full sentence if you like.

  • 是，我是学生。

    Shì, wǒ shì xuésheng.

    Yes, I am a student.

  • 不是，我是老师。

    Bú shì, wǒ shì lǎoshī.

    No, I am a teacher.

  • Not: 你是吗学生？

    But: 你是学生吗？ Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?

    吗 always goes at the very end of the sentence.

Say your name with 叫

叫 (jiào) means to be called. 我叫李明 is my name is Li Ming, literally I am called Li Ming. Chinese names put the family name first: 李 is Li Ming's family name.

  • 我叫安娜。

    Wǒ jiào Ānnà.

    My name is Anna.

  • 他叫李明。

    Tā jiào Lǐ Míng.

    His name is Li Ming.

Are you a teacher?

Anna meets David at the language café.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

  1. Listening

    Listen first. What is David?

    1. a teacher
    2. a student
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, a student.

    大卫 answers 是，我是学生: yes, he is a student.

  2. Listening

    What does David ask Anna?

    1. her name
    2. if she is a teacher
    3. if she is a student
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, if she is a teacher.

    大卫 asks 你是老师吗？: are you a teacher?

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 安娜

    你好Nǐ hǎo！我wǒ叫jiào安娜Ānnà。

    Hello! My name is Anna.

  2. 大卫

    你好Nǐ hǎo！我wǒ叫jiào大卫Dàwèi。你Nǐ是shì老师lǎoshī吗ma？

    Hello! My name is David. Are you a teacher?

  3. 安娜

    是Shì，我wǒ是shì老师lǎoshī。你Nǐ是shì学生xuésheng吗ma？

    Yes, I'm a teacher. Are you a student?

  4. 大卫

    是Shì，我wǒ是shì学生xuésheng。

    Yes, I'm a student.

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 你是学生吗？

    Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?

    Are you a student?

  • 是，我是学生。

    Shì, wǒ shì xuésheng.

    Yes, I am a student.

  • 我叫大卫。

    Wǒ jiào Dàwèi.

    My name is David.

Practice

  1. Fill the gap

    Make it a question: Are you a teacher?

    你是老师＿？

    1. 是
    2. 吗
    3. 不
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 吗.

    你是老师吗？ 吗 at the end makes a yes-no question.

  2. Word order

    Build the question: Is she a student?

    • 学生
    • 吗
    • 她
    • 是
    Show the answer

    她是学生吗 Tā shì xuésheng ma?

    Is she a student?

    Statement order (她是学生), then 吗 at the end.

  3. In context

    Someone asks 你是老师吗？ You are not a teacher. Which answer works?

    1. 不是，我是学生。
    2. 不，我老师。
    3. 是，我不是老师。
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 不是，我是学生。.

    不是，我是学生。 Answer with the verb: 不是 for no, then say what you are.

  4. Your turn

    Someone asks 你是学生吗？ and you are a student. Type the one-word answer in pinyin.

    Show the answer

    Answer: shì

    Answer yes with the verb: 是 (shì).

  5. Meaning

    What does 我叫安娜 mean?

    1. I call Anna.
    2. My name is Anna.
    3. I am Anna's teacher.
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, My name is Anna..

    叫 (jiào) is to be called: 我叫安娜, my name is Anna.

  6. Listening

    Listen. Is it a question or a statement?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    他是老师吗？ Tā shì lǎoshī ma?

    1. A statement: he is a teacher.
    2. A question: is he a teacher?
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, A question: is he a teacher?.

    You heard 吗 at the end: 他是老师吗？ is a question.

Your mission: ask a real question

Ask someone a question in Chinese: a friend, a classmate, or yourself out loud.

  1. Say your name: 我叫 + your name.
  2. Ask 你是学生吗？ or 你是老师吗？
  3. Answer the same question about yourself with 是 or 不是.
  4. Record the question and your answer.

Sentence frames

  • 我叫＿＿。

    Wǒ jiào ＿＿.

    My name is ...

  • 你是学生吗？

    Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?

    Are you a student?

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I can turn a statement into a question with 吗.
  • I answer yes-no questions with 是 or 不是.
  • I can say my name with 我叫.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: Numbers from zero to ninety-nine