tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1878830168064373468.post6646526461320711828..comments2023-05-28T19:44:29.977+10:00Comments on lozguistics: No No, No YesLaurenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10993910978427884412noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1878830168064373468.post-77836516832350354732009-10-27T17:30:17.981+11:002009-10-27T17:30:17.981+11:00So all you have to do to make a negative construct...So all you have to do to make a negative construction is put a bu in front of the verb? That's nice and uniform I guess - Nepali negatives change with the person, number and level of formality for some parts of the paradigm. Not as much fun...Laurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10993910978427884412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1878830168064373468.post-36078969776910814932009-10-27T12:42:19.709+11:002009-10-27T12:42:19.709+11:00That is correct! There is not yes or no in Mandari...That is correct! There is not yes or no in Mandarin. You can cheat and answer with "shi/bu shi", which mean "to be/not to be" if you don't know what the verb is, but that is usually reserved for ignorant laowei. Or you can say "dui", which means correct, but the negative form is not commonly used.<br />And as Hugh said, most questions are asked as verb not verb, e.g. "good not good", "hungry not hungry". so instead of yes you would answer "good/hungry", and instead of no you would answer "not good/not hungry".<br />There are a few variations of this, for example, there is another word for not/no, but that is only used with a very few particular verbs. You can also ask a question as you would in English, such as "are you hungry?", which would be "ni e ma?", and you would simply repeat the verb, "e" if you are hungry, or give the negative form, "bu e" if you are not hungry.<br />So there you go!Claire Gawnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10321278654314153011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1878830168064373468.post-30525698069254675812009-10-26T22:57:34.848+11:002009-10-26T22:57:34.848+11:00Can't say I know for sure, but Mandarin, and b...Can't say I know for sure, but Mandarin, and by induction many forms of Chinese? From what I remember being taught (albeit by my sister, almost ten years ago), is that there are common questions "hao bu hao?" and "yao bu yao?" which essentially mean "have/don't have?" and "want/don't want?". I can't remember which is want and which is have, to make matters worse. But the response is just the verb, or the negated verb.<br /><br />Of course, in Madarin, conjugation is far easier!Hughnoreply@blogger.com