HSK 2
用“是不是”提问
yòng “ shì bu shì ” tí wèn
Using "是不是" to form questions
Explanation
是不是 (shì bú shì) is a way of forming a confirmation question, equivalent to "right? / is it true that… ?" in English.
There are 3 positions for it — (a) end of the sentence: sentence + 是不是？ ; (b) start of the sentence: 是不是 + sentence？ ; (c) after the subject (the doer, placed at the start of the sentence): Subject + 是不是 + rest？ For example 你是不是有很多中国朋友？
When the speaker HAS already guessed part of it and wants to confirm to be sure. Answer with 是 (shì) (yes) or 不是 (bú shì) (no).
是不是 is used to confirm a guess (already leaning toward "yes"), different from 吗 (ma) (which just asks neutrally, with no prior guess). This is a type of affirmative-negative question (a question that pairs affirmative and negative).
Vietnamese learners often add 吗 (ma) at the end of a sentence that already has 是不是 (wrong: 是不是…吗？) — these two question forms are not used together in one sentence.
Examples
You're going to the gym to play ball, right?
Was it you who took my pen?
Do you have a lot of Chinese friends?
Practice
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Learn “用“是不是”提问” effectively
The grammar point “用“是不是”提问” (Using "是不是" to form questions) is one of the key structures at HSK 2. To use it fluently, you need to understand the contexts where it's used and practice regularly.
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