Questions About the Modal Particle 呢

[Rainbow]

呢does not only appear in questions. When it does appear in questions, it usually follows
an elliptical sentence with the part that is understood being omitted. Therefore, it is only used in context
See 28.3 for more information.

（a）Asking the same question without repeating it
王：你在哪里工作？
wánɡ :　nǐ zài nǎlǐ ɡōnɡzuò?
李：在中国银行。你呢？（=你在哪里工作？）
lǐ :　zài zhōnɡɡuó yínhánɡ. Nǐ ne ?　(=Nǐ zài nǎlǐ ɡōnɡzuò?)
Wang: Where do you work?
Li: At the Bank of China. How about you? (Meaning: Where do you work?)

（b）Omitting the predicate
The predicate can be omitted from a question if it is understood.
八的一半是四，六的一半呢？（=六的一半是多少?）
bā de yíbàn shì sì ,　liù de yíbàn ne? (=Liù de yíbàn shì duōshǎo?)
Half of eight is four; what about half of six? (Meaning: What is half of six?)
老师：这个问题，李明、张力都会回答。王安，你呢？（-你会不会回答？）
lǎoshī :　zhèɡè wèntí, 　lǐ mínɡ、 　zhānɡ lì 、dūhuì huídá。 　Wánɡ ān， 　nǐ ne？ (=nǐ huìbùhuì huídá?)
Teacher: Both Li Ming and Zhang Li can answer this question. Wang An, how about you? (Meaning: Wang An> can you answer it?)

（c）Asking about ‘whereabouts’
When one does not see who or what one is expecting to see> 呢 is used to ask what happened to ?’ or ‘where did. go?’
It should be noted that sometimes this question is translated as ‘where is ?，However,
it is different from 在哪里？ which is a question about the <location> of something, not its
‘whereabouts*
(Situation: Mei Ying and her boyfriend are always seen together’ But today you have bumped into her in the cinema and her boyfriend is not with her.)
梅英，你一个人来看电影吗？你男朋友呢？
méi yīnɡ， 　nǐ yíɡè rén láikàn diànyǐnɡ ma? nǐ nánpénɡyǒu ne?
Mei Ying, you came to see the movie by yourself? Where is your boyfriend?
(=What happened to him?)
(Situation: You are back in a town you left years ago. You are standing in front of a shop which used to be your favourite coffee shop, but now ifs something else,)
咦，咖啡馆呢？（咦 is an interjection, indicating curiosity or pu2zlement)
yí ，　kāfēiɡuǎn ne?
Hey, where is the coffee shop? (What happened to the coffee shop? Where did the coffee shop go?)
To ask the physical location of someone or something, use 在哪里？
(Situation: You are new in town and you ask someone where the post office is.)

请问，邮局在哪里？’
qǐnɡwèn ，　yóujú zài nǎlǐ? Excuse me. Where is the post office?

Rainbow Chinesse Language Institute
http://irainbowconcept.com

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