City University of Hong Kong CLASS CLASS
Making Sense of Grammar
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asked Feb 28, 2021 in Questions about Chinese Grammar by Ariel (34,480 points) | 352 views

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了 in this type of question is sometimes represented by other characters with similar pronunciations, such as 咯 (lo) or 啰 (lo). Such a question is used to make inferences about a situation; therefore, an optional 那/那么 (nà/nàme: ‘in that case’) is frequently used.

李:那个女孩跟你很像,她是谁?

Lǐ:Nà gè nǚ hái gēn nǐ hěn xiàng,tā shì shuí ?

Li: That girl looks very much like you. Who is she?

王:我跟她同姓,可是她不是我姐姐。

Wáng:Wǒ gēn tā tóng xìng,kě shì tā bú shì wǒ jiě jiě 。

Wang: We have the same last name, but she is not my older sister.

李:那她是你妹妹//

Lǐ:Nà tā shì nǐ mèi mèi le/lo/lo

Li: Then (in that case) she must be your younger sister, isn’t she?

[1] Yip, P. C., Rimmington, D., Xiaoming, Z., & Henson, R. (2009). Basic Chinese: a grammar and workbook. Taylor & Francis.

answered Feb 28, 2021 by Ariel (34,480 points)

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