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Simple rhetorical questions

吗

Grammar
HSK 3

Structure

不是……吗？ 能……吗？ 怎么会……？ 谁让你……？

Translations

  • who
  • why
  • how

Definition

简单反问句是一种不期望得到回答的疑问句，用来表达强调、否定、惊讶或反诘的语气。

Simple rhetorical questions are interrogative sentences that do not expect an answer, used to express emphasis, negation, surprise, or retort.

Usage

使用反问句时，通常用否定形式表达肯定意义，或用肯定形式表达否定意义。常见的句式有“难道...吗？”“怎么能...呢？”“不是吗？”等。语调通常上扬。

When using rhetorical questions, the negative form often expresses an affirmative meaning, or the affirmative form expresses a negative meaning. Common patterns include '难道...吗？' (Isn't it...?), '怎么能...呢？' (How could...?), '不是吗？' (Isn't it?), etc. The intonation usually rises.

Examples

  • 1 这难道不是你的责任吗？(Isn't this your responsibility?)
  • 2 你怎么能这样做呢？(How could you do this?)
  • 3 他难道不知道现在是几点吗？(Doesn't he know what time it is?)
  • 4 你难道不觉得累吗？(Don't you feel tired?)
  • 5 这不是很明显吗？(Isn't this obvious?)

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