Yes/No Questions
A-not-A questions and 呀 particle
I can ask and answer yes/no questions.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
你食唔食飯？
Do you eat rice? / Are you eating?
你係唔係香港人？
Are you from Hong Kong?
你有冇帶遮？
Did you bring an umbrella?
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
A-not-A Questions (Preferred)
The most natural way to ask yes/no questions in Cantonese is the A-not-A pattern — repeat the verb in positive and negative form:
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| V + 唔 + V | 你去唔去？(Are you going?) |
| 有冇 + V | 你有冇食飯？(Have you eaten?) |
| 係唔係 | 你係唔係學生？(Are you a student?) |
Particle Questions
Adding 呀 aa3 at the end also works (less common but simpler):
你去呀？(You're going?) — rising intonation + 呀.
Inverting word order like English. Forgetting A-not-A pattern.
你食唔食飯？
Do you eat rice? / Are you eating?
食唔食 — A-not-A pattern with verb 食. Answer: 食 (yes) or 唔食 (no).
你係唔係香港人？
Are you from Hong Kong?
係唔係 — A-not-A with copula 係. Very common for identity questions.
你有冇帶遮？
Did you bring an umbrella?
有冇 — special A-not-A form for 有. Used for past completed actions too.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises