# 3 Asking questions with ‘what’ and ‘where’

Now have a go at Activity 3.

## Activity 3

Choose the correct Chinese translations for the English sentences below. Tick all that apply.

He is going to watch TV tomorrow evening.

Míngtiān tā wǎnshang kàn diànshì. 明天他晚上看电视.
Wǎnshang tā míngtiān kàn diànshì. 晚上他明天看电视.
Tā kàn diànshì míngtiān wǎnshang. 他看电视明天晚上.
Míngtiān wǎnshang tā kàn diànshì. 明天晚上他看电视.
Tā míngtiān wǎnshang kàn diànshì. 他明天晚上看电视.

What is he going to do tomorrow evening?

Tā míngtiān wǎnshang zuò shénme? 他明天晚上做什么?
Míngtiān wǎnshang tā zuò shénme? 明天晚上他做什么?
Míngtiān tā wǎnshang zuò shénme? 明天他晚上做什么?
Shénme tā míngtiān wǎnshang zuò? 什么他明天晚上做?
Tā míngtiān wǎnshang shénme zuò? 他明天晚上什么做?
Tā zuò shénme míngtiān wǎnshang ? 他做什么明天晚上?

Compare the following sentences and then answer the question that follows.

Tā míngtiān wǎnshang zuò shénme? 他明天晚上做什么?

Tā míngtiān wǎnshang kàn diànshì. 他明天晚上看电视.

Where does the question word shénme 什么 go in a question sentence?

The question word shénme 什么 replaces the answer diànshì 电视, and it occupies the same place as diànshì 电视. In the above question, shénme 什么 goes at the end of the question sentence as diànshì 电视 goes in the answer sentence. In the question sentence, the verb zuò 做 to do is used to replace the verb kàn 看 to watch in the answer sentence.
shénme 什么 like ‘what’ in English usually goes at the beginning of a question sentence.
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Choose the correct Chinese translations for the English sentences.

I am going to Bejing tomorrow.

Wǒ qù Běijīng míngtiān.我去北京明天.
Wǒ míngtiān qù Běijīng.我明天去北京.
Míngtiān wǒ qù Běijīng.明天我去北京.
Wǒ qù míngtiān Běijīng.我去明天北京.

Where are you going tomorrow?

Nǎr nǐ jīntiān míngtiān qù? 哪儿你今天明天去?
Nǐ míngtiān nǎr qù? 你明天哪儿去?
Nǐ míngtiān qù nǎr? 你明天去哪儿?
Nǐ qù nǎr míngtiān? 你去哪儿明天?
Míngtiān qù nǐ nǎr? 明天你去哪儿?

Compare the following two sentences and answer the question below.

Nǐ míngtiān qù nǎr? 你明天去哪儿?

Wǒ míngtiān qù Běijīng. 我明天去北京.

Where does the question word nǎr 哪儿 (‘where’) go in a question sentence?

Nǎr 哪儿 like ‘where’ in English usually goes at the beginning of a question sentence.
The question word Nǎr 哪儿 in the question sentence replaces the answer Běijīng 北京 in the answer sentence, and it goes at the same place as 北京. So nǎr 哪儿 goes at the end of the question sentence as Běijīng 北京 in the answer sentence.

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