Affirmative-negative questions
A 正反问 (zhèngfǎnwèn) forms a question by placing the affirmative and the negative of a verb or adjective one after the other.
The pattern:
X + 不 / 没 + X？
Here X may be a verb or an adjective.
With a verb
With a verb the form is usually:
Verb + 不 / 没 + verb？
— that shape.
With an adjective
With an adjective:
Adjective + 不 + adjective？
With an adjective it is 不, never 没.
它是不是在超市后边？
Is it behind the supermarket or not?
Structure
是 + 不是
is + is not
它it
是不是is it or isn't it
在超市后边behind the supermarket
你去没去学校？
Did you go to school or not?
Structure
去 + 没 + 去
go + negation + go
你you
去没去did you go or not
学校school
这件衣服好看不好看？
Do these clothes look good or not?
Structure
好看 + 不 + 好看
good-looking + not + good-looking
这件衣服these clothes
好看不好看good-looking or not
In dialogue
他去哪儿了？你知道不知道？
Where did he go? Do you know or not?
我不知道。
I don't know.
Structure
知道 + 不 + 知道？
know + negation + know?
Here 知道不知道？ means “do you know or not?”.
昨天你去没去书店？
Did you go to the bookstore yesterday or not?
我没去。
I didn't go.
Structure
去 + 没 + 去？
go + negation + go?
In the answer:
没 + verb
is used:
没去
didn't go
这件衣服贵不贵？
Are these clothes expensive or not?
不贵。
Not expensive.
Structure
贵 + 不 + 贵？
expensive + not + expensive?
贵 is an adjective, so 不 is used.
The rule in short
With a verb
Verb + 不 / 没 + verb？
Examples:
是不是？
is it or isn't it?
知道不知道？
do you know or not?
去没去？
did you go or not?
With an adjective
Adjective + 不 + adjective？
Examples:
好看不好看？
good-looking or not?
贵不贵？
expensive or not?