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？
它tāit
是不是shì bu shìis it or isn't it
在超市后边zài chāoshì hòubianbehind the supermarket
你去没去学校？
你nǐyou
去没去qù méi qùdid you go or not
学校xuéxiàoschool
这件衣服好看不好看？
这件衣服zhè jiàn yīfuthese clothes
好看不好看hǎokàn bu hǎokàngood-looking or not
In dialogue
他去哪儿了？你知道不知道？
我不知道
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？
我没去
去 + 没 + 去？
go + negation + go?
In the answer:
没 + verb
is used:
没去
这件衣服贵不贵？
不贵
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？
知道不知道？
去没去？
With an adjective
Adjective + 不 + adjective？
Examples:
好看不好看？
贵不贵？