誰(shuí)，什么時(shí)候，怎么，哪兒，什么?

Shéi, shén me shí hou, zěn me, nǎr, shén me?

Who, when, how, where, what?

These 5 basic question words are essential in Chinese. But how to use them correctly?

The trick is that in English, they usually appear at the beginning of a sentence. But in Chinese, they replace the part of a sentence we'd like to ask a question about, so the sentence becomes a question.

他下午打車去That's Mandarin上漢語(yǔ)課。
Tā xià wǔ dǎ chē qù TM shàng Hàn yǔ kè.
He goes to TM by taxi in the afternoon to have Chinese classes.

...and ask different questions about it. Pay attention to the place of the question word.

1. 誰(shuí)? Who?

If you want to ask a question about a person, use the question word 誰(shuí) (shéi), "who".

For example:

誰(shuí)下午打車去That's Mandarin上漢語(yǔ)課？
Shéi xià wǔ dǎ chē qù TM shàng Hàn yǔ kè?
Who takes the taxi to TM to have the Chinese classes in the afternoon?

2. 什么時(shí)候？When?

If you want to ask a question about time, use the question word 什么時(shí)候 (shén me shí hou), "when".

For example:

他什么時(shí)候打車去That's Mandarin上漢語(yǔ)課?
Tā shén me shí hou dǎ chē qù TM shàng Hàn yǔ kè?
When does he take a taxi to TM to have the Chinese classes?

3. 怎么? How?

If you want to ask about the way/method, use the question word 怎么 (zěn me), "how".

For example:

他下午怎么去That's Mandarin上漢語(yǔ)課?
Tā xià wǔ zěn me qù TM shàng Hàn yǔ kè?
How does he go to TM for his Chinese classes in the afternoon?

4. 哪兒? Where?

To ask about location, use the question word 哪兒 (nǎr), "where".

For example:

他下午打車去哪兒上漢語(yǔ)課?
Tā xià wǔ dǎ chē qù nǎr shàng Hàn yǔ kè?
Where does he go by taxi to have his Chinese classes in the afternoon?

5. 什么 What?

To ask about things, use the word 什么 (shén me), "what".

For example:

他下午打車去That's Mandarin做什么?
Tā xià wǔ dǎ chē qù TM zuò shén me?
What does he do at TM in the afternoon when he goes there by taxi?

Source: That's Mandarin
Editor: wanwan