18.3 Yes-No Questions with the X-not-X Construction II (Action Verbs)

In Grammar and Vocabulary 4.4, we learned to use the X-not-X construction to form yes-no questions. So far, we have seen examples with stative verbs (e.g., 鍾意 zung1 ji3 ‘to like’), modal verbs (e.g., 識 sik1 ‘to know how to’) and the verb 係 hai6 (‘to be’).

In this lesson, we will see examples with action verbs. When we use the X-not-X construction to form a yes-no question with an action verb, the question can perform different functions, depending on the context. We will look at the first function below.

For the first function, the question asks whether someone usually does an activity or not (i.e., whether the person has the habit of doing the activity). It is like questions beginning with do you in English (e.g., Do you eat spicy food?). For this function, we usually end the question with the sentence particle 嘅 ge2 or 㗎 gaa3.

To answer the question, we can give a long answer or a short answer. We give a short answer more often.