Yes/No Questions with 敢 (kám)

01

敢 With Other Markers

敢 (kámkámkam2) sits before whatever comes first in the verb phrase, so it lands in front of 有 (ūūu7), a modal, or a full verb alike.

• 你敢有破病？

  lí kám ū phuà-pēnnlí kám ū phòa-pēⁿli2 kam2 u7 phua3-penn7

  Are you sick?

• 你敢會當看著我？

  lí kám ē-tàng khuànn --tio̍h guálí kám ē-tàng khoàⁿ --tio̍h góali2 kam2 e7-tang3 khuann3 --tioh8 gua2

  Can you see me?

• 你敢開門矣？

  lí kám khui-mn̂g --ahlí kám khui-mn̂g --ahli2 kam2 khui1-mng5 --ah4

  Have you opened the door?

• 你敢愛啥？

  lí kám ài siánnlí kám ài siáⁿli2 kam2 ai3 siann2

  Do you want anything?

It can also stand in front of a whole predicate that has no verb of its own, such as a measurement or an amount.

• 這个敢有夠大？

  tsit ê kám ū kàu tuāchit ê kám ū kàu tōatsit4 e5 kam2 u7 kau3 tua7

  Is this one big enough?

02

Answering

There is no word for yes or no. You answer by echoing the verb that was questioned: 有 (ūūu7) / 無 (bôbôbo5) for a question with 有 (ūūu7), 是 (sīsīsi7) / 毋是 (m̄-sīm̄-sīm7-si7) for one with 是 (sīsīsi7), and the modal itself for a question with 會當 (ē-tàngē-tànge7-tang3). This is worth practising, because answering with a bare word the way English uses yes will simply not work.

03

敢 or Sentence-Final 無?

Taiwanese has a second way to ask the same question: leave the sentence alone and add 無 (--bô--bô--bo5) at the end. The two are close in meaning, and both are neutral — neither expects a particular answer. 敢 (kámkámkam2) announces the question at the start, which suits a direct enquiry; final 無 (--bô--bô--bo5) is softer and very common in offers and invitations. What you cannot do is use both at once.

04

A Note for Mandarin Speakers

Mandarin asks these questions by repeating the verb in positive-then-negative form (is-not-is). Taiwanese uses 敢 (kámkámkam2) instead, and the two strategies do not mix — a language tends to have one or the other, and you will not meet the repeated-verb pattern anywhere in this course.