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.