European International Journal of Philological Sciences
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TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
26-30
DOI
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
13 June 2025
ACCEPTED
09 July 2025
PUBLISHED
11 August 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue 08 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Specific Features of
Expressing Rhetorical
Questions Through
Pronouns
Matkarimova Nargiz Muxamataminovna
Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, 2nd-year basic doctoral
student, Uzbekistan
Abstract
: This article discusses the specific features of
expressing rhetorical interrogative sentences through
pronouns.
Keywords:
怎么
zěnme“how?”,
什么
shénme“what?”,
谁
shéi “who?”,
哪
nǎ “which?”,
干
吗
gànma “why?”,“for
what reason?”
.
Introduction:
The Main Interrogative Pronouns Used in
Rhetorical Questions in Chinese
In Chinese, the main interrogative pronouns used in
rhetorical questions are:
怎么
zěnme “how?”,
什么
shénme “what?”,
谁
shéi “who?”,
哪
nǎ “which?”, and
干
吗
gànma “in what way, in what manner?”. In
rhetorical questions, these pronouns not only function
as core components but also eliminate the speaker’s
uncertainty typically found in ordinary interrogative
sentences [1, p. 12].
The Pronoun
怎么
zěnme (“how”)
The pronoun
怎么
zěnme “how” is the most frequently
used component in Chinese rhetorical questions to
express the interrogative meaning. While it loses the
functional basis of asking for information, in rhetorical
usage it carries both affirmative and negative forms,
enabling the entire sentence structure to encapsulate
pragmatic meanings through this single component.
Examples:
a) “
像
这样的老师，我们怎么会不喜欢她，怎么不愿
意和她接近呢？
”
Xiàng zhèyàng de lǎoshī, wǒmen
zěnme huì bù xǐhuān tā, zěnme bù yuànyì hé tā jiējìn ne?
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European International Journal of Philological Sciences
—
How could we possibly not like such a teacher? How
could we not want to be close to her?
b) “
哼，
这
屋子除了早上
见点日头，整天见不着阳
光，怎么不黑？
”
hēng, zhè wūzi chúle zǎoshang jiàn
diǎn rìtou, zhěngtiān jiàn bùzháo yángguāng, zěnme bù
hēi? —
Hmph, this room only gets a bit of sunlight in
the morning, and for the rest of the day it sees no
sunshine at all
—
how could it not be dark?
In both examples, although expressed in a negative
form, the sentences convey an affirmative meaning. In
(a), the underlying meaning is “we do want to be close
to such a good, knowledgeable teacher,” whereas in
(b) the statement points to the fact t
hat “this room is
indeed dark all day.”
The Pronoun
什么
shénme (“what”)
The pronoun
什么
shénme “what” functions as an
interrogative marker, and when used independently, it
emphasizes a certain idea. In rhetorical questions, it
often conveys a generalization of a situation or event.
Furthermore, it may appear in combinations such as
有
什么
yǒu shénme (“what is there?”),
干什么
gàn
shénme (“what did I/you do?” —
meaning “what could
I/you possibly have done?”),
凭什么
píng shénme (“on
what grounds?”),
为什么
wèishéme (“why?”),
算什么
suàn shénme (“what is the value of that?”), etc. These
combinations often intensify the rhetorical tone.
Examples:
a) “
大家不怕，我怕什么？
”
Dàjiā bùpà, wǒ pà
shénme?
—
Everyone else isn’t afraid, so why should I
be?
b) “
自
杀有什么好大惊小怪的？
”
Zìshā yǒu shénme
hào dà
jīngxiǎoguài de? —
What is so surprising about
suicide?
c)
“
我
现在钱也没有了，还用得着小心干什么？
”
Wǒ xiànzài qián yě méiyǒule, hái yòng dézháo xiǎoxīn
gàn shénme?
—
I don’t even have any money now, so
why should I be cautious?
d) “
凭什么把人欺侮到
这个地步呢？
”
Píng shénme
bǎ rén qīwǔ dà
o zhège dìbù ne?
—
On what grounds
can a person be humiliated to such an extent?
e)
“
什么都改良，
为什么我不跟着改良呢？
”
Shénme dōu gǎiliáng, wèishéme wǒ bù gēnzhe gǎiliáng
ne?
—
Everything has been improved
—why shouldn’t
I improve myself too?
f) “
命既苦到底儿，身体算什么呢？
”
Mìng jì k
ǔ
dàodǐ er, shēntǐ suàn shénme ne? —
If fate itself is
filled with suffering, what importance does the div
have?
In (a), the pronoun
什么
functions as the object after the
verb “fear,” implying there is no reason to be afraid. In
(d) and (e), the sentence structures are similar
—
though
they take a negative form, they convey an affirmative
meaning. In (d), the tone expresses dissatisfaction,
while in (e), the structure
为什么
+
不
emphasizes the
speaker’s firm stance.
The Pronoun
谁
shéi (“who”)
The pronoun
谁
shéi
“who” is used to denote an
interrogative subject. In rhetorical questions, it
generalizes a situation or event. When converting a
rhetorical question with
谁
into a declarative sentence,
谁
can be replaced with
没有人
méiyǒu rén (“no one”).
Affirmative rhetorical questions often become negative
statements when rephrased in a non-rhetorical form.
Examples:
a) “
是的，当年用自己的血汗保
卫过第一个红色政权
的战士们，谁不记得井冈山上青青翠竹呢？
”
Shì de,
dāngnián yòng zìjǐ de xiěhàn bǎowèi guò dì yī gè hóngsè
zhèngquán de zhànshìmen, shéi bù jìdé Jǐnggāngshā
n
shàng qīngqīng cuì zhú ne? —
Yes, back in the day, the
soldiers who defended the first Red government with
their own blood and sweat
—
who among them could
forget the lush green bamboo of Jinggang Mountain?
b) “
谅解是一种美德，谁能说不是呢？
”
Liàngjiě shì yī
zhǒng měidé,
shéi néng shuō bù shì ne? —
Understanding is a virtue
—
who could possibly say it
isn’t?
“
谁会不兴奋不欢呼？
”
“shéi huì bù xīngfèn bù huānhū?”
—
Who wouldn’t be excited or happy?
c) “
谁知道他思想上受了多大的污染？
”
shéi zhīdào tā
sīxiǎng shàng shòule duōdà de wūrǎn? —
Who knows
how deeply his thoughts have been contaminated?
As mentioned above, the interrogative pronoun
谁
shéi
“who?” in rhetorical questions expresses the general
tone of the sentence and conveys the overall meaning
precisely through this component. The meaning derived
from the sentence once again emphasizes the speaker’s
confidence.
哪
nǎ —
“which”, “where?” (interrogative pronoun)
When used alone in rhetorical questions,
哪
nǎ
transforms the entire sentence into a negative
structure. Notably, in rhetorical sentences,
哪里
nǎlǐ
“where?” and
哪儿
nǎ’er “where?” do not indicate a
specific location; instead, they serve as markers of a
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rhetorical question. These interrogative pronouns may
also appear with a modifier, in which case
哪
nǎ
(“which”, “where?”) generalizes the meaning of the
sentence by functioning as a demonstrative pronoun.
Examples:
a) “
哪知道当年那洋人欺
压咱们的苦？
”
nǎ zhīdào
dāngnián nà yángrén qīyā zánmen de kǔ? —
Who could
have known the suffering caused by those foreigners
in those years?
b) “
他
们的生活情趣本来就丰富多彩，現在想必更
感到幸福和谐，哪里会有心思顾及许多别的人？
”
tāmen de shēnghuó qíngqù běnlái jiù fēngfù duōcǎi
,
xiànzài xiǎngbì gèng gǎndào xìngfú héxié, nǎlǐ huì yǒu
xīnsī gùjí xǔduō bié de rén? —
Their lives had always
been rich and colorful; now they must feel even
happier and more harmonious. Who would still have
the mind to care about so many other people?
c)
“
母
亲的身体本来就不好，哪儿经得起这样的忧
愁？
”
mǔqīn de shēntǐ běnlái jiù bù hǎo, nǎ’er jīng dé
qǐ zhèyàng de yōuchóu? —
My mother’s health was
already poor; how could she possibly endure such
sorrow?
d) “
哪个年
轻人不爱漂亮呢
?” nǎge niánqīng rén bù ài
piàoliang ne?
—
What young man does
n’t love beauty?
e) “
哪
还买不到北京烤鴨？
”
nǎ hái mǎi bù dào Běijīng
kǎoyā? —
Where could you possibly fail to buy Peking
duck?
f) “
我亮亮不是没心肝的人，没有你，哪会有我一
个女人的今日？
”
wǒ liàngliàng bùshì méi xīngān de
rén, méiyǒu nǐ, nǎ huì yǒu wǒ yīgè nǚrén de jīnrì? —
I,
Liangliang, am not a heartless person. Without you, how
could a woman like me have the life I have today?
干
吗
gànma
—
“in what way?”, “for what reason?”
(interrogative pronoun) The interrogative
干
吗
gànma
may sometimes be written as
干嘛
gànma with the
same meaning. In rhetorical questions, sentences
containing this word often appear in a negative form
using
干
吗不
gànma bù /
干嘛不
gànma bù, meaning
“how could (it) not…?” or “why wouldn’t…?”. Sentences
with this pronoun occur more often in the negative form
than in the affirmative.
Examples:
a) “
你干
吗不早点告诉我？
”
nǐ gànma bù zǎodiǎn
gàosù wǒ? —
Why didn’t you tell me earlier?
b) “
一个女孩子家，整天舞刀弄
枪干吗？
”
yīgè nǚ
háizi jiā, zhěng tiān wǔ dāo nòng qiāng gànma? —
What
business does a young woman have practicing
swordplay (here referring to military drills) all day long?
As can be seen from the examples above, in Chinese
rhetorical questions,
干
吗
gànma can be used in two
positions: at the end of the sentence or in the middle.
This positioning does not affect the meaning of the
sentence; it merely poi
nts to the speaker’s rhetorical
intent.
The following table shows the rules for using
干
吗
gànma in the middle and at the end of a sentence:
Positi
on
Differen
ce
Synta
x
Semanti
cs
Pragmati
cs
Cogniti
ve State
In the middle of a
sentence
Subje
ct +
干
吗
+
Predicate
Express
es the reason
The
reason
is
asked
Importa
nt
At the end of a sentence
Subje
ct
+
Predicate +
干
吗
Express
es negation
Sense of
guilt
is
expressed
Not
important
In general, there are two ways to use this type of
interrogative pronouns (apart from
怎么
z
ěnme
“how?” and
干
吗
gànma “in what situation?”, “in what
manner?”). The cases we examined above belong to
rhetorical stylistics, and the rules for their use within the
system of ordinary interrogative sentences differ from
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these. We can become acquainted with these rules through the following table:
Interrogative
Pronoun
Question Forms
Semantics
Function
什么
shénme
What?
Ordinary
question
forms
Person, object, time,
place, reason, purpose
Requests
information
about a person, object,
time, place, reason, or
purpose
Rhetorical question
forms
Person, object, time,
place, reason, purpose
Expresses negation
谁
shéi
Who?
Ordinary
question
forms
Person
Asks about a person, which
can be one or more
individuals
Rhetorical question
forms
Someone
Expresses a rhetorical form
哪
nǎ
Which?,
Where?
Ordinary
question
forms
Person, type of object,
specific time, specific
place
Asks about a person,
object, time, or place
Rhetorical question
forms
Any person, any object,
any time, any place
Expresses a rhetorical form
The demonstrative pronoun
那
nà (“that”)
The
demonstrative pronoun
那
nà (“that”) also includes
forms such as
那点
nà diǎn (“that little amount”) and
那种
nà zhǒng (“that kind of”).
Examples:
a) “
你以
为李莲英是那么好打发的？
”
Nǐ yǐwéi Lǐ
Liányīng shì nàme hǎo dǎfā de? —
Do you think Li
Lianying is that easy to deal with?
b) “
一共就做了那点事儿
还好意思说？
”
Yīgòng jiù
zuòle nà diǎn shìr hái hǎoyìsi shuō? —
You only did that
little bit of work in total, and you still have the nerve to
talk about it?
c) “
你
还记得我名字么？
”
Nǐ hái jìdé wǒ míngzì me? “
那
还能忘？
”
Nà hái néng wàng?
—
Do you still
remember my name?
—
How could I possibly forget?
The above demonstrative components do not express
rhetorical style when used alone, and it is generally
inappropriate to use them in isolation. As seen from
the examples, the speaker uses the demonstrative
pronoun to refer to a previously occurring event or
situation, thereby expressing their attitude toward it.
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