Discussion of 吧 [ba] (at the end of a declarative sentence) indicating uncertainty; (at the end of a question) indicating uncertainty with an estimate

Discussion of 吧

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In this post, we compare two particles: 吧 and 吗

- 吧 can be used to form a question. When 吧 is used at the end of a statement, the speaker is not very sure about something but he has an estimate. A question mark is usually used at the end of such a sentence to indicate a mild tone.

- 吗 is a modal particle indicating interrogation. When the speaker does not know about something and expects an answer, he can put 吗 at the end of a statement to form a yes/no question.

Example 1a. 你喜欢听音乐会吧？ [phr] You like going to concerts, right?
The speaker already has an estimate that the interlocutor probably likes going to concerts, but he is a bit uncertain. Now if we use 吗 in this sentence instead:

Example 1b. 你喜欢听音乐会吗？
This becomes a real question. The speaker does not know the interlocutor likes going to concerts or not, so he is posing a question and expects an answer.

lisaC

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