Chinese grammar - The verbs 有 (yǒu) and 没有 (méiyǒu)

The verbs 有 (yǒu) and 没有 (méiyǒu)

The Chinese verb 有 (yǒu) has two primary uses:

• 有 is used with a subject to indicate 'possession' - as in 'to have'.

• 有 is used without a subject to indicate 'existence' or 'absence' - as in 'there is...'.

When negated 有 takes the negative particle 没 (méi). Recall that other verbs are negated using 不 (bù).

Additionally 有没有 (yǒu méi yǒu) is a very common way to ask about possession or existence, without requiring the question marker 吗 (ma).

Examples:
	我有一本书。 wǒ yǒu yì běn shū. I have a/one book. 本 (běn) is the counter for books 本 (běn) means 'counter for books'
	我没有一本书。 wǒ méi yǒu yì běn shū. I do not have a/one book.
	他有两个苹果。 tā yǒu liǎng gè píngguǒ. He has two apples.
	他没有两个苹果。 tā méi yǒu liǎng gè píngguǒ. He does not have two apples.
	有四张桌子吗？ yǒu sì zhāng zhuōzi ma? Are there four tables? Note the absence of a subject when expressing existence 张 (zhāng) is the measure word for flat objects
	有四张桌子。 yǒu sì zhāng zhuōzi. There are four tables. Note the absence of a subject when expressing existence
	没有四张桌子。 méi yǒu sì zhāng zhuōzi. There are not four tables. Note the absence of a subject when expressing existence
	没有问题。 méi yǒu wèntí. There is no question.
	你有问题吗？ nǐ yǒu wèntí ma? Do you have [a] question? Because of the ambiguity, this could also be "Do you have any questions?"
	我没有问题。 wǒ méi yǒu wèntí. I don't have [a] question. Because of the ambiguity, this could also be "I don't have any questions"
	你有没有柠檬？ nǐ yǒu méi yǒu níngméng? Do you have (or don't have) a/any lemon(s)? 有没有 (yǒuméiyǒu) is a very common way to ask about possession or existence
	你有没有问题？ nǐ yǒu méi yǒu wèntí? Do you have (or don't have) [a] question?
	有没有两张桌子？ yǒu méi yǒu liǎng zhāng zhuōzi? Are there (or not) two tables?