To ask questions in Mandarin using words like 什么 (shénme), 谁 (shéi), and 哪里 (nǎlǐ), here are some easy rules to remember:

1. Word Order: Start with the person or thing, then the action, and finally what they are acting on.

   • Example: 你喜欢什么？(Nǐ xǐhuān shénme?) means "What do you like?"

2. Measure Words: Use the right word for different items.

   • Example: 你有几本书？(Nǐ yǒu jǐ běn shū?) means "How many books do you have?"

3. Particles: Add words like 吗 to make yes/no questions.

   • Example: 你好吗？(Nǐ hǎo ma?) means "How are you?"

4. Negation: Use 不 for things that are not true and 没（有） for things that didn’t happen.

   • Example: 我没有书。(Wǒ méiyǒu shū.) means "I don’t have a book."

5. Location vs. Completed Action:

   • Use 在 for asking where something is: 你在哪里？(Nǐ zài nǎlǐ?) means "Where are you?"
   • Use 了 for talking about something that already happened: 他去了商店。(Tā qùle shāngdiàn.) means "He went to the store."

6. Tenses: Know the difference in time:

   • Present: 我吃饭 (Wǒ chīfàn) means "I eat."
   • Past: 我吃了 (Wǒ chīle) means "I ate."
   • Future: 我会吃 (Wǒ huì chī) means "I will eat."

7. Using Question Words:

   • 什么 (shénme - what): 你要吃什么？(Nǐ yào chī shénme?) means "What do you want to eat?"
   • 谁 (shéi - who): 谁在那儿？(Shéi zài nàr?) means "Who is there?"
   • 哪里 (nǎlǐ - where): 你从哪里来？(Nǐ cóng nǎlǐ lái?) means "Where are you from?"

8. Conjunctions: Use words like 和 (hé - and) or 但是 (dànshì - but) to join ideas.

   • Example: 我喜欢茶和咖啡。(Wǒ xǐhuān chá hé kāfēi.) means "I like tea and coffee."

9. Pronouns: Here’s how to use them:

   • 我 (wǒ - I), 你 (nǐ - you), 他 (tā - he), 她 (tā - she).

10. Sentence Changes:

• Change positive to negative: 他喜欢 (Tā xǐhuān) becomes 他不喜欢 (Tā bù xǐhuān), which means "He does not like."
• Turn a statement into a question: 你去商店 (Nǐ qù shāngdiàn.) changes to 你去商店吗？(Nǐ qù shāngdiàn ma?) which means "Are you going to the store?"

Try making your own questions with these tips to get better at Mandarin!