Repeating Chinese question words as place-holders

Repeating question words are a really cool feature of Chinese grammar. You can repeat question words and use them as 'place-holders' for some sort of information.

疑问代词同现现象是汉语语法的一大特色。你可以在一个句子中重复使用一个疑问代词，用其代替其他信息，起到“占位”作用。我们将这类疑问代词称为“同现疑问代词”。

Let's have a look at it here from a more grammatical perspective. This is a great feature of the language to know, as it makes you much more flexible in forming sentences etc.

在此，我们将从语法的角度来介绍疑问代词的这一用法。掌握疑问代词这一特征能帮助你更加灵活地造句。

The way it works is pretty simple. You use a question word once, and then when you use it again in the sentence, it refers back to the first one. Hence the term "place-holder question words". Here's an example:

汉语疑问代词的这种用法非常简单。在一个句子中，你用了某个疑问代词，当你再在此句中用这个疑问代词时，后一个疑问代词指的就是第一个疑问代词的内容，因此就有了具有“占位”作用的同现疑问代词。例句：

你点什么我就吃什么 。

Nǐ diǎn shénme wǒ jiù chī shénme.

I'll order whatever you eat.

That's a really common thing to say in restaurants – you're letting the other person choose what to order and you'll eat whatever it is. 

在餐厅里，会常说这句话-你让其他人点单，他们点什么你就吃什么。

Repeating question words: a bit like programming

同现疑问代词：有点像程序设计

This kind of sentence is slightly like programming or math. The repeated question word is a bit like a variable – it holds one bit of information consistently wherever you put it. Or, it's a bit like _x _in an equation – "you order _x I eat x".

这种句子有点像程序设计或数学题。被重复的疑问代词就像变量-他可以代替你想代替的任何内容，也有一点像方程式中的x，“你点x，我就吃x”。

Let's have a look at some different question words being repeated as place-holders. You'll see that Chinese question words are very versatile and quite an elegant feature of the language.

以下将介绍如何重复使用疑问代词作“占位词”。你会发现汉语中的疑问代词非常多样化，也体现汉语的优雅特征。

谁 (shéi): whoever

You can very easily create sentences that would involve "whoever" in English by repeating 谁. 

Some examples:

英语中有“whoever”的句子，你都可以重复“谁”来表达，例如：

谁有钱谁就有权。

Shéi yǒu qián shéi jiù yǒu quán.

Whoever has money has power.

美国想打谁就打谁。

Měiguó xiǎng dǎ shéi jiù dǎ shéi.

America attacks whoever it wants.

谁要走谁就走。

Shéi yào zǒu shéi jiù zǒu.

Whoever wants to leave, leave.

Pretty cool, right? Those Chinese sentences seem neat and efficient, and very easy to understand once you know the repeating question words structure.

看起来很酷，是不是？那些中文句子看起来简洁、高效。一旦你掌握了同现疑问代词结构，这些句子就非常易于理解。

什么 (shénme): whatever

You can do the same thing with any question word you like. Let's have a look at some example sentences for 什么:

任何疑问代词都可以这样用。请看疑问代词“什么”的相关例句：

你要买什么，那个商店就有什么 。

Nǐ yào mǎi shénme, nàgè shāngdiàn jiù yǒu shénme.

Whatever you want to buy, that shop has it.

你有什么我就买什么 。

Nǐ yǒu shénme wǒ jiù mǎi shénme.

I'll buy whatever you've got.

你要我做什么，我就做什么 ！

Nǐ yào wǒ zuò shénme wǒ jiù zuò shénme!

I'll do whatever you want!

As you can see, you've just got to put in the relevant question word to hold the place of whatever thing you want, and the sentence works.

如你所见，你可以用任何相关的疑问代词来代替任何你想替代的词，且句子仍然成立。

哪儿 (nǎr): wherever

Moving on, you can talk about places in this way using 哪儿. Some examples:

你可以重复“哪儿”，用于表述地点。例如：

你去哪儿我就去哪儿 。

Nǐ qù nǎr wǒ jiù qù nǎr.

I'll go wherever you go.

哪儿暖和咱们就去哪儿。

Nǎr nuǎnhuo zánmen jiù qù nǎr.

Let's go wherever is warm.

你在哪儿藏起来我们就会在哪儿找到你。

Nǐ zài nǎr cáng qǐlái wǒmen jiù huì zài nǎr zhǎodào nǐ.

We'll find you wherever you hide.

怎么 (zěnme): however

Finally, you can talk about actions in this way using 怎么. Some examples:

最后，你还可以重复“怎么”，用于表述某种动作，例如：

他怎么做饭怎么好吃。

Tā zěnme zuò fàn zěnme hào chī.

However he cooks, it's good.

老板怎么说，我们怎么做。

Lǎobǎn zěnme shuō, wǒmen zěnme zuò.

We'll do it however the boss says.

你想怎么做，我就同意怎么做。

Nǐ xiǎng zěnme zuò, wǒ jiù tóngyì zěnme zuò.

I'll agree to do it however you think.

Note that we've gone through a few question words here, but you can do this with any question word in Chinese!

注意：本文只列举了几个疑问代词，实际上中文中的所有疑问代词都可以这样用。

Translated from: chineseboost.com