This article provides an overview of the question-response system in Mandarin Chinese from a conversation analytic
perspective. Based on 403 question-response sequences from natural conversations, this study discusses the grammatical coding of
Mandarin questions, social actions accomplished by questions, and formats of responses. It documents three grammatical types of
questions, that is, polar questions (including sub-types), Q-word questions, and alternative questions. These questions are shown
to perform a range of social actions, confirmation request being the most frequent. Also, this article reveals that the preferred
format for confirming polar answers is interjection, while that for disconfirming polar answers is repetition. It provides a
starting point for future studies on Mandarin questions and responses as well as a reference point for further crosslinguistic
comparison.
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[no author supplied]
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