Yes-No Questions without Inversion

Urban Lebanese normally turns a statement into a yes-no question without changing the words or their order. إنت بتشتغل هون means “You work here”; إنت بتشتغل هون؟ means “Do you work here?” The question contour and conversational context request confirmation. There is no added equivalent of English do, and there is no subject–auxiliary inversion.

This simple structure works with finite verbs, adjectives, nouns, participles, possession, and existence. What changes is the predicate you are asking about—not a separate question conjugation.

Statement order stays in place

English moves tense to do/did or inverts is/are. Lebanese leaves بتشتغل and وصلت intact. The same inflected verb that identifies person and aspect in a statement remains in the question.

Intonation carries the request for confirmation

A neutral yes-no question commonly rises over its last prominent part. The rise is not a suffix or a separate word, and it need not be an exaggerated final squeak. Focus can move to whichever element is uncertain.

The consonants and vowels can be identical. Wider pitch range, stronger stress, and context turn the second into surprise. The full contour system belongs on question intonation; at A1, the key is that word order does not have to change.

Subject pronouns are optional unless they do work

The verb already marks its subject, so بتشربي قهوة؟ is a complete question to one woman. Add إنتي to select, contrast, or challenge that person—not because Arabic requires an English-style subject slot.

Repeating إنت، إنتي، إنتو before every question sounds heavier than English learners expect. Keep it when it identifies the addressee or establishes contrast.

No required question particle

Casual Lebanese does not need a particle equivalent to English whether or formal Arabic هل at the start of an ordinary yes-no question. هل belongs to (formal) MSA and formal-contact reading; inserting it into an otherwise Beirut sentence creates an unnecessary register switch.

Lebanese does use confirmation expressions and tags:

• صح؟ “right?” asks for agreement;
• مش هيك؟ “isn't that so?” checks a shared inference;
• عنجد؟ “really?” asks for confirmation, often with surprise;
• مو هيك؟ is common in Syrian speech (regional: Syria), not the default taught here.

These are not neutral substitutes for every question. صح؟ suggests the speaker already has an answer in mind; plain rising الموعد عالعشرة؟ leaves the information more open. The dedicated tag-question page develops stance and expectation.

Short answers repeat the relevant predicate when useful

The basic answer words are إي “yes” and لأ “no.” A repeated predicate makes person, tense, and polarity explicit, especially when the question is negative or the situation is noisy.

Lebanese has no free-standing equivalent of English did/didn't. In ما فتحنا, the perfect verb itself carries “we” and the completed-event viewpoint. For a nonverbal predicate, repeat that predicate: جاهزة؟ إي، جاهزة “Ready? Yes, I am.”

Negative yes-no questions carry expectations

Questions such as مش جايي؟ “Aren't you coming?” or ما بتشرب قهوة؟ “Don't you drink coffee?” are grammatical, but they are not neutral first questions. They often signal that the speaker expected the positive answer or is checking a surprising absence.

Because negative questions can make bare إي/لأ momentarily unclear across languages, repeat the proposition: لأ، ما باكل سمك “No, I don't eat fish,” or إي، باكل “Yes, I do.”

Service dialogue: checking a reservation

Each question preserves declarative order. The short الطاولة جوا؟ needs no copula corresponding to English is, and بدكن تبدّلوها؟ needs no do.

Boundary with wh-questions

Yes-no questions ask whether a proposition is true. Wh-questions ask for a missing person, thing, place, or time. Lebanese can keep a wh-word in its ordinary argument position when the event is already active: عم تحكي مع مين؟ “Who are you talking with?” The preposition remains before مين, and fronting every wh-word is not required. مع مين عم تحكي؟ is also grammatical with a different information structure.

Casual Beirut uses شو، وين، مين, not formal ماذا، أين، من inserted into otherwise colloquial syntax. See wh-word position for the complete system.

Common Mistakes

Adding English do-support

Inverting the subject like English

Stranding a preposition in a related wh-question

Substituting formal question words into casual Lebanese

Answering with an imaginary auxiliary

Key Takeaways

• Keep declarative word order and use a question contour; do not add do or invert subject and verb.
• Omit subject pronouns when agreement and context identify the subject; add them for selection or contrast.
• Plain questions are open, while صح؟، مش هيك؟, and negative questions carry expectations.
• Answer with إي / لأ and repeat the relevant Lebanese predicate when clarity matters.
• Wh-questions have their own flexible word order, keep prepositions with their complements, and use colloquial شو، وين، مين in the Beirut baseline.