Questions & Answers about Неужели ты не хочешь банан на завтрак?
What does неужели mean here?
Неужели adds a feeling of surprise, disbelief, or mild shock. It does not mean really in the simple factual sense; it is more like:
- Really?
- Can it really be that ... ?
- You mean ... ?
- Is it possible that ... ?
So Неужели ты не хочешь банан на завтрак? is not just a neutral question. It sounds more like:
- You mean you don’t want a banana for breakfast?
- Do you really not want a banana for breakfast?
It shows the speaker expected the opposite.
Why are there two negative-looking words: неужели and не?
Because they do different jobs.
- неужели does not negate the sentence. It adds surprised/incredulous emotion.
- не is the actual negation, attached to хочешь: не хочешь = don’t want.
So:
- Неужели ты хочешь банан на завтрак? = Do you really want a banana for breakfast? / Can it be that you want a banana for breakfast?
- Неужели ты не хочешь банан на завтрак? = Do you really not want a banana for breakfast?
Why is used? Could it be left out?