有冇 + V

Did You …? (Past Question)

Level 2Sounds Like jau5 mou5

The pattern 有冇 (jau5 mou5) + Verb is the standard way to ask 'Did you...?' in Cantonese. It is a neutral question that asks if an event occurred in the past.

How It Works

The structure 有冇 + Verb is essential for daily conversation. Here are the key rules:

  • Past Tense: Its most common use is to ask if an action happened in the past (e.g., 'Did you watch the game?').
  • No 咗 (zo2): A very important rule is that you do not use the perfective marker 咗 (zo2) after the verb when using 有冇. The word 有 already implies the action is completed, so adding 咗 is redundant.
  • Habitual Use: It can also ask if a state or habit currently exists (e.g., 'Do you still smoke?').
  • Experiential Use: You can combine it with the experiential marker 過 (gwo3) to ask 'Have you ever...?' (e.g., 你有冇去過日本？).
  • Answering: To answer 'yes', you say 有呀 (jau5 aa3). To answer 'no', you say 冇呀 (mou5 aa3).

Examples (5)

  1. 你有冇睇尋晚嗰場波呀？

    Did you watch the game last night?

    Word by Word: You have-not-have watch last-night that-CL ball [particle]?

    This is a neutral question about a past event. Note that 睇 (tai2, to watch) does not take 咗 (zo2).

  2. 尋日有冇落雨呀？

    Did it rain yesterday?

    Word by Word: Yesterday have-not-have fall rain [particle]?

    Used here to ask about the weather in the past.

  3. 你仲有冇食煙呀？

    Do you still smoke?

    Word by Word: You still have-not-have eat smoke [particle]?

    This demonstrates the habitual usage, asking if the habit of smoking still exists.

  4. 你有冇去過海洋公園呀？

    Have you ever been to Ocean Park?

    Word by Word: You have-not-have go-ever Ocean Park [particle]?

    When combined with 過 (gwo3), it asks about life experience.

  5. 你有冇帶鎖匙呀？

    Did you bring the keys?

    Word by Word: You have-not-have bring keys [particle]?

    A common daily question asking about a completed action (bringing the keys).

Common Mistakes

  • Adding the aspect marker 咗 (zo2) after the verb.

    你有冇食咗飯？
    你有冇食飯？

    In Cantonese, 有 (jau5) already carries the meaning of completion. Adding 咗 (zo2) is redundant and sounds unnatural to native speakers.

  • Answering with 唔 (m4) instead of 冇 (mou5).

    問：你有冇去？ 答：唔呀。
    問：你有冇去？ 答：冇呀。

    Questions asked with 有冇 must be answered with 有 (yes) or 冇 (no). 唔 is used for general negation of present/future actions, not for past occurrences.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

有冇 + VLevel 2Did You …? (Past Question)

Learn This First

To understand '有冇 + V' (Did you...?), learners first need to be familiar with the basic 'Affirmative-Negative' question format. They must also understand that in Cantonese, the verb 'to have' (有) and its negation (冇) are specifically used to mark the completion or occurrence of past events, rather than using tense conjugation.

Words in This Pattern