V咗...未

Have You Done It Yet

Level 2Sounds Like zo2 . . . mei6

Use Verb + 咗 + (Object) + 未？ to ask if an expected action or scheduled event has taken place yet.

How It Works

The V咗...未 (zo2...mei6) pattern is one of the most common daily question structures in Cantonese.

1. Sentence Structure
Place 咗 (zo2) immediately after the action verb, followed by the direct object (if any), and put 未 (mei6) at the end of the sentence:

  • Verb + 咗 + Object + 未？ (e.g., 食咗飯未？ sik6 zo2 faan6 mei6? — Have you eaten yet?)
  • Verb + 咗 + 未？ (if no object: 到咗未？ dou3 zo2 mei6? — Arrived yet?)

2. How to Answer

  • Affirmative: Say [Verb] + 咗 (e.g., 食咗 sik6 zo2) or add the particle 啦 (laa1) for extra naturalness (食咗啦 sik6 zo2 laa1).
  • Negative: Say 未 (mei6) or 未 + [Verb] (e.g., 未食 mei6 sik6). Crucial rule: Never keep 咗 (zo2) when answering negatively! Saying *我未食咗 is ungrammatical.

3. Key Nuances

  • Action Verbs Only: This pattern requires dynamic verbs. It cannot be used with stative verbs like 係 (hai6, to be) or 鍾意 (zung1 ji3, to like).
  • Softening Particles: You can add softening sentence-final particles like 呀 (aa3) or 呢 (ne1) after 未 (e.g., 做咗功課未呀？). However, general yes/no question particles like 嗎 (maa3) or 咩 (me1) cannot co-occur with 未.
  • Expectation: Unlike neutral past questions with 有冇 (jau5 mou5) ('Did you...?'), V咗...未 explicitly implies that the action was expected or scheduled to happen.

Examples (4)

  1. 你做咗功課未呀？

    Have you done your homework yet?

    Word by Word: You do [completed] homework not-yet [particle]?

    A standard daily question. Notice 功課 (gung1 fo3, homework) sits between 咗 (zo2) and 未 (mei6).

  2. 佢哋食咗午餐未？

    Have they eaten lunch yet?

    Word by Word: They eat [completed] lunch not-yet?

    The object 午餐 (ng5 caan1, lunch) goes right between 咗 (zo2) and 未 (mei6).

  3. 架巴士到咗未呢？

    Has the bus arrived yet?

    Word by Word: [Classifier] bus arrive [completed] not-yet [particle]?

    When there is no object, 未 (mei6) immediately follows 到咗 (dou3 zo2, arrived).

  4. 你睇咗個醫生未？

    Have you seen the doctor yet?

    Word by Word: You see [completed] [classifier] doctor not-yet?

    To answer negatively, simply say '未' (mei6) or '未睇' (mei6 tai2), dropping 咗 (zo2).

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping 咗 (zo2) when answering in the negative

    我未食咗飯。
    我未食飯。

    The negator 未 (mei6, not yet) already negates completion, so 咗 (zo2) must be dropped in negative answers.

  • Adding question particles like 嗎 (maa3) after 未 (mei6)

    你食咗飯未嗎？
    你食咗飯未呀？

    未 (mei6) itself serves as the sentence-final question element. Adding 嗎 (maa3) is ungrammatical. Use neutral particles like 呀 (aa3) or 呢 (ne1) instead.

  • Answering with 冇 (mou5) instead of 未 (mei6)

    食咗飯未？ — 冇。
    食咗飯未？ — 未。

    Answering 冇 (mou5) means 'I didn't do it' (past non-occurrence), whereas 未 (mei6) means 'Not yet' (indicating it is still expected).

How It Connects

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

V咗...未Level 2Have You Done It Yet

Learn This First

To ask if someone has done something yet, you need to combine the perfective aspect marker '咗' with the 'not yet' marker '未' at the end of the sentence. This creates a specific type of yes-no question for completed actions.

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