Questions With zar

Questions of Surprise or Expectation

Level 2

Zar ne dolaziš? can express surprise that someone is not coming. The question checks a belief or expectation instead of merely requesting neutral information.

How It Works

Compare neutral Dolaziš li? with Zar ne dolaziš? The latter commonly suggests that the speaker expected the person to come.

A positive question can carry the opposite expectation: Zar dolaziš? can express surprise at someone’s coming. Zar does not itself function as grammatical negation; the presence or absence of ne still matters.

Answers to negative questions can be ambiguous if reduced to a bare yes or no. State the proposition clearly when necessary: Dolazim. or Ne dolazim. Zar is not a required ingredient of all negative questions.

Examples (3)

  1. Zar ne dolaziš?

    Aren’t you coming?

    The speaker may have expected the listener to come.

  2. Zar dolaziš danas?

    Are you really coming today?

    The positive question can express surprise.

  3. Zar nije ovdje?

    Isn’t she here?

    Nije supplies the negation; context identifies the referent.

How It Connects

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Questions With zarLevel 2Questions of Surprise or Expectation

Learn This First

A question can check a negative expectation, combining negation and questioning.

Words in This Pattern