Recently on vacation I wanted to ask a Chinese tourist if they would mind taking a photo of my wife and I - but I didn't know how, so just asked 你可以吗? (nǐ kěyǐ ma?) while pointing to my camera.
How should I ask this in future?
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+1 Good question... Is 可以 a verb?– AlenannoCommented Jul 5, 2012 at 13:30
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1I think it is a verb ...– fefeCommented Jul 5, 2012 at 13:40
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2Yes, technically a modal verb– CocowallaCommented Jul 5, 2012 at 17:19
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This makes no sense to me actually. I expect an action after 可以.– deutschZuidCommented Jul 6, 2012 at 2:52
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Well, if I'd known what verb to use I would have used it. But I didn't, so I just said 你可以吗? :P– CocowallaCommented Jul 6, 2012 at 7:33
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1 Answer
There are many ways to ask this. Some examples:
- 您能给我们俩照一张相吗?
nín néng gĕi wǒ men liă zhào yì zhāng xiàng ma? - 您能帮我们拍个照吗?
nín néng bāng wǒ men pāi ge zhào ma? - 您可以给我们照张相吗？
nín kĕ yĭ gĕi wǒ men zhào zhāng xiàng ma? - 请问，您可以帮我们照张相吗？
qĭng wèn, nín kĕ yĭ bāng wǒ men zhào zhāng xiàng ma? - 麻烦您给我们照张相
má fan nín gĕi wǒ men zhào zhāng xiàng - 麻烦你，帮我们照张相，好吗？
má fan nǐ， bāng wǒ men zhào zhāng xiàng，hǎo ma?
照张相 means to take a picture, so does 拍照（片）。 You can both use 能 and 可以. 帮（助） means to help. 我们俩 means the two of us. 给 is here a proposition.
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1You can also invite them to do so (请) or ask if you can inconvenience/trouble (麻烦) them, too. I.e. (能)[请/麻烦][你／您] + preposition + noun phrase + 吗.– KrazerCommented Jul 5, 2012 at 14:10
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拍个照 is used much more often than 照张相 in my personal experience. 照张相 sounds a bit old fashioned, young people usually say 拍个照. Also, if you're starting a question with 可以, mostly you finish it with 吧?– Hans ZCommented Jul 12, 2012 at 15:36