吗 (ma), 呢 (ne) and 吧 (ba)

吗 (ma), 呢 (ne) and 吧 (ba) are commonly known as question particles in Mandarin, which can be placed at the end of a sentence to form questions. However, they have different usages and functions depending on particular contexts. Hence, it is important to learn how to use them appropriately. 

吗 (ma)

1)  It can be used at the end of a yes/no question. Any statement can be converted into a yes / no question with 吗 (ma). The basic structure is statement sentence + 吗 ？

• 下午有会吗？ Xiàwǔ yǒu huì ma？ Is there a meeting this afternoon? (Note that: "下午有会。 There is a meeting in the afternoon.” is a statement and it can be easily converted to "Is there a meeting this afternoon?" by adding 吗 (ma): 下午有会吗？)

• 你找我有事吗？ Nǐ zhǎo wǒ yǒu shì ma？ Is there something you want to see me about?
• 明天他来吗？ Míngtiān tā lái ma？Will he come tomorrow?

2) It can also be used at the end of a rhetorical question. 

• 这不是很明白的吗？ Zhè bù shì hěn míngbai de ma？Isn't this perfectly clear?
• 你难道没看见我正忙着吗？ Nǐ nándào méi kànjian wǒ zhèng mángzhe ma？Don't you see I'm busy at the moment?

3) It can also be used to form a pause in a sentence before introducing the theme of what one is going to say, which is usually used in spoken language. 

• 特殊情况吗, 还得特殊对待。 Tèshū qíngkuàng ma, hái dé tèshū duìdài. Special cases, of course, need special consideration.
• 这件事吗, 其实也不能怪他。 Zhè jiàn shì ma, qíshí yě bù néng guài tā. This matter, actually, is not his fault.

呢 (ne)

1)  It can be used at the end of a special, reciprocal, alternative, or rhetorical question. 

• 你刚才到哪儿去了呢？ Nǐ gāngcái dào nǎr qù le ne？ Where were you just now? (w/h special question: it is used for inquiring about location.)
• 我错在哪儿呢？Wǒ cuò zài nǎr ne？What have I done wrong? (w/h special question)
• 他们两人都有任务了, 我呢？Tāmen liǎng rén dōu yǒu rènwu le, wǒ ne？ They've both got something to do. What about me? (reciprocal question: 呢 can be used to form a question about the thing that the speaker has just been talked about. This use relies entirely on context.)
• 你对这件事是赞成呢, 还是反对呢？Nǐ duì zhè jiàn shì shì zànchéng ne, hái shì fǎnduì ne？Are you for or against this? (alternative question)
• 你到底认不认得她呢？Nǐ dào dǐ rèn bù rèn de tā ne？ Do you or don't you know her? (rhetorical question)
• 我怎么能不记得呢？Wǒ zěnme néng bù jìde ne？ How could I forget this? (rhetorical question)
• 这点子事, 何必大惊小怪呢？Zhè diǎnzi shì, hébì dàjīngxiǎoguài ne？ Why get so excited over a little thing like this? (rhetorical question)

2)  It can also be used at the end of a declarative sentence to reinforce the assertion. 

• 远得很, 有好几千里地呢。Yuǎn de hěn, yǒu hǎo jǐqiān lǐ dì ne. It's a long way off-thousands of li away. (indicating strong affirmation)

3)  It can be used at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate the continuation of an action or a state.

• 老张, 有人找你呢。Lǎo zhāng, yǒu rén zhǎo nǐ ne. Lao Zhang, somebody is looking for you.
• 他还在生气呢。Tā hái zài shēngqì ne. He's still angry.

4)  It can be used to mark a pause.

• 如今呢, 可比以往任何时候都要强。Rújīn ne, kě bǐ yǐwǎng rènhé shíhou dōu yào qiáng. As for the present, things are far better than at any time in the past. (呢 is used to signal a pause, to emphasize the preceding words and allow the listener time to take them on board, like "ok?", "are you with me?")
• 不下雨呢, 就去；下雨呢, 就不去。 Bù xià yǔ ne, jiù qù ； xiàyǔ ne, jiù bù qù. If it doesn't rain, we'll go. If it does rain, then we won't go.

 吧 (ba)

1) It can be used to indicate a suggestion, a request or a mild command.

• 咱们走吧。 Zánmen zǒu ba. Let's go.
• 你好好儿想想吧!  Nǐ hǎohāor xiǎngxiang ba! Just think it over. 
• 这里太脏了, 我们还是走吧。 Zhèlǐ tài zàngle, wǒmen háishì zǒu ba. It's too dirty here; we'd better leave. (Note that Subject + 还是 + Action + (吧) is a pattern that is commonly used to express "had better" or "it would be better to". The idea is that the speaker has given the matter some thought, and after considering it, has finally come to a decision.)
• 再等等吧。 Zài děng děng bā. Wait a little longer. (Note that Statement + 吧 here is used to soften the feel of a sentence, which could make the statement sound more polite, gentler and less forceful, or to turn a command into a suggestion.

2) It can be used to indicate consent or approval.

• 好吧, 就这么办吧!  Hǎo ba, jiù zhème bàn ba! O.K. Let's do it this way. (Note that Statement + 吧 here is used to concede a point. That is, 吧 (ba) can be used to accept or agree with something that you're not particularly happy about.)
• 明天就明天吧。  Míngtiān jiù míngtiān ba. All right, let's make it tomorrow.

3) It can be used to form a leading question which asks for confirmation of a supposition)

• 他会来吧？ Tā huì lái ba？ He'll come, won't he?
• 你是中国人吧？  Nǐ shì Zhōngguó rén ba？ You are Chinese (I suppose), right?

4) It can also be used to indicate some doubt in the speaker's mind.

• 他们走了吧。 Tāmen zǒu le ba. I suppose they've left.
• 他好像是这么说的吧。 Tā hǎoxiàng shì zhème shuō de ba. That's what he said, it seems.

5) It can also be used to mark a pause after suppositions as alternatives to review options. The pattern is [Option 1] + 吧, [Evaluation]; [Option 2] + 吧, [Evaluation].

• 去吧, 不好, 不去吧, 也不好。  Qù ba, bù hǎo, bù qù ba, yě bù hǎo. If I go, it's no good; if I don't, it's no good either. 
• 做吧，不行，不做吧，也不行。Shuō ba, bùxíng, bù shuō ba, yě bùxíng. If I say it, it is not okay. If I do not say it, it is not okay either. 

Please fill in the blanks by using 吗 (ma), 呢 (ne) or 吧 (ba).
1) 你说中文______? Are you speaking Chinese?
2) 这个糖很好吃，你试试______. This candy is very yummy. Please have a try.
3) 这个问题该怎么办______？How should I solve the problem?
4) 听______，不行，不听_______，也不行。 If I listen to it, it is not okay. If I do not listen to it, it is not okay either. 
5) 这个书包是你的_______？Is this book bag yours (I suppose)?
6) 这儿有人_______？Is this seat available?
7）你好了______？Are you ready?
8) 他在等你______，你快一点儿______. He is waiting for you. Please move faster. 
9) 他正在睡觉______，你可以小声一点儿______？He is sleeping. Can you please speak quietly please? 
10) 跟我走_______。Go with me.

Please translate the following sentences by using 吗 (ma), 呢 (ne) or 吧 (ba) .

1) You sing it please.

2) Are you Miss. Wang?

3) Do you want apple or banana?

4) All right, let's make it this afternoon.

5) You are American (I suppose), right?

6) If I eat, I gain weight. If I don't eat, I feel hungry. 

7) She is talking on the phone. Please be quiet.

8) Let's start our meeting now.

9) Isn't it a nice day today?

10) This thing, actually, I don't understand it either. 
11) Why is this computer broken? 
12) How should I read this character?