TSUMUGU · TBCL 1 (est.) · 語法
誰
grammar point · tier 1 · 誰 — who (the person question word)
· shéi
Question word for a person: 誰 holds the slot where the named person will go — who.
字源 FORM what the parts do
言 carries the asking out in speech; 隹 only lends the sound, zhuī worn toward shéi.
故事 STORY a scene to remember it by
Words go out asking after a person, and where the name should be there is an open seat.
字源記憶法
框 · Frame
… 誰 … (誰 sits in the answer's slot — subject, object, or after 是)
觸 · Trigger
You want to ask after a person, and the name is the one thing you don't have.
序 · The move
1find the slot the unknown person fills in the answeris it a person, not a thing or a choice from a set?
2drop 誰 into that same slotdid 誰 stay put, not jump to the front?
3leave the rest of the sentence in statement orderwould the answer fit by swapping a name straight back into 誰's seat?
例 · Examples
1你you喜歡like誰who (slot for a person)？
Who do you like?
界 · Boundary
什麼誰 asks for a person; 什麼 asks for a thing. The answer to 誰 is a name; the answer to 什麼 is an object or idea.
哪誰 asks who out of anyone; 哪 picks one out of a known set (哪個人 = which of these people). 誰 wants a name, 哪 wants a choice.
fronting like English: 誰你喜歡？ → 你喜歡誰？
person asked with the thing word: 你喜歡什麼？(when you mean a person) → 你喜歡誰？
choice forced where any person is meant: 你喜歡哪？ → 你喜歡誰？
English fronts 'who' to the start of the question; Chinese leaves 誰 sitting in the slot the answering name will take.