Short answers in English (Part 1)
In this complete tutorial for beginners’ learners are going to learn an English grammar lesson and the subject is “short answers in English’ and this is part one. We do not use only “Yes” or “No” to answer a question, that is not polite. We use short answers.
Watch the video here.
So, what is a short answer? A “short answer” is an answer to a question that does not repeat all of the words from the question.
Example: John: Have you got an iPod?
Carl: Yes, I have got an iPod. X (long answer)
Carl: Yes, I have. / (short answer)
The form of the short answer depends on the form of the question. So the form of the question determines the form that we’ll use in our short answer. And to simplify things, there are two main rules, two differences or cases:
Rule 1
If the question has an auxiliary verb.
Form of the short answer: subject + auxiliary verb
Rule 2
If the question uses the verb “be” as a main verb,
Form of the short answer: subject + main verb “be”
Examples of rule 1
If the question has an auxiliary verb the form of the short answer is;
subject + auxiliary verb
Example: Helen: Is Anne going at the bank?
Eva: Yes she is. / No she is not.
/ No he isn’t.
/ No he’s not.
Dave: Have you been to London?
Kate: Yes I have. / No I have not.
/ No I haven’t.
/ No I’ve not.
More examples of rule 1
The question has an auxiliary verb.
Form of the short answer: subject + auxiliary verb
- Carl: Can you play the piano?
Anne: Yes I can. / No I can not.
/ No I can’t.
- Tim: Has she read the magazine?
Rob: Yes he has. / No he has not.
/ No he hasn’t.
/ No he’s not.
- Pat: Do you like birds?
Mark: Yes I do. / No I do not.
/ No I don’t.
- Ralph: Did Mike wash the car yesterday?
Nate: Yes he did. / No he did not.
/ No he didn’t.
Examples of rule 2
If the question uses the verb “be” as a main verb,
Form of the short answer: subject + main verb “be”
Jane: Are you busy?
Paul: Yes I am. / No I am not.
/ No I’m not.
Sam: Were the players tired?
Joe: Yes they were. / No they were not.
/ No they weren’t.
More examples of rule 2
- Paul: Was mom at the market?
Eve: Yes she was. / No she was not.
/ No she wasn’t.
- Bob: Is she sick?
Ken: Yes she is. / No she is not.
/ No she’s not.
/ No she isn’t.
- Jim: Are the girls dancing?
Carl: Yes they are. / No they are not.
/ No they aren’t.
/ No they’re not.
- John: Was the toilet clean?
Dan: Yes it was. / No it was not.
There we are, that’s the end of this lesson hope this will help you and visit englishtutorhub.com for a complete transcript of this tutorial and there are other lessons that you might interested in.
Downloadable Material
Here’s the downloadable material of Tutorial on short answers in English here.
For more readings
- TOO and ENOUGH | Use and Meaning in English
- The difference between “a little” and “little”
- The Difference between A FEW and FEW in English
- When to use “a little” and “a few”: English Grammar Rules
- Compound Words: English Vocabulary
- The difference between MUST and HAVE TO
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