Short forms as answers
- We often use short forms to answer questions. Usually we repeat the first word of the verb phrase:
A: Can you come round tomorrow?
B: Yes, I can/ No I can’t.
A: Have you seen Jack lately?
B: Yes, I have/No I haven’t.
A: Do you like living here?
B: Yes, I do/ No I don’t.
Sometimes we change the modal verb: (see Verb Phrase)
A: Will you come?
B: Yes, we might.
A: Do you think they might come?
B: Yes, I think they will.
- We often use verbs like think, suppose, expect and hope, to answer questions.
when the answer is yes we add so (I expect so, I hope so, etc.).
if the answer is no we say I don’t think so, I don’t suppose so, etc…
but with hope we say I hope not.
A: Can you come tomorrow?
B: I hope so.
A: Will they be at home?
B: I expect so.
A: Is Amsterdam the capital of The Netherlands?
B: I don’t think so.
A: Do you think it’s going to rain?
B: I hope not.
- We often use adverbials of probability like perhaps, probably, possibly, maybe, definitely and certainly as short answers:
A: Do you think it’s going to rain?
B: Yes, possibly.
A: Can you come round tomorrow?
B: Definitely!
When the answer is negative we put not after the adverbial:
A: Do you think it’s going to rain?
B: Probably not.
A: Can you come round tomorrow?
B: Maybe not.
- We can use short forms to agree or disagree with what someone says. Usually we use the first word in the verb phrase:
A: It’s a lovely day.
B: Yes, it is.
A: I think they might have missed their train.
B: Yes, I think they might.
A: The children will be coming to see us next week.
B: No they won’t. They are going to their grandparents.
Sometimes we change the modal:
A: The children will be coming to see us next week.
B: Yes, they might.
A: The children might be coming to see us next week.
B: No they won’t. They are going to their grandparents.
We use do/does//don’t/doesn’t to agree or disagree with a statement in the present simple form:
A: Your grandmother looks very well.
B: Yes, she does.
A: I think Jack lives here.
B: No he doesn’t
…and we use did/didn’t for past simple:
A: Everybody really enjoyed the trip.
B: Yes, they did.
A: The children went to Malaysia last year.
B: No they didn’t. They went to Singapore.
- We sometimes put a short tag at the end of a comment. We use a Yes/No question form for the tag. If the comment is affirmative we normally use a negative tag:
A: It’s a lovely day.
B: Yes, it is, isn’t it.
A: Your grandmother looks very well.
B: Yes, she does, doesn’t she.
A: Everybody really enjoyed the trip.
B: Yes, they did, didn’t they.
If the comment is negative we normally use an affirmative tag:
A: They didn’t seem to enjoy the trip very much.
B: They didn’t, did they.
A: It’s not a very nice day.
B: No, it isn’t, is it.
A: They haven’t done much.
B: No, they haven’t, have they.
- Sometimes we put a tag on the end of a statement:
It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?
Your grandmother looks very well, doesn’t she?
They haven’t done much, have they?
They all seemed to enjoy the trip, didn’t they?
7 We use affirmative tags with so and neither or nor to add to what someone has said.
We use so to add to an affirmative:
A: John is working in Barcelona.
B: And so is Maria [= Maria is working in Barcelona, too.]
A: I love Indian food.
B: So do I = [I love Indian food, too.]
A: They’ve just bought a new computer.
B: Really? So have we. [= We have also bought a new computer.]
We use neither or nor to add to a negative:
A: I don’t smoke any more.
B: Neither do I. [= I also don’t smoke]
A: They haven’t written to us for ages.
B: Nor has Peter. [= Peter hasn’t written to us for ages, too.]
A: We won’t be taking a holiday this year.
B: Neither will we. [= We also won’t be taking a holiday this year.]
A: I never have time for breakfast.
B: Nor have I. [= I am as busy as you]