Short Answers

Saying ‘Yes, I do. / No, I don’t’ in English is more polite than just saying ‘Yes. / No.’ That’s why short answers are very commonly used.

* To form the short answer, you use the first word from the question. (This is either an auxiliary verb or a form of ‘be’.)

- Use the long form (he does) in affirmative answers (yes).

- Use the short form (he doesn’t) in negative answers (no).

Examples


Q : Do we know him?

Affirmative : Yes, we do.

Negative : No, we don’t.


Q : Can she see me?

Affirmative : Yes, she can.

Negative : No, she can’t.


Q : Have they read the book?

Affirmative : Yes, they have.

Negative :No, they haven’t.


Q : Is he hungry?

Affirmative : Yes, he is.
Negative : No, he isn’t.

- Mind: If ‘you’ is the subject of the question, ‘you’ must be replaced by ‘I’ or ‘we’.

Q : Do you know him?

Affirmative : Yes, I / we do.
Negative : No, I / we don’t.

- If the question starts with ‘are you’, ‘are’ must sometimes be replaced by ‘am’.

Q : Are you hungry?

Affirmative : Yes, I am.

Negative :No, I’m not.

But: → Yes, we are. No, we aren’t

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