Learning the answering questions in English helps us to understand that how we can answer or reply to a question when someone ask us for something or someon in English. In this article, we are going to cover all about the answering questions in English with helpful example sentences. Learn the entire lesson and enhance your conversation and communication skills in English.
First of all, we need to know: how long is an answer? in English. This topic is explained below:
How long is an answer?
Some questions you can answer in a word or phrase, but others need to be answered in one or more complete sentences. Here are some examples from real conversations.
⇒ Didn’t you hear about the bank robbery? ~ No.
⇒ I’ve got a hat. ~ What colour? ~ Brown.
⇒ Do you like school? ~ Yes, I do. It’s OK.
⇒ You haven’t have central heating? ~ No, we haven’t.
⇒ How long do you practice? ~ About half an hour.
⇒ Why did you sell the car? ~ It was giving me too much trouble. I was spending more money on it than it was worth spending money on.
⇒ How is Lucy? ~ She’s a lot better now. In fact, I think she’ll be back at school next week.
It is usually enough to give the relevant piece of information without repeating all the words of the question. There is no need to say No, I didn’t hear about the bank robbery, or The hat is brown in answer to these questions.
NOTE
A. We can repeat the words of the question to give emphasis, e.g., when we deny something.
- Did you break this glass? ~ No, I did not break that glass.
B. There is not always a direct grammatical link between a question and answer. The important thing is that the information is relevant.
- What time will you be home? ~ Well, these meetings go on a long time.
Here the questioner would realize that the meeting going on a long time means that ‘I will be home late’,
C. The hearer may be unable or unwilling to answer.
- What’s your favourite subject? ~ I haven’t really got a favourite subject.
- Are you a member of this club?~ Why do you ask?
- Where are my keys? ~ You ought to know where they are.
Yes/No Short Answers
We can sometimes answer with a simple yes or no, but English speakers often use a short answer like Yes, I do or No, we haven’t. A short answer relates to the subject and auxiliary in the question. The patterns are yes + pronoun + auxiliary and no + pronoun + auxiliary +n’t.
| Positive Answer | Negative Answer | |
| Is it raining? ~ | Yes, it is. | No, it isn’t |
| Have you finished? ~ | Yes, I have. | No, I haven’t. |
| Can we turn right here? ~ | Yes, we can. | No, we can’t. |
Related: Usage and Examples of Question Words
In simple tenses we use the auxiliary do.
- Do you play the piano? ~ Yes, I do. (NOT Yes I play.)
- Did Roger cut the grass ~ No, he didn’t.
In these examples the question has be on its own, as an ordinary verb.
- Is the chemist’s open today? ~ No, it isn’t.
- Are you warm enough? ~ Yes, I am, thanks.
We very often add relevant information or comment after a simple yes or no or after the short answer.
- Were you late? ~ Yes, I missed the bus.
- Were you late? ~ Yes, I was, I missed the bus.
- Did Carl find his wallet? ~ No, unfortunately.
- Did Carl find his wallet? ~ No, he didn’t, unfortunately.
In some contexts yes/no or a short answer on its own can sound abrupt and not very polite.
We can sometimes use another phrase instead of yes or no.
- Were you late? ~ I’m afraid I was./Of course I wasn’t.
In a negative short answer the strong form not is formal or emphatic.
- Was the scheme a success? ~ No, it was not. It was a complete failure.
We can also use a short answer to agree or disagree with a statement.
Agreeing:
- These shirts are nice. ~ Yes, they are.
- The weather doesn’t look very good. ~ No, it doesn’t.
Disagreeing:
- I posted the letter. ~ No, you didn’t. It’s still here.
- We can’t afford a car. ~ Yes, we can, if we buy it on credit.
We often use a tag after the short answer.
- These shirts are nice. — Yes, they are, aren’t they?
Requests, Offers, Invitations and Suggestions
We cannot usually answer these with just a short answer.
- Can I borrow your pen, please? ~ Sure./Of course.
- Would you like a chocolate? ~ Yes, please. Thank you.
- Would you like to come to my party? ~ Yes, I’d love to. Thank you very much.
- Shall we have some lunch? ~ Good idea./Yes, why not?
A negative answer to a request or invitation needs some explanation.
- Can I borrow your pen? — Sorry, I’m using it to fill this form in.
- Would you like to come to my party on Saturday? — I’m sorry. I’d like to, but I’m going to be away this weekend.
A short answer (e.g. No, you can’t) would sound very abrupt and impolite.
Short Answers to Wh-Questions
When the question word is the subject, we can use a short answer with a subject + auxiliary.
For Example:
- Who’s got a hair drier? ~ Neil has.
- Who filled this crossword in? ~ I did.
- Which shoes fit best? ~ These do.
We can leave out the auxiliary.
- Who’s got a hair drier? ~ Neil.
- Who filled this crossword in? ~ Me.
So, that was the today’s lesson where we learned all about the answering different kinds of questions in English. Learning the answering questions in English with different ways helps us to create a good invironment in our everyday conversation and communication.
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