Short Answers in English

Why do use short answers in English?

We do not use only Yes or No to answer a question as this is not polite. We use short answers. Here are some examples:

Yes/No questionShort answer
Isshe English?Yes,
No,		she
she		is.
isn’t. *
Arethe men working?Yes,
No,		they
they		are.
aren’t. *
Canheplayfootball?Yes,
No,		he
he		can.
can‘t. *
Havewegotany oranges?Yes,
No,		we
we		have.
haven’t. *
Hasshegota boyfriend?Yes,
No,		she
she		has.
hasn’t. *
Doyouhavea job?Yes,
No,		I
I		do.
don’t. *
Doesshelikereading?Yes,
No,		she
she		does.
doesn’t. *
Didtheyarriveyesterday?Yes,
No,		they
they		did.
didn’t. *
Aretheywatchingat the moment?Yes,
No,		they
they		are.
aren’t. *
Haveyouever beento Germany?Yes,
No,		we
we		have.
haven’t. *
Hashebeen workinghere for long?Yes,
No,		he
he		has.
hasn’t. *
Aretheygoing to getmarried?Yes,
No,		they
they		are.
aren’t. *
Willwebelate?Yes,
No,		we
we		will.
won’t. *

* Use long forms instead of contracted forms to emphasize your answer.

Are you French? – No, I am not.

Explanations

Exercises