Guide to English grammar

Is it raining? Have you finished? Can we turn right here?	Positive -Yes, it is. -Yes, I have. -Yes, we can.
Negative No, it isn't. No, I haven't. No, we can't.

2 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.

3 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.

4 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.

5 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.

6 We can also use a short answer to agree or disagree with a statement.

Agreeing Disagreeing

These shirts are nice. -Yes, they are. The weather doesn't look very good. -No, it doesn't. 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?

3 Requests, offers, invitations and suggestions
1 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?

2 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.

4 Short answers to wh-questions

1 When the question word is the subject, we can use a short answer with a “subject + auxiliary”.
Who's got a hair drier? -Neil has.
Who filled this crossword in? -I did.
Which shoes fit best? -These do.

A practical guide to English grammar 31