Avoiding Repetition

Auxiliary verbs can be also used in different situations:

1. In short answers, to avoid the repetition of the main verb:

 A - "Are you going to read that book?"

B - "No, I am not (going to read that book)."
 A - "Did you have a nice meal?"
B - "Yes, I did (have a nice meal)."
 A - "Have you managed to finish the job?"
B - "No, I haven't (managed to finish the job)."
2. In question tags:

 You are very depressed, aren't you?

 Do you understand what I say, don't you?
 You haven't been to China, have you?
3. To comment on given information: we make comments in conversation but
avoid repeating information that has just been given. To reply questions: we use
it to show that we are interested and paying attention to what is being said.

 A - "My sister is coming."

B - " I know she is."
 A - "Jane doesn't like walking in the mountains."
B - "I thought she did!"
 A - "My vacation was really awful!"
B - "Was it? I'm very sorry..."
 A - "To celebrate your birthday, I've bought you a present"
B - "Have you? You are so nice!"
It is also possible to respond with a different auxiliary. To know which auxiliary
verb to use, we must reconstruct the part of the sentence that is missing and
consider the meaning and the time of the events in the sentence itself.

 A - "I didn't see the film."

B - "Oh you should have (seen the film). It was really
great!"
 My children always let me know what time they expect to be
back. If they didn't (let me know), I would always be
worrying about where they were.
  A - "I never see Martin these days. How is he?"
B - "We often do (see him). He is fine."
When there is more than one auxiliary, we can either use one or more in our
answers.

 A - "He could have been lying."

B - "Yes, he could" or "Yes, he could have." or "Yes,
he could have been."
 A - "Would I have enjoyed the party?"
B - "No, I don't think you would" or "No, I don't think
you would have."