Present Tense - Short Answers

English Grammar Rules

Short Answers with Do and Does

In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers, to direct questions as follows:

Short Answer Short Answer

Sample Questions
(Affirmative) (Negative)

Do I need a ticket? Yes, you do. No, you don't.

Do you need a dictionary? Yes, I do. No, I don't.

Do you both speak

Yes, we do. No, we don't.
English?

Do they need help? Yes, they do. No, they don't.

Does he like chocolate? Yes, he does. No, he doesn't.

Does she want to come? Yes, she does. No, she doesn't.

Does it have four legs? Yes, it does. No, it doesn't.

Short Answers with To Be

In questions that use Is or Are it is possible to give short answers as follows:

Short Answer Short Answer

Sample Questions
(Affirmative) (Negative)

Am I early? Yes, you are. No, you aren't.

Are you busy now? Yes, I am. No, I'm not.

Are you both

Yes, we are. No, we aren't.
surprised?

Are they hungry? Yes, they are. No, they aren't.

Is he late again? Yes, he is. No, he isn't.

Is she a good student? Yes, she is. No, she isn't.

Is it ready? Yes, it is. No, it isn't.

In most cases, it is possible to give a short answer or a long answer to a question in English. In
casual conversation, short answers are much more common than long answers. Long answers are
for more formal conversations or if you want to give more information in your response.

Examples

 Do you like seafood?

- Yes, I do
- No, I don't.

 Can you speak German?

- Yes, I can
- No, I can't.

 Is there a hotel in this street?

- Yes, there is
- No, there isn't.

 Are they coming to the movies?

- Yes, they are
- No, they aren't.

If you look at the examples above, you will notice that the answer uses the first verb in the
question (even if it is an auxiliary verb). This is a common characteristic of short answers in English.
Contrast that to long answers to each of those questions:

 Do you like seafood?

- Yes, I like seafood.
- No, I don't like seafood.

 Can you speak German?

- Yes, I can speak German.
- No, I can't speak German.

 Is there a hotel in this street?

- Yes, there is a hotel at the end of this street.
- No, there isn't a hotel in this street.

 Are they coming to the movies?

- Yes, they are coming to the movies.
- No, they are not coming to the movies.

You will notice that long answers often sound repetitive. A long answer to one of these questions
would be considered very formal in English, and in most cases, unnecessary.
Remember, when you are accepting or refusing something to say 'yes, please' or 'no, thank you'. It
is much more common to give short answers to questions like these:

 Would you like a beer?

Yes, please.

 Do you need any help?

No, thank you.

Topic: Short Answers

English answers, as well as most other languages, do not have to be full sentences. It would not
be natural for the answer to be identical to the question. For example:

Bob: Did you go to the store to buy milk?

Sally: Yes, I went to the store to buy milk?

This type of conversation rarely occurs between 2 native English speakers. What would be natural
is the following:

Bob: Did you go to the store to buy milk?

Sally: Yes, I did.

This is called a “short answer.” But there is a problem that many English students face. What verb
should you use in the short answer? In the above conversation, the question uses the verb “go.”
But the verb in the short answer is “did.” The difficulty is deciding which verb to use in the short
answer. Here are 2 more examples:

Jake; Did you have dinner yet?

Mary: Yes, I did.

Robert: Should I have purchased a better computer?

Phil: Yes, you should have.

Both of the above conversations contain the verb “have,” but only one uses it in the short answer.
Why? It’s simple. We have a great way to remember the rule. Take the quiz below and then look
at the answers and complete explanation below.

 Questions 

WH - Questions
WH – QUESTIONS

What? - ¿Qué? ¿Cuál? ¿Cuáles? How often? - ¿Con qué frecuencia?

What else? - ¿Qué más? How long? - ¿Cuánto tiempo? ¿Qué longitud?

Which? - ¿Qué? ¿Cuál? ¿Cuáles? How long ago? - ¿Hace cuánto tiempo?

How? - ¿Cómo? ¿Cuán? How old? - ¿Qué edad? ¿Cuán viejo?

How else? - ¿De qué otra manera? How soon? - ¿Cuán pronto?

When? - ¿Cuándo? How big? - ¿Qué tamaño? ¿Cuán grande?

Where? - ¿Dónde? ¿Adónde? How far? - ¿A qué distancia? ¿Cuán lejos?

Where else? - ¿Dónde más? How tall? - ¿Qué estatura? ¿Cuán alto?

Why? - ¿Por qué? ¿Para qué? How deep? - ¿Qué profundidad?

Who? - ¿Quién? ¿Quienes? How early? - ¿Cuán temprano?

Who else? - ¿Quién más? How late? - ¿Cuán tarde?

Whom? - ¿A quién? ¿A quiénes? How heavy? - ¿Qué peso? ¿Cuán pesado?

Whose? - ¿De quién? ¿De quiénes? How thick? - ¿Qué espesor? ¿Cuán grueso?

How much? - ¿Cuánto/a? What time? - ¿Qué hora? ¿A qué hora?

How many? - ¿Cuántos/as? What kind? - ¿Qué clase? ¿Qué tipo?

Question Answer Example

What Thing What is your name?

When Time When is the party?

Who Person Who is your brother?

Where Place Where is the bank?

Why Reason Why do you like pizza?

 How do you spell your name?
How Directions

WH Questions Structure

WH questions in the simple present use “do” or “be”. Take a look at the structure for each of these
verbs.

Do

WH + DO/DOES + SUBJECT + VERB

Take a look at some examples:

Where do you work?

When does she wake up?

Who is your brother?

Be

WH + BE + SUBJECT

Here are the examples:

Where are you from?

Who is that man?

When is your class?

Here are some example questions and answers:

Where are you from?

I am from India.

What is your name?

My name is Jacob.

When do you wake up?

I wake up at 7:30 am.

Why are you angry?

I am angry because I did not pass my exam.

Complete:
1., _________ do you live?

Who, What, Where

2., _________ do you wake up?

I wake up at 7:30 am.

How, When, Who

3. _________ is your brother?

He is great, thanks for asking.

What, How, Who

4-. _________ is this?

That’s my electronic dictionary.

Who, What, Where

5., _________ do you take English class?

Because I want to improve my speaking.

Why, Where, When

6., _________ does your father work?

He works at the post office.

Where, When, Why

7., _________ do I cook rice?

You need to use a pot with water.

Where, When, How

8-. _________ is the party?

It is on Saturday night.

What, Where, When

9-., _________ are you sad?

Because my dog is sick.

Why, What, Where

10, _________ is the bank?

It is on 4th Avenue.

When, How, Where

Fill in the blanks with do, does, is, or are.

 1. Where   she work? 

2. When   you finish school? 

3. Why   you like that movie? 

4. When   the game? 

5. What   your brother's name?

6. Where   my jacket? 

7. How old   your parents? 

8. When   Dan eat dinner? 

9. What   the answer to question number 5? 

10. How   the boys like the class? 

11. Where _________ you live?

12. How ____________ you?

13. When __________they come to school?

14. Where ___________ she work?

15. Why __________Kim sad?

16. Who ________your teacher?

17. What ______ their names?

18. Who _____ you sit with in class?

19. When ___________the boys go to sleep?

20. How ________Tom like his new car?

CONVERSATION ONE:

1.A: Do you have a girlfriend?

2. B: No, I don't. Do you?

3. A: I don't have a girlfriend, either.

4. B: Why not?

5. A: I don't know. Maybe I'm not rich enough.

6. B: Girls like guys with money.

7. A: They sure do.

8. B: They like guys with new cars.

9. A: I don't have money or a new car.

10. B: Me, neither.

12. B: Maybe we should learn some good jokes.

CONVERSATION II:

1. A: I'm upset with my mom.

2. B: Why is that?

3. A: I warned her about her new boyfriend. She didn't listen to me.

4. B: What happened?

5. A: I gave her $1,000 for her birthday. I told her to spend it on herself.

6. B: That was very nice of you.

7. A: I found out that she gave it to her new boyfriend.

8. B: Why did she do that?

9. A: He said he would buy her a nice ring.

10. B: What's wrong with that?

11. A: He went to Las Vegas. He lost it all gambling.

12. B: I hope your mom broke up with him.

1. Does Ann live here?

A. Yes, she lives.

B. Yes, she does.

C. Yes, she lives here.

D. No, she don’t live here.

2. Have you gone to Mexico?

A. Yes, I did.

B. Yes, I have.

C. Yes, I have gone.

D. Yes, I went.

3. Are you studying Korean now?

A. Yes, I am studying

B. No, I amn’t

C. Yes, I are.

D. Yes, I am.

4. Would you have gone with Tim if you had enough money?

A. Yes, I would have.

B. Yes, I would

C. Yes, I would have gone.

D. Yes, I have.

5. Did you graduate yet?

A. Yes, I did graduate.

B. Yes, I graduated.

C. Yes, I did.

D. No, I didn’t graduate.

6. Before you gave Greg the money, had you seen the car that you wanted to buy?

A. Yes, I did.

B. Yes, I had.

C. Yes. I had seen.

D. Yes, I saw.