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<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="no-js" lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge"> <title>Short Answers - English Grammar</title> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="description" content="Short answers for yes / no questions."> <meta name="keywords" content="english,learn,grammar,online,short answers"> <meta name="author" content="Lingo4you GbR"> <meta name="robots" content="index,follow"> <meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=424214010, affiliate-data=pt=276439&at=1000lHse"> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico"> <link rel="meta" href="/labels.rdf" type="application/rdf+xml" title="ICRA labels"><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/short-answers"> <link rel="alternate" href="https://www.ego4u.de/de/cram-up/grammar/short-answers" hreflang="de"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/css/style.min.css" media="all"> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://cdn.opencmp.net/tcf-v2/cmp-stub-latest.js" id="open-cmp-stub" data-domain="ego4u.com"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="trfAdSetup" async data-traffectiveConf='{ "targeting": [{"key":"zone","values":null,"value":"education"}, {"key":"pagetype","values":null,"value":"article"}, {"key":"programmatic_ads","values":null,"value":"true"}, {"key":"ads","values":null,"value":"true"}] ,"dfpAdUrl" : "/307308315,1005672/ego4u.com" ,"clientAlias" : "ego4u-com" }' src="//cdntrf.com/preloader/6872.js" > </script></head><body lang="en" id="www-ego4u-com"><div id="container" class="g-container"> <header class="g-header"> <div class="inside"> <div class="logo"> <a href="/"><img src="/images/logo/ego4u_logo.svg" alt="ego4u Logo"></a> </div> <div class="slogan"> <span class="title">English Grammar Online</span> <span class="subtitle">… the fun way to learn English!</span> </div> <nav class="header-navigation"> <ul> <li> <a href="/de/dictionary"> <i class="fa fa-book" aria-hidden="true"></i> <span>Dictionary</span> </a> </li> <li> <a href="https://www.ego4u.de/de/cram-up/grammar/short-answers" hreflang="de" lang="de" title="auf Deutsch"> <i class="fa fa-2x fa-language"></i> <span lang="de">auf Deutsch</span> </a> </li> </ul> </nav> </div> </header><div class="g-top"> <div class="inside"> <nav class="breadcrumb-navigation"> <span id="mobile-menu" class="menu"> <i class="fa fa-bars fa-fw open" aria-hidden="true"></i> <i class="fa fa-times fa-fw close" aria-hidden="true"></i> </span> <a href="/"><i class="fa fa-home"></i></a> › Cram Up › <a href="/en/cram-up/grammar">Grammar</a> › <strong>Short Answers</strong></p> </nav> <h1>Short Answers</h1> </div> </div><main class="g-main"> <div id="content" class="inside">  <p class="hidden-link"><a href="#exercises">Exercises on Short Answers</a></p> <p>Saying <span class="typo">‘</span>Yes, I do. / No, I don<span class="typo">’</span>t<span class="typo">’</span> in English is more polite than just saying <span class="typo">‘</span>Yes. / No.<span class="typo">’</span> That<span class="typo">’</span>s why short answers are very commonly used.</p> <p>To form the short answer, you use the first word from the question. (This is either an auxiliary verb or a form of <span class="typo">‘</span>be<span class="typo">’</span>.)</p> <p>Use the long form (he does) in affirmative answers (yes).</p> <p>Use the short form (he doesn<span class="typo">’</span>t) in negative answers (no).</p> <table class="info-table" style="width:27em;" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <th>Question</th><th>Affirmative</th><th>Negative</th> </tr> <tr> <td><em>Do</em> we know him?</td> <td>Yes, we <em>do</em>.</td> <td>No, we <em>do</em>n<span class="typo">’</span>t.</td> </tr> <tr> <td><em>Can</em> she see me?</td><td>Yes, she <em>can</em>.</td><td>No, she <em>can</em><span class="typo">’</span>t.</td> </tr> <tr> <td><em>Have</em> they read the book?</td><td>Yes, they <em>have</em>.</td><td>No, they <em>have</em>n<span class="typo">’</span>t.</td> </tr> <tr> <td><em>Is</em> he hungry?</td><td>Yes, he <em>is</em>.</td><td>No, he <em>is</em>n<span class="typo">’</span>t.</td> </tr> </table> <p><strong>Mind:</strong> If <span class="typo">‘</span>you<span class="typo">’</span> is the subject of the question, <span class="typo">‘</span>you<span class="typo">’</span> must be replaced by <span class="typo">‘</span>I<span class="typo">’</span> or <span class="typo">‘</span>we<span class="typo">’</span>.</p> <table class="info-table" style="width:27em;" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <th>Question</th><th>Affirmative</th><th>Negative</th> </tr> <tr> <td><em>Do</em> you know him?</td> <td>Yes, I / we <em>do</em>.</td> <td>No, I / we <em>do</em>n<span class="typo">’</span>t.</td> </tr> </table> <p>If the question starts with <span class="typo">‘</span>are you<span class="typo">’</span>, <span class="typo">‘</span>are<span class="typo">’</span> must sometimes be replaced by <span class="typo">‘</span>am<span class="typo">’</span>.</p> <table class="info-table" style="width:27em;" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <th>Question</th><th>Affirmative</th><th>Negative</th> </tr> <tr> <td><em>Are</em> you hungry?</td> <td>Yes, I <em>am</em>.</td> <td>No, I<em><span class="typo">’</span>m</em> not.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>But: →</td> <td>Yes, we <em>are</em>.</td> <td>No, we <em>are</em>n<span class="typo">’</span>t.</td> </tr> </table> <h2 id="exercises">Exercises on Short Answers</h2> <ul class="linklist"> <li><a href="/en/cram-up/grammar/short-answers/exercises">Exercise on Short Answers</a></li> <li><a href="/en/read-on/countries/usa/tour/new-york#exercises">Exercise on the text <span class="typo">“</span>New York<span class="typo">”</span></a></li> <li><a href="/en/read-on/countries/uk/tour/hadrians-wall#exercises">Exercise on the text <span class="typo">“</span>Hadrian<span class="typo">’</span>s Wall<span class="typo">”</span></a></li> </ul>  </div> </main><aside class="g-sidebar"> <div class="inside"> <nav class="sidebar-navigation"> <h3><i class="fa fa-university fa-fw"></i> Cram Up</h3> <ul> <li class="active"><a href="/en/cram-up/grammar" title="English Grammar exercises and 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