Forming short answers in English: A practical guide

In English, short answers are an important component of communication, especially in spoken language. They allow us to quickly and clearly respond to questions, confirm or deny statements, as well as express agreement or disagreement with others. In this article, we will examine various grammatical structures for formulating short answers in English. The main goal of the article is to provide practical skills in formulating short answers (e.g. with so/neither) and correctly using negative constructions with neither/nor according to the context of the sentence. To begin, we will briefly review more grammatical constructions and rules, and then move on to practice.

What are short answers used for?

Short answers are most often used to confirm, deny, or agree with similarity.

Affirmative Responses

Affirmative responses confirm what was said in the question or statement.

Examples:

• “Do you like ice cream?” – “Yes, I do.”
• “Have you seen that movie?” – “Yes, I have.”

Negative Responses

Negative responses indicate the absence of an action or state.

Examples:

• “Are you tired?” – “No, I’m not.”
• “Have you finished your homework?” – “No, I haven’t.”

Agreement Responses

These responses show that you agree with the similarity to another person or state of affairs.

Examples:

• “She loves chocolate.” – “So do I.”
• “He can speak Spanish.” – “So can I.”

Structures of short answers in English

Short answers with an auxiliary verb

In many cases, a short answer is formed using an auxiliary verb (do, does, did, am, is, are, have, has, had), which is used in the question sentence to confirm or deny interrogative sentences.

General structure with an auxiliary verb:

• Affirmative answer: “Yes, + auxiliary verb + subject.”
• Negative answer: “No, + auxiliary verb + subject.”
• Affirmative Answer (Yes):
  • Question: “Do you like coffee?”
    • Answer: “Yes, I do.”
  • Question: “Is she coming to the party?”
    • Answer: “Yes, she is.”
  • Question: “Have you finished your homework?”
    • Answer: “Yes, I have.”
• Negative Answer (No):
  • Question: “Did you see that movie?”
    • Answer: “No, I didn’t.”
  • Question: “Are they going on vacation?”
    • Answer: “No, they aren’t.”
  • Question: “Have you met him before?”
    • Answer: “No, I haven’t.”

Short answers without an auxiliary verb

Some questions can have simple short answers without an auxiliary verb, based on confirmation or denial.

General structure without an auxiliary verb

• Affirmative answer: “Yes, + subject.”
• Negative answer: “No, + subject.”
• Affirmative Answer (Yes):
  • Question: “Is she a doctor?”
    • Answer: “Yes, she is.”
  • Question: “You speak French, don’t you?”
    • Answer: “Yes, I do.”
  • Question: “She likes pizza, doesn’t she?”
    • Answer: “Yes, she does.”
• Negative Answer (No):
  • Question: “Are they students?”
    • Answer: “No, they’re not.”
  • Question: “Does he play guitar?”
    • Answer: “No, he doesn’t.”
  • Question: “She enjoys swimming, doesn’t she?”
    • Answer: “No, she doesn’t.”

Short answers (Agreement Responses) using “so” or “neither” to confirm or deny similarity

To confirm that you do the same action or have the same state as another person, short answers using “so” or “neither” are used.

• General structure with “so” or “neither”:
  • Agreeing with previous statement: “So + auxiliary verb + subject.”
  • Denying similarity: “Neither + auxiliary verb + subject.”
• Examples with “so”:
  • Question: “She can swim.”
    • Answer: “So can I.” (I can too.)
  • Question: “I have been to Paris.”
    • Answer: “So have I.” (I have too.)
• Examples with “neither”:
  • Question: “He doesn’t like spicy food.”
    • Answer: “Neither do I.” (I don’t either.)

“Similarly structured” questions

In such questions, the answer is constructed in a similar structure to confirm similarity to another person or state.

• Examples:
  • Question: “She is studying French, and you?”
    • Answer: “So am I.” (I am too.)
  • Question: “He likes hiking, doesn’t he?”
    • Answer: “Yes, he does.” (Yes, he does.)

These rules and examples will help you better understand the grammar of short answers in English. Be sure to practice these constructions in various situations to increase your confidence in communication and prepare for tests.

Practice exercise for using short answers

To improve your skills in formulating short answers, it is recommended to regularly practice exercises and communicate in English. Use these rules and examples for practice. Check how well you understand this material.

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Practice. Short answers. Additions to remarks (quiz, test)

Betsy always goes to the country for weekends.

So they do.

He doesn’t either.

Neither does her friend.

We don’t either.

So do we.

- He has no money.
- ___ .

Neither do I.

I do too.

I don’t either.

I haven’t neither.

Either have I.

-I don’t like horror films, and you?
-___ . I can’t sleep after seeing such films. I like fantastic films.
-___ . I’ve got some at home.

Neither do I / So do I

So do I / Neither do I

No, don’t / I like it

Neither I do / So I do

Yes, do / I don’t like them

- It’s raining and I have to stay at home.
- ___ .

Linda have too.

Linda does either.

Linda does too.

So does Linda.

Linda has so.

- I had to help my mother about the house.
- ___ .

So do I

Either hadn’t we

So had I

Neither had I

So did I

- Alex had to stay in bed for 5 days.
- ___ .

Pier had too

So had I

I do too

I had to

So did I

- He was hardly upset when he heard the news.
- ___ .

Neither I was

His friend was too

I wasn’t either

Neither was I

So was I

A: I’ll not go back with my car, and you?
B: ___ .

So shall I

Neither do I

Neither shall I

Neither are we

Me too

- Albert is seldom in time for his classes.
- ___ .

John is too

I do too

So is John

Neither aren’t his friends

His friends aren’t either

- I don’t like football.
- ___ .

So does Ann.

Neither does Ann

Ann doesn’t too

Ann does neither

Neither doesn’t Ann

-Have you got any hobbies?
-Yes, I have. I like English.
-___ .

Neither do you

So do I

So has he

Neither have I

So have I

My friend doesn’t like detective stories.

Neither do I.

So do I.

I do neither.

Neither I do.

I do either.

- Brian had English yesterday.
- ___ .

So had I.

So does I.

Neither did I.

I didn’t too.

So did I.

She never liked to wear clothes in bright colors.

Her friend did either.

Her mother either didn’t.

Neither I did.

Neither did her mother.

So did her friend.

- Douglas can’t cope with the task.
- ___ .

I can’t either

So can his friends

His friends can’t too

Neither can I

His friends can’t neither

- I have never been to England.
- ___ .

Neither was I

So have I

Me so

Neither have I

Neither did I

A: George is a student, and you ?
B: ___ .

So am I

He is

A student

Yes, I am

Yes, I do

You mustn’t stay on the beach in hot weather.

You don’t have either.

You can’t either.

Neither you must.

Neither must you.

Mustn’t you either.

The guide would like the tourists to see the centre of the city.

A so they would.

Neither would they.

So would they.

So should they.

They wouldn’t either.

- Her hopes were realized.
- ___ .

Mine did too

My were too

Her were too

Mine were either

So were mine

My sister has graduated from the University.

Her sister has either

So do they

So is my sister

Neither did mine

So has his brother

- She has lived in Moscow for 20 years.
- ___ .

I do too.

So do I.

I have too.

Neither have I.

So have I.

The thief had to run out of the shop when the policeman began shooting.

neither did the customers

so did the customers

so had the customers

so the customers did

the customers had to

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