The answer to the question can be complete (repetition of the whole sentence), or short.
For special questions, sometimes one word in the answer is enough.
John’s father was reading a book.
Who was reading this book? - John’s father (was). - It was permissible, but not necessary.
What was he doing? - Reading a book. - Here was (and any operator) is not permissible. The presence of the operator will require the subject: He was reading.
For yes / no questions, it is not enough to say only yes / no. Of course, this is possible in colloquial speech. But for all the brevity of colloquial speech, foreigners know how to use the short answer correctly and beautifully, and use it. Therefore, we must know.
The principle of the short answer: after yes / no, add a bunch subject - operator.
How this happens: as in posing any question, we look for the subject (as stated in the sentence) and the predicate, more precisely, only its first part (the operator). Sometimes in a sentence the predicate consists of one part, then add do / does / did. (more about this in the How to ask a question section)
How to do it easier: we look / listen to the question carefully, especially its beginning. At the beginning is the operator and the subject. Mentally swap them. Add yes or no. The principle is simple: as you were asked, so answer. how in the issue, So and in the answer.
Does she like her new car? - Yes, she does.
Is John reading a newspaper? - Yes, he is.
Remember that if the short answer is no, then not.
Yes, --- subject --- operator.
No, --- subject --- operator --- not.
In order not to get confused during the answer, we must answer not the question itself, but in fact. It is necessary to “forget” the question for a minute, and respond to the fact that we want to inform the interlocutor.
Haven "t you agreed to meet with me on Sunday? - Yes, I have. No, we haven’t.
So that the proposal form is not confusing, you need to focus not on the question, but on the answer itself, on the information that you tell the interlocutor. If you provide affirmative information, then the response should begin with Yes. There should be no negation in such an answer later in the text - not a particle of not, nor negative pronouns (nobody) or adverbs (never) or prepositions (neither ... nor). If you provide negative information, then the answer starts with No, and then negation must necessarily occur. More on the types of negation in the Denial section.
No, I have never been to China.
Yes, I think somebody have to answer for it.
It is even more difficult with tag-questions, since the sentence is affirmative at the beginning and negative at the end, or vice versa.
But we observe the same principle: we do not look at the form of the question, we pay attention to what information is in response, affirmation or denial, and no mixes: either yes, and throughout the answer yes or no, and then the answer (be it short or complete) should be negative. No mixtures like, “yes, I don" t ”or“ no, I have ”.
Ask a question on the topic "Answers to questions"
In English, as in Russian, there are so-called interrogative words. They are needed for construction.
They all start with a letter combination. wh, because of which special issues are also called wh questions. In this article, we grouped interrogative words by phonetic and semantic characteristics into original blocks, so that it would be easier for you to remember them. So, what are we waiting for?
Let's start with a question word What? - “What?”, “Which?”:
- What are you doing? - What are you doing?
- What season do you like? - What season do you like?
- What day is it today? - What day is today?
Interrogative Where? means "Where?" or "Where?" and is used when you need to find out the location of a person or object.
- Where do you live? - Where do you live?
- Where did you put my coat? “Where did you hang my coat?”
- Where have you been? - Where have you been?
The combination of the interrogative word with the preposition Where ... from? it means not “Where?”, but “Where?”.
- Where are you from? - Where are you from?
- Where did she come from? - Where did she come from?
Interrogative word When? used to specify time and translated "When?"
- When did you meet him? - When did you meet him?
Please note that after the question word when not will be used, an auxiliary verb of a simple future tense, but do / does. It is assumed that the answer in any case will relate to future times, which means that it will not be necessary to use additional.
- When do you travel? - When will you travel?
- When have you been at the hospital? - When were you in the hospital?
Interrogative word Why? - this is our usual “Why?”:
- Why did you tell him that? “Why did you tell him that?”
- Why is he shouting? - Why is he screaming?
Interrogative word Which? which means "Which?", "Which of ...?" To better understand when it is used, consider translating a sentence with which. In this case, we mean "which of the proposed":
- Which cup do you like? - Which cup do you like?
Who? translates as “Who?”, and when constructing a question with this word, the auxiliary verb is not put, but instead the main verb is put in a suitable time sense:
- Who was here before we came? “Who was here before we arrived?”
- Who lives here? - Who lives here?
Interrogative word Whom? means "Who?", although he is often confused with Who?:
- Whom did you see at the office? - Who did you see in the office?
Following interrogative word How? means "How?" or "How?":
- How do you feel? - How are you feeling?
In turn, designs How many? and How much? mean "How much?":
- How much does this dress cost? - How much does this dress cost?
- How many flowers did you buy? - How many flowers did you buy?
- How much sugar do you take in your coffee? - How much sugar do you add to coffee?
Only at first glance, the English interrogative words, with or without translation, seem like a complicated topic. The easiest way is to teach them gradually, with the peculiar blocks into which the words are broken in our article.
Consonant combination ph [f] is found in words that are derived from ancient Greek roots.
photogra ph ["foutǝgrɑ: f] - photo
physics ["fiziks] - physics
tele phone ["telifoun] - phone
pro phet ["profit] - the prophet
Letter w not pronounced before combination ho. She also makes no sound in front of the consonant r.
Vowel combination ow gives, as a rule, a double sound (diphthong).
| h ow - as t own - city |
n ow - Now c ow - cow |
However in bowl (bowl) and snow (snow) sounds. There is a noun row, which means noise, gwalt, and there row - row. The same "discrepancy" with bow. First bow has the meaning bow or, as a verb, bow. Second bow - this is bow (the one being fired), and also bow (the one played on the violin). Do not be lazy "once again" to check the pronunciation and, most importantly, the meaning of the dictionary.
Word - Word
Rare words like prophet it’s not necessary to memorize, but what you need to memorize is a simple index word this [ðis] (this, this, this).
We will examine our room, showing the objects:
This is a door. - This is the door.
This is a window. - This is the window.
This is a table. - It is a table.
Now imagine that Tim Baker from England came to you and you introduce him to your mother.
Mum, this is Tim. - Mom, this is Tim.
Tim, this is my mother. - Tim, this is my mom.
Put this in front of a person or object, that is, in front of an animate or inanimate noun this human, this subject.
If in Russian we distinguish between masculine, feminine and neuter gender, then in English gender does not matter. Very simple.
Grammar - Grammar
Continuing to inspect the room, we will point to some object and ask: What is this? In English, a word like this is required. what (what).
What is this? - What is it?
This is a floor. - This is the floor.
This is a wall. - This is the wall.
This is a clock. - This is a clock.
Second interrogative word who (who) helps us get to know a person, with people - with creatures animate and, in general, intelligent.
Who is this - Who is it?
Who is he? - Who is he?
Who is she? - Who is she?
Who are they? - Who are they?
What to do if you are asked this question? Answer: my name is, say, Kolya, Kolya Bulkin. Who's that? And this is Tim Baker, my English friend.
Who are you? - Who you are?
I am Nick. I am Nick Bulkin. - I'm Kolya. I'm Kolya Bulkin.
Who is this boy? - Who is this boy?
This is Tim Baker, my English friend. - This is Tim Baker, my English friend.
What and who used not only in matters, with their help you can build narrative sentences.
We eat what we have. - We eat what we have.
Doesn't know what is what. - He knows what's what.
I know what to do. - I know what to do.
Let "s wait and see who comes first. - Let's wait and see who comes first.
There is a Russian proverb: He who does nothing is not mistaken. The British say: Not who makes no mistakes, makes nothing. Literally: He who does not make any mistakes does nothing.
Additionally, to train this part of the lesson:
Notes - Notes
Letter k not pronounced in front n.
Quotation - Quote
The Evangelist Matthew narrates about the entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem: some people praise him, while others excitedly ask: Who is this?
The people asked, "Who is this man?"
The crowd answered, "This man is Jesus. He is the prophet from the town of Nazareth."
Verbs ask (ask) and answer (answer) stand in the past tense: the people asked (people asked) the crowd answered (the crowd answered).
We took an excerpt from the modern English Children's Bible: we will translate it in modern Russian.
Who is this man? - Who is this man?
This man is Jesus. - This man is Jesus.
Not is the prophet from the town of Nazareth. “He is a prophet from the city of Nazareth.”
Reading - Reading
Who you are? Who are you? - we ask, turning, so to speak, to the second person. Who is he? Who is he? Who are they? - we are interested in third parties.
In principle, one can address this question to the first person - to oneself: Who am I? There are situations when you start to doubt your own self! How did this happen with the girl Alice, who ended up in Wonderland. Remember what happened to Alice in Wonderland? At first she grew to the ceiling, then she became lower than the table ... We listen to her woeful reasonings and teach grammar as we read; e.g. English hair , unlike Russian hair, - a noun in the singular.
Ada "s hair is long. - Ada's hair is long.
Alice "s hair is short. - Alice's hair is short.
What color is your hair? - What color is your hair?
Who am i?
Who am I?
"Dear, dear!" says Alice. "Everything is so strange today! I think that I am not the same. But if I am not the same, the next question is, who am I?"
"I am sure that I am not Ada," she says, "her hair is long and my hair is not. And I am not Mabel. I know a lot and she knows so little. Besides, she is she, and I am I, and ... oh, dear, it is so strange. "
Words - Words
strange - strange; same - the same; if - if; next - next; sure [ʃuǝ] - confident; long - a long; a lot [ǝ "lot] - a lot; besides - Moreover.
Notes - Notes
1. Pronoun everything ["evriθiŋ]" folded "of every (each) and thing (thing). Literally, every thing, but we translate like everything. Word so (so, such) can face adjectives and adverbs, for example, before little (few) and well (well).
Everything is so strange. “Everything is so strange.”
London is so big. - London is so big.
Her hair is so long. - Her hair is so long.
She knows so little. “She knows so little.”
I know him so well. “I know him so well.”
2. Union that [ðǝt] (that) is actively used to link two simple sentences into one complex.
I think that he is right. “I think he is right.”
I know that she is wrong. - I know that she is mistaken.
She says that she is Ada. - She says she is Ada.
I am sure that he knows her. “I'm sure he knows her.”
Pretext to is part of three words for time: today (Today), tomorrow (tomorrow), tonight (tonight).
I am busy today. “I'm busy today.”
Tim comes tomorrow. - Tim is coming tomorrow.
It is hot tonight. - Today is a hot evening.
Translation - Translation
First you need to convey the meaning - the exact meaning of the phrase or passage. Make the so-called "interlinear" - find each English word a Russian translation. After that, redo, rearrange the sentence so that it sounds "in Russian" - simply and naturally.
We give an example. Tim says: I have a dog. Literal Translation: I have a dog. Let’s convey the meaning of the statement “normal” in Russian: I have a dog.
Do not be afraid to move slightly away from the original - not from its meaning, but from its "foreign" design. Let's analyze the sentence that we just read.
Original: It is hot tonight.
Literal Translation: It is hot tonight.
Final version: Today is a hot evening.
Or, for example, Alice argues: I think that I am not the same. If you translate "word for word", it turns out: I think I'm not the same. It is perfectly acceptable to translate this phrase differently. We give two options.
I don't seem like I was.
Looks like I became different.
The dictionary told us that dear is an adjective expensive. However Alice's exclamation Dear, dear! translate not as Dear dear! and a suitable Russian exclamation, for example, Oh my God!
When translating, often look in the dictionary. Consult your dictionary. The dictionary recently explained to us that little may be an adjective little and adverb few.
Little Alice knows little. - Little Alice knows little.
Question - Question
We had a phrase I like jam (I like jam). In this lesson we are talking This is a door (This is the door) I have a dog (I have a dog). Why before jam costs nothing but before door and dog - some kind of letter a?
Answer: This is not some kind of letter, but indefinite article. We will talk about him in the next lesson. In the meantime, a small grammatical and entertaining task.
Grammar - Grammar
Grammar in the form of a game: you turn to your interlocutor, even if imagined, and say: I see you. I see you. Then you speak, pointing to the third person: You see him. That is: You see him. Comment out all hand movements aloud: Does not see her. He sees her. Etc. And so on.
Remember a very simple thing, in Russian we bow: give to meletter for mehe goes with me... And in English for all these cases one form me.
Similarly, for Russian pronouns you, you, you - one english you.
So, point with your hand and “condemn”:
I see you . - I see you.
You see him . - Can you see him.
Does not see her . - He sees her.
She sees us [ʌs]. - She sees us.
We see you . “We see you.”
You see them [ðem]. “You see them.”
They see me . - They see me.
The circle is closed. Now take a coin or book. Take a coin or a book. Give it to the other person. Give it to him.
IN english phrase pretext appears towhich indicates the direction of your action. In the Russian translation in this case, an excuse is not required: Give it to him.
So, you pass the coin and say:
I take a coin. I take it. - I'm taking a coin. I take her.
I give it to you. “I give it to you.”
You give it to him. “You give it to him.”
Does not give it to her. - He gives it to her.
She gives it to us. “She gives it to us.”
We give it to you. “We give it to you.”
You give it to them. “You give it to them.”
They give it back to me. “They give her back to me.”
Replace the verb give (give) on show [ʃou] (show) and repeat the whole "circle": I show it to you. You show it to him. And so on.
Reading - Reading
Once there was a fantastic incident: the girl Alice, alive, animated, was refused to be mistaken for a person in the Looking Glass, and instead of she stubbornly called her it. These are the looking glass! Instead of speaking correctly Who is thisask What is this?
Pay attention to fantastic unusual behavior. child. Grammatical behavior english words child [ʧaild] (child, child), we mean. By rule, English nouns have a plural ending - s: coins (coins) trees (trees) a child becomes children ["ʧildrǝn] (children).
The characters in this scene:
Alice ["ælis] - Alice
Unicorn ["ju: niko: n] - Unicorn
Lion ["laiǝn] - Lion
Hare - Hare
Children are monsters
Children are monsters.
| Unicorn: | What is this? | |
| Hare: | This is a child! | |
| Unicorn: | Is it alive? Children are fabulous monsters! | |
| Alice: | No, they are not! | |
| Hare: | It can talk. | |
| Unicorn: | Talk, child. | |
| Alice: | I think that you are a fabulous monster! | |
| (Lion joins them and stares at Alice.) | ||
| Lion: | What is this? | |
| Unicorn: | Well, what is it, really? Now, try to guess. | |
| Lion: | Are you an animal, or a vegetable, or a mineral? | |
| Unicorn: | It is a fabulous monster! | |
| Lion: | Then hand round the cake, Monster. | |
Words - Words
alive [ǝ "laiv] - living; fabulous ["fæbjulǝs] - fabulous; monster ["monstǝ] - the monster; talk - talk, talk; join [ʤoin] - to join; stare - to look closely; really ["riǝli] - really; try - try; guess - guess; animal ["ænimǝl] - animal, beast; vegetable ["veʤitǝbl] - vegetable; mineral ["minǝral] - mineral, mineral; then [ðen] - then; cake - pie; hand round ["hænd" raund] - give out.
Notes - Notes
Although all the characters, including Alice, are very fabulous and fantastic, they communicate in the correct English using colloquial words such as well and now.
1. According to the dictionary well is an adverb that is translated into Russian well. For example, you are reporting about someone:
I know him very well. “I know him very well.”
Does not everything well. “He's doing all right.”
She sings very well. - She sings very well.
Vegetables grow well this year. - Vegetables are growing well this year.
Often well acts as a spoken word-interjection, which corresponds to Russian well, okay, so.
Well, talk to him. - Well, talk to him.
Well, she is not Mabel. “So she's not Mabel.”
Well, take some cake. - Okay, get the pie.
2. Same story with the word now. Its first and foremost significance is now, now.
Now I know this word. “Now I know that word.”
Now we know what to do. “Now we know what to do.”
Now let "s have some tea. - Now let's have some tea.
Talk to her now! - Talk to her now!
Now can act as an interjection, which will help us start a phrase, start a conversation, attract attention.
Now, try to guess. - Well, try to guess.
Now, have some tea. - Here, have some tea.
Now, listen to me. - Hey, listen to me.
By hasting a hoof or stopping someone else's too lively activity, the English say:
Come on now! - Come on, quick!
Stop it now! - Well, stop it!
Not believing anyone's tales, you can exclaim:
Now, now! - Oh well!
Now, what a fabulous story! - What a fabulous story!
Grammar - Grammar
It often coincides that the Russian transitive verb corresponds to transitional English. Transitive verb - one after which no prepositions are required, the action, as it were, goes directly to the complement.
I i see a dog. - I see a dog.
I eat Apple. - I eat an apple.
is he beret coin. - Not takes a coin.
After the intransitive verb, a preposition is required.
I look on the a dog. - I look at the dog.
We are going in school. - we go to school.
He enters in house. - does not go into the house.
Now an example of a mismatch: transitive verb listen corresponds to English intransitive listen.
I listen to music. - I listen to music.
He is listening to me. - Not listens to me.
Or, conversely, the Russian verb is intransitive, after which the preposition is necessary, the English verb is transitive.
I ride a bike. - I ride a bicycle.
He presses a key. - Do not presses a key.
We join them. - We join them.
Phrases - Phrases
People can talk. - People can talk.
Try to guess who she is. “Try to guess who she is.”
Who is she really? “Who is she really?”
She talks to animals. - She's talking to animals.
Coal is a mineral. - Coal is a mineral.
What next? - What's next?
Exercises - Exercises
Exercise 1. Translate the words in brackets. - Translate the words in brackets.
1. What is this? - This is a (door).
2. Who is this? - This is (Mr. Baker).
3. Who is this man? - He is Tim "s (dad).
4. Who is this woman? - She is Tim "s (mom).
5. Who are they? - They are (Mr. and Mrs. Baker).
6. Who is this girl? - She is my (English friend).
7. What is this? - This is a (vegetable).
8. What is this? - This is (bread and butter).
9. What is this? - This is (coal).
10. What is this? - This is a (fairy monster).
Exercise 2. Make sentences with so. - Build sample sentences using so (such).
Her hair is (so long).
Her hair is so long.
Tim is (so smart).
This bag is (so big).
Mr Brown is (so strict).
Her mum is (so kind).
This girl is (so weird).
Mrs Green is (so young).
This boy is (so strong).
She is (so small).
This cake is (so tasty).
I am (so busy) today.
Exercise 3. Translate the words in brackets into English. - Translate the words in brackets into English.
Alice is sure that (she is not Ada).
Alice is sure that she is not Ada.
Tim is sure that (his mom cooks well).
Doesn't know that (Mrs. Green is kind).
We know that (Tim is English).
We know that (London is big).
The Lion thinks that (Alice is a monster).
I know that (she grows vegetables).
Ann is sure that (she's right).
In most cases, with education interrogative sentences in english language the word order changes. At the beginning of the sentence is an auxiliary or modal verb.
Are you OK?
When can you come and see us?
Do you like dogs?
Didn’t you hear me?
Why can’t you help me?
Where has Mary gone?
2. Indirect issues.
Often, asking questions, we start them with the words "Do you know ..." or "Tell me ...". In such cases, a common mistake is to rearrange words on the model of ordinary interrogative sentences:
Do you know when will she arrive?
This is not true. Correctly so:
Do you know when she will arrive?
That is, the main part of such a proposal has the same form as affirmative.
Similarly, phrases with indirect speech are constructed:
Michelle asked me what I was doing.
3. Questions for "yes" and "no."
In the sentences referred to in the previous paragraphs, the questions may not contain an interrogative pronoun, that is, imply the answers “yes” and “no”. In such cases, the unions whether and if come to our aid. These words translate as “li,” but in english sentence used a little differently.
The man asked me whether I was a cop.
/ The man asked me if I was a policeman. /
I wanted to know if she was in the city.
/ I wanted to know if she was in the city. /
4. Answers to such questions.
Answering questions, you can not be limited to simple Yes and No, but answer more confidently:
Are you coming tomorrow?
- Yes, I am.
Do you smoke?
- I did, but I don’t anymore.
5. "Me too"
Saying in English "me too" is not so simple. There are many options for translating this phrase, depending on what exactly is “you too”. As a rule, auxiliary verbs so and neither are used.
For affirmative sentences:
I’m tired.
- So am I.
I passed the exam successfully.
- So did I.
For negative offers:
I don’t smoke.
- Neither do I.
I’m not an Englishman.
- Neither am I.
And you can and like this:
I don’t smoke.
- I don "t either.
I’m not an Englishman.
- I "m not either.
Of course, anything can be subject, not just a pronoun.
6. “Yes, really,” and “isn't it.”
These not-so-useful speech constructs can still sometimes be convenient for linking replicas in a conversation. The phrase "is not it?" may acquire different forms depending on the content of the main proposal.
It’s the best pub in our city, isn’t it?
He didn’t play yesterday, did he?
To show the interlocutor that his words are interesting to you, you can ask questions that, in general, are not questions.
I’m afraid Ann is sick.
- Oh, is she?
A similar reaction can take the form of isn’t he? do you? , aren’t we? etc. All these phrases translate as "Really?", "Really?" or "Wow!"
7. Answer as an opinion.
When we are not sure of the correctness of our answer, but still want to carefully express an opinion on this issue, we usually respond with the phrases “I believe yes,” “I hope not,” and so on.
I think so.
I suppose so.
I hope not.
I’m afraid not.
However, the last phrase here is not quite the topic - it expresses not so much an opinion as a polite negative answer.
Pin exercises
To translate the following thirteen sentences into English, you will have to use the rules that you just read about. If you didn’t immediately succeed in doing it right, then copy these sentences into your notebook and repeat it tomorrow.
Why don't you marry her?
Can you tell me how to get to the beach?
I was asked who I am.
He asked if I had any weapons.
- Are you alive? - Yes, alive.
- Do you play the violin? - No, I don’t play.
“I don't know anything about that.” - I, too.
- I'm lazy. - I, too.
Great evening, right?
We don’t have time, right?
I beat Mark! - True?
- This place is free? - I think yes.
- They deceived us? - I hope no.