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Answering a negative question.

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Latest post Sat, Sep 12 2009 4:25 PM by Anonymous. 15 replies.
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Velfarre  +  156303 Tue, 08 Nov 05 07:24 AM

Hello, I have a question about answering negative questions using correct grammar.

If someone is to ask a question like, "Who doesn't live in Spain?"

And you do not live in Spain, would you answer, "I do," or "I don't"?

If someone could explain how this is supposed to be answered, instead of how it is usually answered I would greatly appreciate it.  I would like to understand what is grammatically correct, not what is correct only to avoid confusion. 

 

Thanks.
Velfarre
Joined on Tue, Nov 8 2005
New Member 01
,
pieanne  +  156384 Tue, 08 Nov 05 01:39 PM

Hello, Velfarre, welcome to the English Forums!

This is how I'd answer the question: "I don't"
pieanne
Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005
South of France ...But I'm Belgian!
Veteran Member 7,517
I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...
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Jussive  +  156391 Tue, 08 Nov 05 02:04 PM

The answer should correspond with the question: positive with positive; negative with negative.

'Did you eat your breakfast this morning?'

'no' = (I didn't eat it)

'yes' = (I did eat it)

 

Didn't you eat your breakfast this morning?'

'no' = (I did eat it) (often taken to mean the opposite)

'yes' = (I didn't eat it) (often taken to mean the opposite)

 

With such negative questions it is best to clarify your answer eg, 'yes/no I did/didn't'. 

 

 
Jussive
Joined on Sun, Sep 25 2005
Full Member 144
pieanne  +  156406 Tue, 08 Nov 05 02:46 PM

Maybe it would be easier to say: "Me!"   Smile [:)]

I know that answering "no, I don't" means "I know I do not [not live] in X" > I do live in X.

But simply "I don't" (stressed I) might mean "I do not (live in X)"

Anyway it's not very clear...

 
pieanne
CalifJim  +  156421 Tue, 08 Nov 05 03:38 PM
Welcome to English Forums!

I don't see any conflict between "supposed to" and "usually" here.

Who doesn't live in Spain?
I don't.

CJ
CalifJim
Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004
California
Veteran Member 22,128
"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche
Babujee  +  156449 Tue, 08 Nov 05 04:23 PM

 There are two methods.

Q:  Who doesn't live in Spain?

A:       I      =   I don't  live in Spain

Q: Who doesn't live in Spain?

A:   I don't      =    I don't live in Spain
Babujee
Joined on Fri, Sep 16 2005
India
New Member 36
Anonymous, 2 yr 237 days ago
Unfortunately, the second half of Jussive's message is wrong. It should be:

Didn't you eat your breakfast this morning?
No = No, I didn't eat it.
Yes = Yes, I did eat it.
Just remember that "No" simply confirms the negative fact that "I didn't eat it."
Also remember, as Jussive correctly said, that positive goes with positive, and negative with negative,
but this refers to whole of the answer. "Yes" accompanies the rest of the positive answer: i.e., that "I did eat it."

Because of this confusion, I totally agree with Jussive that it's best to clarify your yes/no answer with "I did" / "I didn't".

Here's the explanation for this confusion: We use negative questions in English for 3 reasons:
1) We're surprised. Wow, I'm surprised to see your breakfast still sitting there. ~ (Why) didn't you eat it? (We're expecting some sort of explanation.)
2) We're excited about something and we're making an exclamation. Gee, doesn't that dress look nice! ~ Yes, it sure does! OR No, I don't think so. It's totally out of date.
3) We expect somebody to agree with us. Who doesn't live in Spain? = No-one. Nobody lives anywhere else; it's not cool to live anywhere else. Everybody lives in Spain.

In the case of Velfarre's original question, the first word, "Who" (instead of the negative verb) would be stressed. The questioner wants to know who the person is who doesn't live in Spain. Who doesn't live in Spain? This case carries no surprise, excitement or expected agreement. I would answer "I don't." or "I'm the one who doesn't live in Spain." or "We're the ones who don't live in Spain."  To figure out your answer, think of the complete sentence. "Most English people don't. (live in Spain)."
(I'm an English-As-A-Second-Language teacher in Canada.)
Anonymous, 1 yr 344 days ago
let me state the scenario first:   When you ER (end record) the Passenger Name Record, the Miles with automatically Locked.

Question: Miles will not be locked if you ER the record.   Yes or No

My answer was NO, but our trainer marked it incorrect because she said the correct answer is YES. So how would I explain to her that the correct answer should be No? Sad [:(]

PS. She said she will be discussing the answers on monday since it was already time to go home. Hope to have an answer by sunday night. I am pretty confident with the positive and negative rule in grammar but I just need to get more opinion from the experts here with regards to her question.

THANKS!
-d-
CalifJim  +  448300 Fri, 30 Nov 07 06:34 PM
When you ER (end record) the Passenger Name Record, the Miles with??? automatically Locked.
It's unclear what this means.  I'll assume it's basically this:

If you ER the PNR, miles will automatically be locked.

This is equivalent, reversing the order of clauses, to:

Miles will automatically be locked if you ER the PNR.

So if the question is the "True or False" type (Yes or No):

Is it true that miles will not be (automatically) locked if you ER the PNR?

the answer is "no".

But if you are not being asked a "True or False" type of question, but this one:

Won't the miles be automatically locked if you ER the PNR?
(=Isn't is true that the miles will be automatically locked if you ER the PNR?)

the answer expects a "yes", thus:

Yes, they will (be automatically locked).

CJ
CalifJim
,
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