short answers

Share on Facebook

Linguaphile

#435425 Sat, 27 Oct 07 08:49 AM

Short answers can be given to both yes-no questions and wh- questions, but how short can they be? In 1-8, I think, as we have the preposition in the question, we do not have to repeat that in the answer, right? What about 9-13?

A: Where are you from?

B: ----.

a) Turkey b) From Turkey

A: In which city does Mr. Chapman work?
B: ----.

a) Paris b) In Paris

A: Who does Mary live with?
B: ----.

a) Her friend Paul b) With her friend Paul

A: You want to buy a stamp. Which floor do you go to?
B: ----.

a) The ground floor b) To the ground floor

A: What did Halima and Ahmed take a picture of?
B: ----.

a) Two dogs b) Of two dogs
----------------------------------------------------------------------

A: When's your birthday?

B: ----.

a) On Monday b) Monday
10.

A: What time does the film start?

B: ----.

a) At nine-thirty pm b) Nine-thirty pm
11.

A: Where are you going?

B: ----.

a) To school b) School

12.

A: Where was she yesterday?
B: ----.

a) In Tokyo b) Tokyo

13.

A: Where are they going next?
B: ----.

a) To Berlin b) Berlin

PS: And one question for yes-no questions.

A: Is there a hat on the cloakroom?

B: ----.

a) Yes

b) Yes, there is

c) Yes, there is one

d) Yes, there is a hat on the cloakroom

Thanks.

Linguaphile

Joined on Tue, Jul 17 2007

Turkey

Full Member (140)

Prepositions

Vorpar

#435438 Sat, 27 Oct 07 09:45 AM

Your reasoning makes sense, the preposition is already in the question, so it sounds odd to include it in the answer.

I'm guessing that the purpose of this exercise is to identify whether you need a preposition, so in 9-13 they probably want you to add it.

Unfortunately, to my ears, the answers to 9-13 sound good both ways, though the preposition makes the answers sound a bit more formal.

Is there a hat in the cloakroom?

Following the logic of this exercise, I would say A.

Vorpar

Joined on Tue, Sep 20 2005

Santa Barbara, CA

Regular Member (830)

Prepositions

Linguaphile

#435458 Sat, 27 Oct 07 10:32 AM

Vorpar wrote:

I'm guessing that the purpose of this exercise is to identify whether you need a preposition, so in 9-13 they probably want you to add it.

I prepared this exercise myself. I wonder why we do not need the preposition in 9-13. Can we generalize this as "We do not need the preposition in the answer, whether it be in the question or not."?

A: Where are you going?

B: School / To school. (Are these equally correct or natural? (Should I, as a teacher, accept "School." as a correct answer and give points?)

Linguaphile

Prepositions

Yankee

#435487 Sat, 27 Oct 07 11:55 AM

Linguaphile wrote:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

9.

A: When's your birthday? In American English, the affirmative sentence would also be common without the word 'on': My birthday is Monday. So, I would accept either A or B here.

B: ----.

a) On Monday      b) Monday
10.

A: What time does the film start? A or B

B: ----.

a) At nine-thirty pm      b) Nine-thirty pm
11.

A: Where are you going? A is better. B is possible, but may sound overly abrupt.

B: ----.

a) To school      b) School

12.

A: Where was she yesterday? A is better
B: ----.

a) In Tokyo      b) Tokyo

13.

A: Where are they going next? B would probably be more common than A -- possibly because the person might already be thinking in terms of a list ("next") in which the word 'to' would already have been omitted before Berlin:   They are going to Frankfurt, Hamburg and Berlin.
B: ----.

a) To Berlin      b) Berlin

PS: And one question for yes-no questions.

A: Is there a hat in the cloakroom? A or B

B: ----.

a) Yes

b) Yes, there is

c) Yes, there is one

d) Yes, there is a hat on the cloakroom

Thanks.