Questions: short forms
In informal situations, especially in speaking, we can reduce questions rather than using complete clauses. Short questions can be clauses, phrases or even single words:
Full form | Short form | Are you hungry?
| You hungry? or Hungry?
| Is this your pen?
| This your pen?
|
When we shorten questions, the auxiliary verb and the subject are both often omitted (ellipsis): A:
Got the key? (full form: Have you got the key?) B:
Yeah.
A:
Working tonight? (full form: Are you working tonight?) B:
No, thankfully.
Warning:
We cannot omit the auxiliary verb or the subject if the subject is I: Have I met you before?
Not: Met you before?
Am I really the one for this job?
Not: I really the one for this job?
When we know a lot about the context, we often shorten questions: A:
Are you looking forward to the party? (full form) B:
Not really. A:
Why aren’t you? (full form: Why aren’t you looking forward to the party?) B:
I’m not a great fan of parties.
When we know a lot about the context, it would be unusual and often too formal to use the full form of the question. Compare
A:
Want to go for lunch now? B:
Yeah, great. A:
The Diner? B:
That’s perfect.
| A and B know each other well and they often go to lunch at The Diner. | A:
Do you want to go for lunch now? B:
Yeah, great. A:
Do you want to go to The Diner? B:
That’s perfect.
| The full forms of the questions are correct but the full form of the second question sounds more formal than the short form. |
See also:
Ellipsis
|