Collins Cobuild English Grammar (180 page)

Wh
-questions
are explained in paragraphs
5.21
to
5.34
.

10.78
   You can often use a
sentence adverbial
or an
adverb of degree
rather than a sentence in answer to a
yes/no
-question.

‘Do you think you could keep your mouth shut if I was to tell you something?’ – ‘
Definitely
.’
‘Do you think they’re very important?’ – ‘
Maybe
.’
‘Do you enjoy life at the university?’ – ‘Oh yes,
very much
.’
‘Are you interested?’ – ‘
Very
.’
‘Are you ready, Matthew?’ – ‘
Not quite
.’
‘Is she sick?’ – ‘
Not exactly
.’

10.79
   You can also answer a
yes/no
-question with a pronoun and a verb phrase that reflects the original question. The absence of
not
in your reply indicates
yes
. The presence of
not
indicates
no
.

‘Does Lydia Walker live here?’ – ‘
She does
.’
‘Have you taken advantage of any of our offers in the past?’ – ‘
I haven’t
.’

Yes/no
-questions
are explained in paragraphs
5.12
to
5.14
.
Sentence adverbials
are listed in
Chapter 9
(
9.56
to
9.68
).
Adverbs of degree
are listed in
Chapter 2
(
2.140
to
2.156
) and
Chapter 6
(
6.45
to
6.52
).

leaving words out when you are agreeing

10.80
   You often leave words out when you want to show that you agree with something that has just been said, or to say that it also applies to someone or something else. One way of doing this is by using
too
after an auxiliary or form of
be
.

‘I like baked beans.’ – ‘Yes, I do
too
.’
‘I failed the exam.’ – ‘I did
too
.’

The other way of doing this is to use
so
followed by the auxiliary or form of
be
, followed by the subject.

‘I find that amazing.’ – ‘
So do I
.’

Note that you can also use this form within a sentence to say that someone or something is the same.

He does half the cooking and
so do I
.

10.81
   You can also leave out words when you want to show that you agree with something negative that has just been said, or to say that it also applies to someone or something else. One way of doing this is by using an auxiliary or form of
be
followed by
not
and
either
.

‘I don’t know.’ – ‘
I don’t either
.’
‘I can’t see how she does it.’ – ‘
I can’t either
.’

The other way is to use
nor
or
neither
followed by an auxiliary or form of
be
, followed by the subject.

‘I don’t like him.’ – ‘
Nor do I
.’
‘I’m not going to change my mind.’ – ‘
Nor should you
.’
‘I’m not joking, Philip.’ – ‘
Neither am I
.’

Note that you can also do this within a sentence.

I don’t know what you’re talking about, Miss Haynes, and I’m pretty sure
you don’t either
.
I will never know what was in his head at the time,
nor will anyone else
.
I can’t do anything about this and
neither can you
.

Reference Section

Pronunciation guide

R1
      Here is a list of the phonetic symbols for English:

British English vowel sounds

  heart, start, calm.

æ  act, mass, lap.

a
I
  dive, cry, mine.

a
I
ə fire, tyre, buyer.

a
  out, down, loud.

a
ə flour, tower, sour.

e  met, lend, pen.

e
I
  say, main, weight.

eə  fair, care, wear.

I
  fit, win, list.

i
  feed, me, beat.

I
ə near, beard, clear.

ɒ  lot, lost, spot.

ə
  note, phone, coat.

ɔ
  more, cord, claw.

ɔ
I
  boy, coin, joint.

  could, stood, hood.

u
  you, use, choose.

ə sure, pure, cure.