Short questions

Sometimes we answer a statement by asking for more information. Questions of this kind have a very simple structure.

Study the following examples.

• ‘Rani is quitting her job.’ ‘Why?’ (More natural than ‘Why is Rani quitting her job?’)
• ‘Aruna is getting married.’ ‘When?’(More natural than ‘When is Aruna getting married?’)
• ‘The head teacher wants to see you.’ ‘What for?’(More natural than ‘For what does the head teacher want to see me?’)
• ‘The trains aren’t running?’ ‘Why not?’(More natural than ‘Why aren’t the trains running?’)

Negative statements

We can convert a negative statement into a question in two different ways.

Compare the example given below.

• Ramya does not like to watch TV.
• We can convert this into a question in two different ways.
• Does Ramya not like to watch TV? (This is somewhat formal.)
• Doesn’t Ramya like to watch TV? (This is less formal.)
• She didn’t get the first prize.
• Didn’t she get the first prize?
• Did she not get the first prize?