Lindsay McMahon
"The English Adventurer"

It’s time to stop and fix this common error with “yes/no” questions.

Today you’ll hear a real conversation between Lindsay and her co-host where they use “yes/no” questions and answers and you’ll see how to do it right in English.

If someone asks you this: “Do you have any other questions?”

The incorrect way to respond: “Yes I don’t have any other questions”

The correct way to respond: “No I don’t have any other questions.”

 

Here’s the general rule:

Say “yes” or “no” to match the answer, not to match the question.

 

More examples:

Q: Do you have any other questions?

A: No I don’t.

 

Q: You can type 100 words per minute, right?

A: Yes I can/No I can’t.

 

Q: Hey you listen to the AEE podcast? Don’t you love it?

A: Yes I love it.

Q: You don’t want to listen every day?

A: Actually I do. Yes.

 

One more tip:

Use the words “actually” or “really” or “in fact” to redirect the question and give a different answer than the person is expecting.

Don’t translate from your native language!

 

Are you making mistakes with your emails in English?

 

Talk to us in the comments!

Have you ever made this mistake?

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