297. Types of Response to a Question

 

Some types of question require an unusual or challenging type of response

DEFINITION OF A QUESTION RESPONSE

Defining a question response first requires clarification of what is meant by a question. I see questions as spoken or written utterances that have the linguistic form of a direct or indirect question, as in these descriptions:

DIRECT FORMS: question-indicating intonation and/or grammar (the position of a subject noun relative to its verb) and/or punctuation (a question mark).

INDIRECT FORMS: a starting question word or equivalent noun and, typically, location within a longer sentence alongside an expression of asking, explaining or knowing (see 57. Indirect Questions in Formal Writing).

A response to a question is not necessarily an answer. Answers supply information requested by a question, but questions only sometimes request information. For example, direct questions beginning What about…? commonly act as a reminder, to which a positive response is typically Thank you (see 274. Questions with a Hidden Meaning, #1). The word “response” is a much more inclusive name for a statement or deed elicited by a question.

Yet although responses to questions are more numerous than answers, they are still not inevitable with every question: some questions have no response at all. These are usually of the kind called “rhetorical”. An example is How about that? uttered in appreciation of the successful execution of a difficult manoeuvre (see 274. Questions with a Hidden Meaning, #21).

On the other hand, some rhetorical questions do have a response. These are questions responded to by the person posing them. Their responses are considered here along with those of ordinary questions.

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RESPONSES TO SPOKEN QUESTIONS

Different types of spoken question require different types of response. Here, the focus is on types whose response is quite often formulated incorrectly by less-experienced English users.

1. Simple Yes/No Questions

This elementary question type, typically indicated by question intonation added to either an ordinary statement or one whose subject + verb has been placed after an additional (“auxiliary”) verb, is so named because, of course, its response is usually either yes or no. What is less often appreciated, however, is that one of these words by itself can sound abrupt or even rude, so that it often needs to be mitigated by a following auxiliary verb with a pronoun subject:

(a)    – Do computers have feelings?

– No, they don’t

Errors are common here because the choice of both the pronoun (they) and the auxiliary verb (do) depends on the wording of the question. Usually, the pronoun must correspond to the subject of the question verb, and the auxiliary must be the same as the one there. It would be incorrect above to repeat the main verb (*No, they haven’t). This is an error that seems especially likely when the main verb is HAVE, probably because of the usability of HAVE elsewhere as an auxiliary. Indeed, No, they haven’t would be correct above if do…have… in the question were replaced by its less formal alternative have…got….

As implied earlier, the type of response illustrated in (a) is not the only possibility. Sometimes, for example, yes or no is followed by an adverb (e.g. No, never). Sometimes, yes/no is dropped, leaving just a pronoun + auxiliary, or something altogether different (Well, this is a complicated question).

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2. Negative Yes/No Questions

Questions of this kind can be confusing because they have two very different uses. Compare:

(b) Aren’t diamonds an expensive gift?

(c) Aren’t diamonds as valued as they used to be?

Sentence (b) expects the addressee to agree that “diamonds are an expensive gift”. The expected agreement would normally be indicated with the words Yes (they are). Disagreement, though unexpected, would be possible with No (they aren’t).

Sentence (c) could also be seeking agreement (with the belief that the value of diamonds has not changed), but it might instead be asking the addressee to confirm or deny a negative (that diamonds are less valuable than before), without indicating any expectation about the answer. Confirmation would be with No (they aren’t), denial with Yes (they are).

In both sentences, an alternative to the negative -n’t is the independent word not in the same place or after diamonds. Note how, regardless of the meaning, yes responses always accompany a positive auxiliary (are above), and no ones need a negative (aren’t): *Yes, they aren’t is usually incorrect.

I think the reason why sentence (b) is more likely than (c) to be soliciting agreement is that it involves a more universally-known fact. Most people know that diamonds are expensive, so that a question seeking information about their cost level would be surprising. Sentence (c), by contrast, involves information of a much less universally-known kind (the value of diamonds today compared to in the past), making its purpose less easy to interpret.

The same sort of logic applies to sentences that, unlike (b), involve an untrue statement:

(d) Doesn’t helium react easily with other elements?

Although someone saying this could genuinely believe helium to be very reactive, and hence be seeking confirmation, the actual non-reactive nature of helium would lead most people to conclude that the speaker just wanted to know how reactive helium is. A suitable answer would, of course, then be No (it doesn’t).

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3. Questions with “Would you Mind…?”

This type of yes/no question is tricky to ask as well as to answer. It is a polite way of naming a specific action that the speaker is either requesting the addressee to carry out or seeking permission for themself or someone else to carry out. A requested addressee action typically begins with an -ing verb:

(e) Would you mind lending me your pen?

On the other hand, an action for which permission is being sought is usually expressed with either if plus a statement containing a past tense verb, or a possessive noun/adjective plus an -ing verb:

(f) Would you mind if I borrowed (or my borrowing) your pen?

The past tense (borrowed) is needed here because the action may never happen – a usage often called “unreal” (see 118. Problems with Conditional “if”, #6).

Answering would you mind questions is problematic because it requires a decision about which of the two verbs within them a yes/no answer should relate to. With a wrong choice, an opposite message to the intended one will be conveyed. Consider sentence (e). If the response should focus on mind, then yes means “I mind” (= “I don’t want”), so that a refusal is indicated. However, if the response to (e) should focus on lending, yes means “I agree”, and hence cooperation. The correct linkage is in fact with mind – logical given that it is grammatically the “main” verb in the sentence.

Once again, a bare yes or no answer is rare. Possible alternatives include:

POSITIVE, SENTENCE (e): (No,) of course not;  Not at all
POSITIVE, SENTENCE (f): No problem;  Go ahead;  Feel free
NEGATIVE, SENTENCE (e): Sorry, I can’t
NEGATIVE, SENTENCE (f): I would actually;  Sorry, that’s not possible

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4. Questions about Alternatives

These questions typically contain or (preceded by whether when indirect: see 99. Meanings of “whether…or…”):

(g) Is it better to travel by road or train?

Two interpretations are normally possible: that the verb (travel) is the focus, implying equality of the alternatives; or that the alternatives are, implying their inequality (see 301. Structures with a Double Meaning 5, #3). The first interpretation allows a yes/no answer, but answering the second similarly would cause confusion.

To name one of the alternatives as an answer, repetition is necessary (e.g. By train). However, naming one of the alternatives is not always appropriate. Other common answers include Both, Neither, It depends, I’m not sure, Let me think and There’s no difference.

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5. Questions Answered by the Person Asking them

This type of rhetorical question is common in both speech and writing. Whereas in writing the form is likely to be indirect and the answer to follow without any special wording (see 57. Indirect Questions in Formal Writing), in speech, direct questions are much more common, and their answer is very often prefaced by well. Here is a sequence typical of oral presentations (see 186. Language in Oral Presentations, #2):

(h) Now, what is the commonest language learning aid? Well, of course it is a dictionary.

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QUESTION RESPONSES IN WRITING

There are various types of question that writers may respond to besides their own rhetorical ones.

6. Questions Only Written in Another Text

Responses under this heading include essays, examinations and other means of educational assessment, plus some business types like emails, all of which tend to be multi-sentence. For detailed advice on answering essay questions, see 94. Essay Instruction Words.

A common way of linking an extended response to an external question is by repeating part of the latter in the first sentence. Consider, for example, the following start of an essay answering the question Account for the growth of mobile telephone use and discuss its likely future:

(i) Mobile telephone use has grown phenomenally in the past ten years.

Underlining here indicates the repetition. For more about linking with repetition, see 24. Good and Bad Repetition.

Responses to external questions asked with a question word (how, where etc.) often start with a noun synonym of that word. For example, a response to a how… question might begin The way in which…, and one to a why… question might start There are many reasons … (see 185. Noun Synonyms of Question Words).

Repetition of question wording can also appear later in written responses:

(j) Turning to the future of mobile telephones, …

(k) Given these factors, mobile telephone use is likely to keep growing for some time yet.

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7. Reported Yes/No Questions

A common context for questions of this kind is academic literature reviews:

(l) Schmidt (2021) wonders whether handwriting skills will survive.

The simplest way of answering such questions uses the standard pronoun + auxiliary (the auxiliary usually being DO if the question lacks one). A “no” answer just adds not, e.g. they will not in response to (l). A “yes” answer needs no added word but often includes a formal synonym of yes, such as indeed or certainly (see 152. Agreeing and Disagreeing in Formal Contexts, #2).

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8. Reporting a Question + Response

When both a question and its response have to be reported, yes/no responses can just comprise a pronoun + auxiliary after a reporting speech/ thought word:

(m) Historians wonder whether recovery occurred. Jones (2021, p. 6) thinks IT DID (or DID not).

Sometimes, not alone directly follows the reporting word (…thinks not).

An alternative approach is to imply “yes” or “no” with an adjective or adverb:

(n) …. Jones (2021, p.6) takes a pessimistic view (or responds pessimistically).

Reported responses to questions beginning with a question word usually have a pronoun (often it) + BE + relevant information:

(o) Historians wonder why/when recovery occurred. Jones (2021, p. 6) thinks IT WAS because… (or when…).

296. Tricky Word Contrasts 12

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Some word pairs are easily confused because of close similarities in spelling and/or meaning

THE PROBLEM OF TRICKY WORD CONTRASTS

Most users of English have encountered vocabulary items that are easily confused because they resemble each other in spelling and/or meaning. A well-known example – often explained in English language coursebooks – is REFUSE (= reject an offer, request or command) versus DENY (= say that something is not true). The problem is that such pairs are numerous in English, and many are rarely highlighted so that they are likely to remain unrecognised, or at least not fully differentiated.

It is these rarely-considered confusion sources, especially ones likely to occur in professional writing, that are the focus of the present post, just as they are of various others with a similar title (there is a complete list on the page in this blog entitled Posts on Specific Words). Further posts about vocabulary confusions include 16. Ways of Distinguishing Similar Words,  44. Troublesome Prepositional Verbs,  94. Essay Instruction Words,  211. General Words for People and 240. Nouns that End with “-ing”.

For some grammar contrasts, see 100. What is a Grammar Error?,  133 Confusions of Similar Structures 1 and 217. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 1. For some pronunciation ones, see 144. Words that are Often Heard Wrongly.

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LIST OF CONTRASTS

1. ASSURE – ENSURE

ASSURE is primarily a speech verb meaning “respond positively that something desirable is the case”. As such, it needs a human-referring noun as the object of its active form, and it usually links with direct or indirect speech (see 279. Grammatical Differences between Citation Verbs, #2). There are two main ways of introducing indirect speech: either with (that)…, e.g. they assured X (that)…, or with of + noun:

(a) The team assured the coach of their cooperation.

This means the team told the coach that they would cooperate. Used with of, ASSURE is a type of “prepositional” verb (see 123. Prepositional Verbs Containing a Noun). The noun after of must mean something positive and must follow a possessive adjective (their above) referring back to the subject of ASSURE. Some nouns are particularly likely, other examples being interest, loyalty and support.

ENSURE (commonly spelt INSURE in American English) means “make sure that an event or situation happens”. The event or situation may be represented by a noun (e.g. ensured success) or a that statement (e.g. ensured that they would succeed: see 153. Conjunction Uses of “that”, #1). This use of that differs from the one with ASSURE in not requiring a noun just before it and not introducing a report.

Part of the problem with ASSURE versus ENSURE is that ASSURE is increasingly being used with the grammar and meaning of ENSURE. My dictionary says this is particularly likely with the passive form of the verb (e.g. Success is assured), but my investigations show active-form usage to be common too.

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2. “Hopeful” – “Promising”

A basic meaning of the adjective hopeful is expressed in the following:

(b) Hopeful motorists queued for hours for petrol.

(c) Cats’ ears point forwards in hopeful anticipation.

Both of these sentences indicate a living possessor of hope (motorists/cats). In (b), hopeful directly describes the relevant noun, whereas in (c) it describes some associated behaviour (anticipation).

Less commonly, hopeful means giving rather than having hope. This is not a possibility with all nouns, but is quite common with abstract ones, such as a beginning, a development (= occurrence), a future, an outlook, potential, results, a sign and a situation. Concrete nouns are ruled out because the “possessing hope” meaning would be understood instead, regardless of whether it would be logical (with human and animal nouns) or not (with inanimate nouns like a drug).

Promising also means “inspiring hope”. It seems to be usable with a wider variety of nouns. It can describe the same abstract nouns as hopeful meaning “giving hope” (see the list above), but other nouns too. If there is a difference in the first case, it is that promising is slightly more positive-sounding.

One kind of noun with which only promising can mean “inspiring hope” refers to a living being, such as employee. If one is described as hopeful instead, the meaning can only be “possessing hope”. Other nouns with this clear division include doctor, entrepreneur, footballer, researcher, physicist, student and worker. The same division exists with nouns naming an activity by a living being, such as achievement, approach, discovery, display, idea, performance, research and start.

Also usable with only promising are non-living concrete nouns whose meaning cannot logically possess or involve hope, such as a drug or a structure.

Hopeful is not the only adjective with -ful that has some unexpected usage (see 106. Word-Like Suffixes). Its opposite hopeless can also be troublesome (see 284. Words with a Surprising Meaning, #12).

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3. “First” – “Leading”

The adjective first primarily indicates a position in space or time. With this meaning, it normally needs the before it. A typical partner noun might be page, turning, step or day.

By contrast, first without the typically describes a rank in a formal competition. For example, one might say that a football team is currently first in the league. In this use, first is usually in the complement position – placed after its noun with a link verb like BE in between (see 184. Adjectives with Limited Mobility, #6). A correct way to express the rank meaning directly before a noun is with first-placed. If the verb before first is COME (X came first), the ranking is a final one (see 290. Ways of Using COME, #14).

Leading also indicates a rank, but mostly outside of formal competition. Like rank-indicating first, it is grammatically restricted, but not in the same way, as it must normally go directly before its noun. To follow its noun with BE or similar in between, it needs to accompany …one(s). Leading also differs from rank-indicating first in being unable to drop the, except to replace it with a(n) before a noun representing only some of a wider leading group – for example X is a leading brand. Other typical partner nouns include advocate, company, expert, playwright, politician and protagonist.

For a different use of first, see 20. Problem Connectors, #8.

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4. “In view of” – “With a view to”

Like many multi-word prepositions, these two carry a metaphorical meaning of a key word (view) within them (see 221. Multi-Word Prepositions, #1). They differ in the kind of view that they represent.

The shared metaphorical meaning of view is mental consideration rather than visual observation. With in view of, the consideration is of something that has already happened or already exists. This is named as a reason for someone (usually the subject of the sentence) thinking or acting in a particular way:

(d) In view of the rainy weather, we are cancelling the event.

(e) In view of the rainy weather, I am not surprised that the event was cancelled.

Here, in view of introduces adverb-like sentence components. However, it is also usable in an adjective-like way, describing a preceding noun (e.g. cancellation in view of…).

Sometimes, the person taking the consequent action is only implied. For example, (d) could end …the event has to be cancelled, (e) …it is not surprising that….

Similar to reason giving is cause giving. For information about numerous cause-giving prepositions in English, see 72. Causal Prepositions.

With a view to expresses mental consideration of a future purpose, very much like with the purpose of:

(f) Discussions were held with a view to reducing costs.

Note the use of reducing here instead of reduce: a sign that to is a preposition (as in LOOK FORWARD TO), rather than the start of an infinitive verb (see 35. Words Followed by “to -ing”). This use of with a view to is adverb-like, but adjective-like use is again possible, for example by placing it after There were discussions… .

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5. “Informative” – “Informational”

If something is informative, it gives helpful information. As a result, informative is a positive-sounding adjective – it has what is technically called a “positive connotation” (see 16. Ways of Distinguishing Similar Words, #2).

Informational, by contrast, has a neutral connotation. It just means “acting as information”. For example, if something is described as having informational value, we understand that it provides information, but there is no indication of whether or not the information is helpful. Other nouns often used with informational include difference, event, influence, role, support and website.

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6. “A turn” – “A turning”

One of the numerous meanings of the noun turn is the idea of changing one’s movement in a particular direction into movement in a new direction. With this meaning, a turn is an “action” noun (see 131. Uses of “Action” Nouns). Its countable nature is unusual for action nouns, but typical of those spelt the same as their related verb (see 249. Action Noun Endings). Sometimes a turn combines with MAKE, e.g. made a quick turn (see 173. “Do Research” 0r “Make Research”?); sometimes it directly precedes the adjective left or right.

A turning, by contrast, is a place where a traveller along a road or path meets the start of a new road or path going off to the side, so that a choice is created between continuing straight on and taking the new direction. It is not to be confused with a crossing, where both sides of the road offer the option of turning. Both turning and crossing well illustrate how -ing does not always indicate a verb (see 240. Nouns that End with “-ing”).

Confusingly, when the meaning of a turning needs to be combined with left or right, English speakers sometimes say a left/right turn. Sometimes, however, they say a left-hand (or right-hand) turning, or the first (etc.) turning on the left/right.

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7. DEPEND ON – RELY ON

DEPEND ON usually introduces a condition for something to happen or exist. For example, plants may be said to depend on sunlight, suggesting they die without it. NEED can express a similar meaning (see 129. Differences between Necessity Verbs, #3), but perhaps allows a less absolute necessity. A further aspect of DEPEND ON is that it does not typically imply a conscious or purposeful choice.

RELY on, however, does usually imply purposeful choice. Thus, plants cannot be said to rely on sunlight. Rather, one might say that a farmer who chose to plant a hot-weather crop was relying on the weather acting as hoped. It would also be possible to say s/he was depending on it, though that would be directing attention more to the existence of her/his need.