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VOA慢速英语--Short Form Yes, No Questions

时间:2019-05-06 23:58:56

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(单词翻译)

 

Hello! Do you have a minute?

…because I want to tell you something about yes/no questions.

As you may know, a yes/no question is a question in which the expected answer is either “yes” or “no.” I just used one such question when I asked, “Do you have a minute?”

But in the real world, native English speakers might not always form questions fully1 when they speak to you. Instead, they might say something like, “You have a minute?” or even “Got a minute?”

Short questions like these are common in informal situations, especially in spoken English.

For example, “Got a Minute?” has been used as a name for website columns3 and radio shows on issues from health to career choices to saving4 money. In addition, “Got a Minute” was the name of a word game in the 1970s.

We see and hear shortened6 questions everywhere – such as in music, movies and advertisements.

A well-known example is the “Got Milk?” advertising7 campaign, which was launched8 in the 1990s and ran for 20 years. In the ad, famous actors, fashion models and musicians promoted the drinking of milk.

Today, I will show you how to shorten5 yes/no questions. Ready? Good -- because you just heard another example. And it was probably easy to guess the meaning is: Are you ready?

Forming yes/no questions

On an earlier program, we talked about how to form standard yes/no questions. Knowing this first will help you understand how to shorten them. So here’s a quick refresher:

We form most yes/no questions this way:

Auxiliary9 Verb + Subject + Main Verb

For example: Do you have a minute?

Here, the word “do” is the auxiliary verb, followed by the subject “you” and the main verb “have.”

Auxiliary verbs are often called “helping verbs.” We use them with main verbs to do things like help form questions and verb tenses.

Most standard yes/no questions begin with “do,” “be” or “have.”

But in other yes/no questions, “be” is the main verb and there is no auxiliary. We form them like this:

Be + Subject

For example: Are you ready?

Here, “be” is the main verb, followed by the subject “you.”

When we shorten yes/no questions, we usually do it in one of two ways:

drop the auxiliary / be (or)

drop the auxiliary / be and the subject.

Drop Auxiliary

Let’s first talk about dropping the auxiliary verb.

In informal situations, it is often unnecessary to use the auxiliary verbs “do,” “be” or “have” at the start of yes/no questions.

Listen to this example:

We’ve been walking for an hour.

Oh. You getting tired?

Yes, and my feet hurt.

Here, the auxiliary “be” was dropped from the start of the question “You getting tired?” The standard question would be “Are you getting tired?”

Here is another example:

The internet is not working.

The cable10 company call yet? A crew is supposed to be here by 3 this afternoon.

No, I haven’t heard the phone.

Here, the auxiliary verb “do” was dropped from the start of the question, “The cable company call yet?” The standard question would be, “Did the cable company call yet?”

Drop Auxiliary & Subject

We can make even shorter yes/no questions by dropping both the auxiliary verb and the subject. However, we can only drop the subject when the subject is “you.”

Listen to another version11 of the earlier conversation, this time without the auxiliary verb or subject “you”:

We’ve been walking for an hour.

Oh. Getting tired?

Yes, and my feet hurt.

Let me now return to something I talked about at the start of the program. You remember the questions “Got milk?” and “Got a minute?” They both start yes/no questions with the word “Got.” Such questions come from this standard form:

Do + you + have...

To shorten questions that begin with the words “Do you have…?” we often drop the auxiliary verb “do” and the subject “you.” But we take a third step: We change the main verb “have” to “got.”

So, you get questions like, “Got a pen?,” Got the time?” and the ones you heard earlier: “Got a minute?” “Got Milk?”

Drop Be

OK, let’s now move to the verb “be.”

Earlier, I told you that sometimes “be” in yes/no questions acts as the main verb, not an auxiliary. In questions where the main verb is “be” and it is present tense, we can often drop the “be” verb.

In this next exchange, the main verb “be” has been dropped from the question:

My presentation is tomorrow.

You nervous?

No, I feel great!

Again, the main verb “be” was dropped. The standard question would be, “Are you nervous?”

Drop Be & Subject

And, finally, we will look at the shortest possible form: one-word yes/no questions. We usually make them from a specific three-word structure:

Are + you + adjective12

Two examples are the questions “Are you ready?” and “Are you nervous?” To shorten questions like these, we drop “be” and the subject “you.”

Here’s the last exchange again, this time with both “be” and the subject “you” dropped:

My presentation is tomorrow.

Nervous?

No, I feel great!

Final thoughts

By now, you might be wondering: What if the yes/no question begins with another auxiliary verb, like “will” or “would,” or a modal auxiliary, like “should” or “might”? These verbs express tenses or meanings that are lost when they are removed. So avoid shortening13 such questions.

Well, it looks like I needed more than a minute of your time. Got another minute? If so, try the practice on our website: learningenglish.voanews.com!

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

informal – adj. not suited for serious or official speech and writing

column2 – n. an article that appears regularly and that is written by a specific writer or deals with a specific subject

promote – v. to make people aware of something, such as a new product, through advertising

guess – v. to give an answer about something when you do not know much or anything about it

standard – adj. accepted and used by most of the educated speakers and writers of a language

tense – n. a form of a verb that is used to show when an action happened

conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people

cable – n. the wiring system that provides internet access, phone services and television channels

specific – adj. special or particular

modal – n. a verb that is usually used with another verb to express possibility, necessity, and permission


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1 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
2 column lWPyR     
n.列,柱形图;专栏;圆柱;纵队
参考例句:
  • I often read his column in the local paper.我经常在当地的报纸上看到他的专栏文章。
  • A column of soldiers marched down the highway.一个士兵纵队沿着公路行进。
3 columns columns     
n.柱( column的名词复数 );纵队;栏;(舰队的)纵列
参考例句:
  • The temple is supported by marble columns. 这座庙宇由大理石柱支撑。
  • There are two columns on each page of this dictionary. 这本词典每一页有两栏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 saving XjYzGK     
n.节省,节约;[pl.]储蓄金,存款
参考例句:
  • Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
  • Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。
5 shorten vyTwf     
vt.弄短,缩小,减少
参考例句:
  • Minor accidents can shorten the life of a car.小事故会缩短汽车寿命。
  • My dress is too long I must shorten it.我的连衣裙太长了,我得把它截短些。
6 shortened 8560273e5cfe310f2c9d5ab5defa48f3     
v.弄短,缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长,工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句
7 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
8 launched e6629d9df33839e8c4e637ffbcd1d5e2     
v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 );[计算机]开始(应用程序);发动;开展(活动、计划等)
参考例句:
  • He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
  • The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
9 auxiliary RuKzm     
adj.辅助的,备用的
参考例句:
  • I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
  • The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。
10 cable wSoyT     
n.缆绳,索;电缆;电报;vt.电汇,打电报
参考例句:
  • Don't forget to cable us as soon as you arrive.别忘了一到就给我发个电报。
  • The worker attached a cable.工人连接电缆。
11 version FiJwT     
n.版本;型号;叙述,说法
参考例句:
  • His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
  • What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样?
12 adjective UJpyR     
n.形容词;adj.形容词的,用作形容词的
参考例句:
  • Don't apply that adjective to me.不要用那个字眼来形容我。
  • The adjective loose has several senses. 形容词loose有几个义项。
13 shortening 34169da9aa081a170130567c4125b9b7     
n.缩针,简写;酥油/雪白奶油v.弄短,缩短( shorten的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Instead, sarcomere shortening occurs when the thin filaments'slide" by the thick filaments. 此外,肌节的缩短发生于细肌丝沿粗肌丝“滑行”之际。 来自辞典例句
  • Use peanut or safflower oil or solid vegetable shortening for frying. 用花生或红花油,或者食用油来起酥。 来自互联网

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