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Pedants' corner

What is your feeling on answer 3?

17 replies

tanukiton · 31/05/2015 00:28

So ....
Do you like bears?
1 Yes I do.
2 Yes I like bears.
3 Yes I do like bears.
I think the do is working as emphasis but would love some other opinions.

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RainbowFlutterby · 31/05/2015 00:34

Depends entirely on what sort of bear you're talking about.

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TigerFeat · 31/05/2015 00:45

Yes I do (doesn't everyone?)

2. Yes I like bears (stop asking me daft questions)
3. Yes I do like bears (I bloody love them)

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tanukiton · 31/05/2015 01:56

Ha ha great answers. Sometimes I feel I am disappearing down the rabbit hole when looking at grammar.

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BitOfFun · 31/05/2015 02:02

I think there should be a comma after 'Yes' in all cases.

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tanukiton · 31/05/2015 10:27

Bit, you are right!

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BitOfFun · 31/05/2015 10:38

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DrankSangriaInThePark · 31/05/2015 22:13

I think there should only be a comma in the second one.

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DrankSangriaInThePark · 31/05/2015 22:15

And possibly the third. Not the first though, that's just a normal 'short answer'- yes I do/no I don't.

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SenecaFalls · 31/05/2015 23:55

I would use a comma in all three.

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DrankSangriaInThePark · 01/06/2015 08:44

In true pedantic fashion I've just checked all my grammar books, and it seems a 50-50 split on whether a comma is needed or not in N1. None of them give a rule for it though. Some put one in, some don't. Curiously, all of the grammar books written specifically for non-native learners don't have a comma for a short answer.

I wonder if the comma usage relates to what comes next.

Yes I do. (nothing more to be said)
Yes, I do...but I like elephants more.

Don't know though!

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tanukiton · 04/06/2015 06:32

Drank, maybe it is a pause for thought comma. Thank you all.

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CocktailQueen · 09/06/2015 21:45

Yes, I like bears, and I would use a comma in all three.

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elQuintoConyo · 09/06/2015 21:49

1 and 3 sound good.
2 sounds weird - like you'd be shouting FFS in your head!

I'd put a comma in all all of them after the Yes.

Drank I think Raymond Murphy insists on commas in short answers, doesn't he?

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RiverTam · 09/06/2015 21:50

I would use a comma in all three. I think the 'I do' is unnecessary in answers one and three, which obviously makes answer three redundant.

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YesIDoLikeBears · 09/06/2015 21:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheCrowFromBelow · 09/06/2015 21:57

But which bears do you like most?

has to be polar, or red panda.

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elQuintoConyo · 09/06/2015 22:21

The 'I do' is necessary in number one as just a single 'yes' is rude. So I tell my students