Answering Negative Interrogative sentence
By bolive
@bolive (73)
November 13, 2011 5:47am CST
How can I answer this kind of question.
Don't you feel cold? No, I don't feel cold / Yes, I don't feel cold or Yes, I feel cold, No, I feel cold.
3 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
13 Nov 11
"Don't you feel cold?" is the kind of question which implies that the person should feel cold but is really half expecting the answer 'No'.
Of course, the answer may be either:
"No [, I don't feel cold]." or "Yes, I do feel a little/rather cold."
Notice that, if the person doesn't feel cold, the only answer which is really required is "No" but that if the question has prompted them to realise that they are cold, a longer, explanatory answer is necessary.
Variations of the same question, with much the same anticipation of the answer, might be:
"Aren't you cold?"
"It's chilly. Don't you want to put something on?"
"I'm cold, aren't you?"
and so on.
@petersum (4522)
• United States
13 Nov 11
"No [, I don't feel cold]." or "Yes, I do feel a little/rather cold."
First option is the double negative, second option is an unnecessary double verb. Neither can be considered as correct English. Although most English speakers would choose one of these under the circumstances.
It is the question which is basically wrong!
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
13 Nov 11
The first one isn't a double negative. A double negative would be "I don't not feel cold' (meaning something like "I do feel cold but not enough to bother me"). Although the phrase "I don't feel cold" duplicates the meaning of "No", it doesn't contradict it but, instead, explains and expands on the meaning to make it clearer.
In the second, the auxilary 'do' is used partly in answer to the question "Don't you feel cold?" by using the same construction but also as a means of emphasis.
Both replies (and the question) are perfectly good and acceptable English and grammatically and semantically correct.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
13 Nov 11
The only incorrect answer to the question would be "No, I feel cold."
