The grammar of short answer

Question

Hi,--------A:I think Sam has been to America several times.B:I guess he___.a) didb) has---------The given answer is (a).Won't (b) do?I was wondering whether the grammar of colloquial short answers is absolute or strict. Regards

RayH · Accepted Answer

Answer a) is incorrect only b) works as a response to the statement in A:

Philip · Answer

Answer a) is totally wrong.

Exodejavu · Answer

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Yoong Liat · Answer

exodejavuA:I think Sam has been to America several times.
B:I guess he___.
a) did
b) has

'has been' is present tense, so 'did' is not correct because it refers to the past.

Kooyeen · Answer

I'd be much more likely to say "I guess he has", and I'd me even more likely to say "I guess so", which doesn't need any auxiliaries. However, I don't think "I guess he did" is a completely impossible answer, and I wouldn't bet much money that native speakers would neversay anything like that. It would be like answering "I guess he did (go to the United States)"... hmm, unlikely, but not impossible. Anyway, on second thought, since you were choosing between the two options, you can forget what I just said or it'll sound confusing.

RayH · Answer

KooyeenHowever, I don't think "I guess he did" is a completely impossible answer

I can assure you, Kooyeen, that if you were standing around the water cooler in AnyPlace, USA and someone said to you,
A:I think Sam has been to America several times.
and you answered,
B:I guess he did.
you would get some very puzzled looks and possibly a comment or two.

Kooyeen · Answer

Hmm, I was thinking of something more complicated and less precise or explicit. Like those everyday informal conversations that don't sound like a neat interview, but they are rather like a bunch of half sentences put together. Look at this example:

A) Have you seen Jenny lately?
B) Uh, she's working a lot, she doesn't go out much anymore...

What kind of answer is that? It should be completely wrong if you interpreted the conversation logically, but the truth is that I know conversations are actually that way, sometimes. You can imagine two managers talking while drinking coffee and think it'd be odd, but you can also imagine two mechanics talking, one lying under a car and the other eating a sandwich, taking with his mouth full...

So I don't know how I could make the original dialog more complicated, but I thought of this:

a) Antonio Santiago went there at least two times... Somebody said they saw him in LA. He probably flew to the US several times. He knows how things work over there, they won't catch him.
b) Yeah, I think Santiago has been to the US several times.
c) I guess he did. (= he did go to the US a few times, he was there, he's been there... it doesn't even matter, the intended meaning would basically be the same and it's not even important, it's just something more than a random "yeah" to agree)

I might be wrong, but that's what I wanted to say. I was just trying to say that I wouldn't be so sure a certain sentence would never be said by any native speaker in any situation. I have heard countless examples on Youtube or in movies where someone said something they were supposed to "never" say, so I no longer have that black-and-white, all-or-nothing point of view now... not as much as I used to, anyway.

Yoong Liat · Answer

RayH
KooyeenHowever, I don't think "I guess he did" is a completely impossible answer
I can assure you, Kooyeen, that if you were standing around the water cooler in AnyPlace, USA and someone said to you,
A:I think Sam has been to America several times.
and you answered,
B:I guess he did.
you would get some very puzzled looks and possibly a comment or two.

I agree with RayH.
The phrase 'has been' points to the fact that Sam visits America often and hence 'did' should not be used.

The grammar of short answer

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