Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
“____________ you married?”
“No, I _____________.”
a. Aren’t / am
b. Are / am
c. Is / am not
d. Are / am not

Answer 1

Hint: Imagine yourself to be asking the given questions and apply the options given. When there is an answer which begins with “No”, it means the question has been asked in the negative.

Complete answer:
Analysing every option will help us deduce the correct answer.
Option a: If a question starts with “Aren’t” or “Are not”, it implies negative form. “Are you not married?” It differs from “Are you married?” in the sense that the asker is implying the other person isn’t married yet. The person replies, “am” - “No, I am.” So he is negating the asker’s negative question with another “no”. This means he is married. This option is not incorrect but we have a better option, as discussed below.
Option b: The first part of the option is correct but the second part “am” makes no sense. The asker has implied a positive meaning in his question. The answerer starts with a “No” and then “I am”. So his first part of the reply “No” means he/she isn’t married, but then he says “I am (married)”. This is the wrong option.
Option c: The sentence cannot start with “is”. The correct be-verb for a question where “you” is the subject, is “are”. Though this sentence clearly shows “you” has been used to address a single person here, “you” always has a plural verb preceding it.
Option d: The first sentence which is a question starts with “Are”, according to the rules of grammar. So this part is okay. The second part contains “am not” which is correct again. So the person replies that he/she is not married. This is the correct answer.

Therefore, the correct answer is option d.

Note: Always make sure that both parts of the option you are choosing is correct. Many students choose an answer where only one part of the option is correct. That leads to having an incorrect answer.