Question

Select the best ellipsis/short answer in the negative in response to the following:
Are you going to write your grandfather a letter?

a. Yes, I am.
b. No, I am not.
c. Yes, I will.
d. No, I will not

Answer 1

Hint: Ellipsis refers to omission or suppression of parts of words or sentences. A short negative answer includes a few words that are expressing or consisting of a negation or refusal or denial.

Complete answer:
In the given question, we have to find the correct negative short answer for the question provided. Every negative answer has a particular structure, it includes the subject and the auxiliary verb (same tense as that in question) along with a negative response.
Let us thus analyze the options given to us in this question:
Option (a.), 'Yes, I am.', refers to a positive response.
Therefore, option (a.) is incorrect as we need a negative short answer which has the same tense as that in the question.

Option (b.), ‘No, I am not.', refers to a negative response that uses the same tense as that in question.
Therefore, option (b.) is correct.

Option (c.), ‘Yes, I will.', refers to a positive short answer.
Therefore, option (c.) is incorrect as it is neither negative nor in the present tense.

Option (d.), ‘No, I will not.', refers to a negative short answer which is in the future tense.
Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as we need the ellipsis to be in the same sense as that of the question.

Note:
In this question, the student may be confused about the concept of an ellipsis. An ellipsis is a punctuation mark that consists of three full stops/dots.
Without ellipsis: "Today, after many hours of careful consideration, we finally vetoed the bill."
Ellipsis: "Today … we finally vetoed the bill."