Echo Questions in English: Meanings, Examples and Exercises

Have you ever responded to someone by saying “Did you?”, “Are they?” or “She bought what?”? These are called echo questions in English. They are extremely common in spoken conversations and help us react naturally to what another person has said.

We use echo questions to express surprise, interest, doubt, excitement, confusion or disbelief. We can also use them when we need someone to clarify information.

What is an echo question?

An echo question is a short question that repeats or responds to part of what another person has just said.

It is not usually a request for completely new information. Instead, it is a reaction to the information we have just heard.

Compare:

A: I’ve started learning Chinese.

B: Have you?

Here, Have you? shows interest or surprise.

A: I’ve started learning Chinese.

B: When did you start?

Here, the speaker is asking for additional information.

Both questions are natural, but they have different purposes.

Echo questions in English with auxiliary and modal verbs

When the original statement contains an auxiliary or modal verb, we repeat that verb in the echo question.

Common auxiliary and modal verbs include:

am, is, are, was, were, have, has, had, can, could, will, would, should, must and might.


She is moving house.	Is she?
They are waiting outside.	Are they?
He was joking.	Was he?
You have finished.	Have you?
She can drive.	Can she?
They will be there.	Will they?
He might resign.	Might he?

Notice that the pronoun may change according to who is speaking.

A: I’m exhausted.

B: Are you?

A: We’ve sold our house.

B: Have you?

A: My sister can speak Japanese.

B: Can she?

Echo questions with do, does and did

Present simple and past simple statements do not normally contain an auxiliary verb.

In these cases, we use:

do for present simple statements with I, you, we and they
does for present simple statements with he, she and it
did for past simple statements

Statement	Echo question
You like it.	Do you?
They live nearby.	Do they?
She works here.	Does she?
He plays the piano.	Does he?
They saw the film.	Did they?
Maria called you.	Did she?

Pronoun changes in echo questions in English

One of the most important things to remember is that the pronoun often changes.

When someone speaks about themselves using I or we, the listener normally responds with you.

Original statement	Echo question
I love this song.	Do you?
I’m feeling tired.	Are you?
I’ve lost my keys.	Have you?
We’re moving house.	Are you?
We went to Rome.	Did you?

When the speaker mentions another person or thing, we use the appropriate pronoun.

Original statement	Echo question
Sarah is leaving.	Is she?
Tom has called.	Has he?
The children are asleep.	Are they?
The dog ate my sandwich.	Did it?

Negative echo questions in English

When the original statement is negative, the echo question is normally negative too.

Statement	Echo question
I don’t drink coffee.	Don’t you?
She doesn’t work here.	Doesn’t she?
They didn’t come.	Didn’t they?
He isn’t feeling well.	Isn’t he?
We haven’t finished.	Haven’t you?
She can’t swim.	Can’t she?

Wh- echo questions

We use wh- echo questions when we are surprised, confused or need clarification.

Common question words include:

who
what
where
when
why
how

Unlike ordinary wh-questions, echo questions in English often keep the word order of the original statement.

Statement	Echo question
I saw Claire at the station.	You saw who?
We’re meeting them at nine.	You’re meeting them when?
Bob went to Greece.	He went where?
She paid £800 for it.	She paid how much?
They cancelled the meeting.	They did what?

One-word echo questions

Sometimes we repeat only the most surprising or important word.

A: She’s an archaeologist.

B: An archaeologist? That’s interesting!

A: I’m learning Japanese.

B: Japanese? That must be difficult.

One-word echo questions are particularly common when we want to confirm something we have heard or express surprise.

Echo questions and question tags

Echo questions and question tags may look similar, but they are used differently.

Echo question

An echo question is normally a response to another person’s statement.

A: Maria works from home.

B: Does she?

The listener is reacting to the information.

Question tag

A question tag is added to the end of the speaker’s own sentence.

Maria works from home, doesn’t she?

The speaker is asking the listener to confirm the information.

Compare:

A: David has moved to London.

B: Has he?

David has moved to London, hasn’t he?

The first is an echo question. The second is a question tag.

Echo questions in English: tone and intonation

Echo questions are usually spoken with rising intonation. This means that the voice rises towards the end of the question.

However, the speaker’s tone can change the meaning.

Interest

A: I’ve started a new job.

B: Have you? What are you doing?

Surprise

A: Sarah can speak Arabic.

B: Can she? I had no idea.

Doubt

A: He says he can run a marathon in two hours.

B: Can he?

Shock

A: They sold the house for £2 million.

B: £2 million?

Annoyance

A: I’ve forgotten my passport.

B: You’ve done what?

Be careful with expressions such as You did what? They can sound shocked, angry or challenging, depending on the speaker’s tone.

When you simply have not heard someone, it may be more polite to say:

Sorry?
Pardon?
Could you say that again?
Sorry, what did you say?

Common mistakes

Mistake 1: Repeating the main verb

Incorrect:

A: She likes it.

B: ~~Likes she?~~

Correct:

A: She likes it.

B: Does she?

We use does because the original statement is in the present simple.

Mistake 2: Using the past form after did

Incorrect:

A: They went home.

B: ~~Went they?~~

Correct:

A: They went home.

B: Did they?

We use did to form an echo question in the past simple.

Mistake 3: Keeping statement word order

Incorrect:

A: He is ill.

B: ~~He is?~~

Correct:

A: He is ill.

B: Is he?

In standard echo questions with auxiliary verbs, the auxiliary comes before the pronoun.

However, forms such as He is? may occasionally be heard in informal speech when the speaker is particularly surprised. Learners should use Is he?, which is the standard form.

Mistake 4: Using the wrong pronoun

Incorrect:

A: I’m tired.

B: ~~Am I?~~

Correct:

A: I’m tired.

B: Are you?

The listener must change the pronoun to match the situation.

Mistake 5: Confusing echo questions with question tags

Incorrect:

A: She works here.

B: ~~Doesn’t she?~~

Correct:

A: She works here.

B: Does she?

Doesn’t she? is usually a question tag attached to a statement:

She works here, doesn’t she?

Free Echo Questions Practice Worksheet

Would you like some extra practice? Download our free Echo Questions Practice Worksheet in PDF format. It includes a grammar reference, varied exercises, speaking activities and a complete answer key.

Download Echo Questions Practice Worksheet in PDF here

Summary

Type	Structure	Purpose	Example
Auxiliary or modal	Auxiliary/modal + pronoun	Interest, surprise or doubt	She can drive. → Can she?
Do, does or did	Do/does/did + pronoun	React to simple tense statements	He works here. → Does he?
Negative echo	Negative auxiliary + pronoun	React to negative information	They didn’t come. → Didn’t they?
Wh- echo	Repeat part of the statement with a wh-word	Clarification, shock or disbelief	He bought what?
One-word echo	Repeat one important word	Surprise or confirmation	£500?

Echo questions are small, but they play an important role in natural conversation. They show that you are listening and help you express interest, surprise, doubt and confusion.

Try using expressions such as Do you?, Did she?, Are they? and You saw who? in your next English conversation. They can make your spoken English sound much more natural and expressive.

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What is an echo question?