Has Mary got a bike?

Question

The question would be this: has Mary got a bike?

And the short answer would be: yes, she has

But I am not sure if this sentence would be correct: yes, Mary has.

I mean, I want to guess if the short answer has to be always with a pronoun instead a noun or it can be in the two ways.

Thank you.

Answer 1

The 2nd answer, while not grammatically incorrect, is not the common reply. Pronouns are normally used when their antecedent is obvious, especially in short sentences.

By the way, you may also hear: Yes, she does. Even though,grammatically that should be the answer to a question posed using Do or Does, we use either. Does Mary have a bike? and Has Mary a bike? are synonymous questions. So are the answers using either has or does.

I should also mention that we use voice intonation somewhat differently than in Spanish. If the conversations had been concerning a groups of children and the question was: Has Mary a bike? (in contrast with the others) then the answer could well be Yes, Mary has. (stressing Mary to exclude the others).

Answer 2

"Does Mary have a bike?" is the most common way of saying this.

"Yes, she does." is the most common way of answering.

Answer 3

Does Mary have a bike? and Has Mary a bike? are synonymous questions. So are the answers using either has or does.

While this is true, it often escapes me, jeje, it is not acceptable in an exam.

Yes, the thing about "have you" instead of "have you got" or "do you have" must be something completely new that it wouldn't be accepted in any exam. - nila45, Nov 25, 2011

Answer 4

"Does Mary have a bike?" Good

"Has Mary got a bike?" Good

"Does Mary have got a bike?" Bad