Most languages have ways to reduce the grammatical forms of questions, and English is no exception! When you’re speaking English casually, consider using some of these reduced question forms (but don’t use them on exams or in work emails!).

Dropping the “be” verb / auxiliary verb

Are you OK → You OK?

Is that coffee fresh? → That coffee fresh?

Are you going? → You going?

Do you like it? → You like it?

Ex. After a bicycle crash:

A: You OK?

B: All good! Just a couple scrapes.

Note that this is most often done with present tense questions.

Dropping everything except the key content word

Are you cold? → Cold?

Do you want a beer? → Beer?

Ex. Walking outside in the winter:

A: Cold?

B: Yeah, a little.

A: Should’ve brought your gloves!

Note that reducing questions like this is highly context-dependent. The more obvious the context, the more words you can omit.

Extremely casual questions

What is up? → Sup? (meaning “What’s going on?” or “How are you?”)

Are you down (with s.t. / to do s.t.)? → You down? (meaning “Are you interested?”, “Are you OK with this?”, or “Do you want to join?”)

Ex. Ordering food for a party:

A: We’re going to order some pizza. You down?

B: Yeah! Sounds good!

*Remember to end a yes/no question with rising intonation to indicate that you are asking a question and expecting an answer*