How to Politely Say “No” When You’re Asked If You Have Any Questions | Engoo Blog (2024)

Knowing how to speak politely is an important part of learning any language, and there are a lot of different ways to do it, depending on the situation. Whether you need to say "no" to an invitation, ask someone to repeat themselves, or need someone to explain themselves more clearly, you usually get better results if you speak politely.

But what about when someone asks “Do you have any questions?”

This is one of the most common things you’ll be asked in an English lesson. If you do have a question, then it's easy to reply — you just say “yes” and ask your question.

But if you don’t, how do you politely say “no”? Today, we’ll show you five ways to do that.

Body language and tone

But first, remember to keep your body language and tone of voice in mind, because it can sometimes be more important than the words you choose.

For example, even if you use a polite phrase to say “no,” you can still come off as rude if you look angry or speak with an angry tone of voice. But if you simply say “no” with a polite tone of voice and a friendly expression on your face, people won’t think you’re being rude.

So it's important to pay attention to not just what you say, but also how you say it.

And to make things even easier, let’s learn some polite ways to say “No, I don’t have any questions.”

English phrases for politely saying “no”

1. Nope.

“Nope” is the informal version of “no.” If you feel that saying “no” is too direct, you can say “nope” instead. It's very similar to saying "no", but sounds more casual.

Your teachers usually just expect a short response to “Do you have any questions?”, so saying “nope” is enough. Just remember to say it in a friendly way!

2. Not at the moment.

“Not at the moment” is another common response to “Do you have any questions?” Like “nope,” it is less direct than “no.”

“At the moment” means “now.” So “not at the moment” means “I don’t have any questions now (but I might have some later).”

You can also use this in other situations where you don't have any questions or have finished asking questions, like during a job interview.

3. I think I’m OK for now.

“I think I’m OK for now” is another way to say “I think I understand everything right now (but I may have questions later).”

You can say “I’m OK for now” in other situations, such as when you go to someone’s house and they offer you something to drink.

But, remember to say “for now” and not just “now.”

• “I’m OK now” means “I’m OK now (but I may not have been OK before).”
• “I’m OK for now” means “I’m OK for the time being.”

4. I’m good.

“I’m good” is another way to say “I’m OK.” You can use “thanks” afterwards to sound more polite.

“I’m good” means “I’m OK” or “I don’t need any help.” You can also use it in other situations. For example, at a restaurant:

5. Nope, but thanks for checking.

If you want to show appreciation to your tutor for taking the time to check if you have questions, you can do this by saying "No", “Nope” or “I’m good” followed by “But thanks for checking.”

Here’s how you might use this sentence in another situation, like with a customer service representative.

Your turn

We hope this post gave you some ideas about how you can politely respond to “Do you have any questions?” For practice, try to respond to the following question in three different ways:

Now make sure to practice using these expressions in real life! And if you haven’t already, sign up for Engoo here so you can practice English with professional online tutors from around the world!