We present time resolved J-band ( 1.025 – 1.340 \mu m ) infrared spectra of the short-period dwarf novae ( DNe ) WZ Sge , VY Aqr and single spectra of the short-period DNe EF Peg and the novalike variable PX And . There is some evidence in the spectra of VY Aqr and EF Peg that we have detected the secondary star , both in the continuum slope and also through the possible presence of spectral features . The spectra of WZ Sge and PX And , on the other hand , show no evidence for the secondary star , with upper limits for it ’ s contribution to the J-band light of 10 % and 20 % respectively . The spectral type of the secondary in WZ Sge is constrained to be later than M7.5V . Using skew mapping we have been able to derive a value for the radial velocity semi-amplitude of the secondary star in VY Aqr of K _ { R } = 320 \pm 70 kms ^ { -1 } , which in conjunction with K _ { W } from ? gives a mass ratio of q = 0.15 \pm 0.04 .