Use of Contractions on the short answer

[greystroke]

Hi Everyone,

This came up in class today and I had no answer

In the short answers No , I'm not and Yes, I am Why do we say No , I'm not ( Contracting I and am ) but say Yes, I am ( without contracting I and Am)?

Is there an explanation for this; if so please could someone clarify?

Thanks in advance.

Arun

[SoothingDave]

Because "I'm" needs to be followed by something else. It's not natural to just say "I'm."

I'm here, I'm tired, I'm sleepy - all OK.

Just "I'm" - no.

It seems in general that we don't contract verbs when they aren't followed by something. Certainly in a short answer like this.


Will you be there?

"We will," not "We'll."


Are your parents coming?

"They are," not "They're."

Is it raining?

"It is," not "It's."

[moonlike]

Hi greystroke
I'd like to respectfully add something to what soothingdave has mentioned perfectly well.
According to 'practical English usage' by Michael Swan, "contractions don't normally come at the ends of clauses."
-I'm late.
Yes, you are.(NOT yes,you're.)
"Negative contractions can come at the ends of clauses."
They really aren't.
No, I haven't.

Good luck!

[Barb_D]

I would add that a lot of English learners don't seem to be aware of this. I participate in an international chat room, and people frequently say "Yes, I'm" and every time, I think "I'm ... what?" and then I realize that they have simply answered a yes/no question and nothing is coming after it.

[greystroke]

Thank you Moonlike,

The examples with the negative ( from Swan) really help.

Greystroke

[greystroke]

Thank you SoothingDave,
That's really helpful.

Greystroke

[greystroke]

Thanks Barb,

Greystroke

[moonlike]

Thank you Moonlike,

The examples with the negative ( from Swan) really help.

Greystroke

You're welcome. However, you don't need to open posts to thank those who have replied separately. Just clicking on the Like in the lower right corner would suffice (this is something that I had to learn here. Honestly speaking, I also thanked all who kindly helped me , then I learned here the moderators prefer the "like" more, and appreciate it.)
Good luck!