Yes or No

[Yourjones]

Hello

If Tom really does not like coffee, should he say "No, I don't like coffee" when asked "Don't you like coffee?" Or he can also say "Yes, I don't like coffee"?

Thanks

 

[SoothingDave]

Say "no."

 

[Tdol]

Do you like coffee?
No, I don't. :tick:


Don't you like coffee?
No, I don't. :tick:
Yes, I don't. :cross:

 

[Tarheel]

"Don't you like coffee?" seems to me to be a very unlikely question, and anybody hearing it is probably going to react to it as if the first word is "Do".

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think the question is possible when someone refuses to have a coffee.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

I understand that this dialogue is possible in certain countries.

An American tourist in the country of ___ wanders into a small market looking for bananas but can't find them.

Tourist: Excuse me, sir. Don't you have any bananas?

Man (smiling): Yes.

Tourist: That's great. Where are they?

Man (puzzled): I don't understand.

Tourist: Where are the bananas?

Man's wife: Excuse me, sir. My husband misunderstood you. I lived in the United States for several years, so I speak English quite well. My husband told you that "Yes, we DON"T have any bananas" when you asked "DON'T you have any bananas?"

 

[Matthew Wai]

'Yes' and 'No' should be used in an affirmative answer and a negative one respectively irrespective of what the question is.

Is it correct to say so?

 

[J&K Tutoring]

When I saw the subject line, I guessed you were Chinese!

Chinese (and other Asians) tend to respond to the speaker ('yes, I agree with you' or 'yes, your understanding is correct'), while westerners respond to the facts. For some examples of this, take a look at my response here: https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/233902-Don-t-you-leave-me

The only construction in English that comes close to using a positive to confirm a negative would be to assure the listener that his/her understanding is correct first, as in: 'You're right- I don't like coffee.'

There's a funny old song that includes the lyrics, "Yes, we have no bananas. We have no bananas today!" It's grammatically incorrect, but that's what makes it funny.

 

[Tdol]

It is a question asked by some Asian learners, along with questions about go/come, that are rooted in their native languages. The answer to the second question in some languages would be Yes, I don't.

 

[euncu]

When I saw the subject line, I guessed you were Chinese!

And I thought that the OP might have been Turkish. We, as well, reply the negative questions just the other way round than English-speakers do. That is to say we would say (in Turkish of course) ; Yes, I don't like or No, I like.

 

[Yourjones]

Thank you so much for your clear explanation! And yes, I'm from Asia, and yes, China.

An extra question is:

When my friend and I haven't met for years and now we meet. He exclaims, "We haven't met for years!" To agree, can I say "Yes, we haven't met for years." Or do I have to say "Yes, you are right. We haven't met for years" and "No, we haven't met for years"?

If I don't want to repeat the "we haven't met for years" part, shall I briefly say "Yes" or "No" and fullstop?

Thanks.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

If you just say, "No", then the other person might think you're telling him he is wrong. Best and briefest would be, "No, we haven't." You needn't repeat the 'met for years'.

 

[Matthew Wai]

can I say "Yes, we haven't met for years."

I think you can't.

If I don't want to repeat the "we haven't met for years" part, shall I briefly say "Yes" or "No" and fullstop?

I would say 'That's true' to express agreement.

Chinese (and other Asians) tend to respond to the speaker

I confirm that.

 

[Peedeebee]

If you haven't met for years, I think you should say a bit more than "yes"!!

The yes and no question provides endless fun in English (BrE) by deliberately getting it wrong. "That's right" is a very useful phrase.

 

[Tdol]

As it's an exclamation rather than a question, there's some flexibility, but I would be more likely to say something like You're right- it has been a long time- too long than yes or no. I don't like your version with no here- it would work better if the person used We haven't met for years, have we?

 

[Tarheel]

"Yes, it's been a long time!" would be a good response.