negative questions

[rickdi]

I have a question how you can answer a negative question that is only asking for confirmation:

Is the meaning in the answers (B1-B3) always the same ("Correct, they are not the same person.")?
A: My friend James is not your friend James then?
B: Yeah they are not the same person.
B2: No they are not the same person.
B3: That is correct. They are not the same person.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I have a question. How you can answer a negative question that is only asking for confirmation?

Is the meaning in the answers (B1-B3) always the same ("Correct, they are not the same person.")?

A: My friend James is not your friend James, then?
B: Yeah, they are not the same person.
B2: No, they are not the same person.
B3: That is correct. They are not the same person.

Yes, they all mean the same thing.

 

[rickdi]

So you can agree with a negative answer with "no" and "yeah" and it has the same meaning?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

In your example, yes. Not always.

The correct logical answer is B2, "No," but conversationally, it wouldn't be unusual for someone to say "Yeah."

 

[rickdi]

Thank you! So in fact "Yeah, they are not the same person." has the same meaning as "No, they are not the same person." and is just more everyday-language?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

They're both everyday American speech.

"Yeah," "yup," and "yep" are common slang in the US.

"No" is not slang. In the US, "Nope," "nah," and "naw" are.

Most Americans would say "they're not" rather than "they are not."

 

[rickdi]

Thank you. But when do you say "Yeah, they are not the same person." and when do you say "No, they are not the same person."?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Again, both of them are informal and common and mean the same thing.

 

[rickdi]

OK, thank you.
What would be the the formal answer if "No, they are not the same person." is also informal?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

OK, thank you.
What would be the the formal answer if "No, they are not the same person." is also informal?

The same thing. To make it less formal, say "they're."

 

[rickdi]

I am confused now, sry. I asked:
when do you say "Yeah, they are not the same person." and when do you say "No, they are not the same person."?

You answered:
Again, both of them are informal and common and mean the same thing.


So first you said "No, they are not the same person." is informal and now that it is formal? Sorry for the confusion. :/

 

[Tarheel]

"Yes" expresses agreement.

A: So they are not the same person, right?
B: Yes, that's right. They are not the same person.

 

[rickdi]

"Yes" expresses agreement.

A: So they are not the saw person, right?
B: Yes, that's right. They are not the same person.

OK, thank you, but what do you want to say with it? I don't understand your statement. What's your opinion on the opening question?
Is the meaning in the answers (B1-B3) always the same ("Correct, they are not the same person.")?
A: My friend James is not your friend James then?
B: Yeah they are not the same person.
B2: No they are not the same person.
B3: That is correct. They are not the same person.

 

[Tarheel]

In that context, the meaning should always be the same. (I have fixed the typo.)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I am confused now, sry. I asked:
when do you say "Yeah, they are not the same person." and when do you say "No, they are not the same person."?

You answered:
Again, both of them are informal and common and mean the same thing.


So first you said "No, they are not the same person." is informal and now that it is formal? Sorry for the confusion. :/

Sorry - I didn't mean to confuse you!

Your "Yeah" sentence is informal. Your "No" sentence is both formal and informal.

It's informal because it's concise, natural, common, and simple.

It's formal because it has no slang, colloquialisms, or violations of standard English. It's also a more literal answer to the question.

As I said, here in the US, saying "they're" would be less formal and more natural. There is no hard dividing line between formal and informal. It's a matter of degree.

Does that make more sense now?

 

[rickdi]

Yes, thank you Charlie!

The only question left is Tarheels comment:

"Yes" expresses agreement.

A: So they are not the same person, right?
B: Yes, that's right. They are not the same person.

What do you want to tell me with it? I am a bit unsure.

 

[Tarheel]

I will explain in greater detail. They are talking about somebody named John, but it is not one person. It is two different people. A (Aaron) says: "So, they are not the same person, are they?" B (Beth) agrees with him and says: "That's right. They are not the same person."

 

[rickdi]

I will explain in greater detail. They are talking about somebody named John, but it is not one person. It is two different people. A (Aaron) says: "So, they are not the same person, are they?" B (Beth) agrees with him and says: "That's right. They are not the same person."

Yeah thank you, I got it. But it is still a mystery to me why it does not make a difference if B (Beth) says " No,..." or "Yeah,...". So it confuses me that answering with "No" and "Yeah" has the same meaning.

 

[Tarheel]

Well, this is certainly possible. Here:

A: Are we talking about the same person?
B: No, we are not.

 

[rickdi]

Well, this is certainly possible. Here:

A: Are we talking about the same person?
B: No, we are not.

But that isn't a negative question. Let's take my examples. A asks a negative question. B1 and B2 are possible answers with the same meaning. B1 begins with "Yeah,.." and B2 begins with "No,...". How can the meaning still be the same? I learned that you agree with a negative question with "No" and you disagree with "Yes/Yeah", but in my example " No" and "Yeah" have the same meaning.

A: My friend James is not your friend James then?
B1: Yeah they are not the same person.
B2: No they are not the same person.