Study Resource: Other ways to answer yes/no questions in English

By: Isabel McKay

Answering a yes/no question with a positive

*Starred answers are most common in everyday English.
Positive Answer	…in spoken English	…in written English	Notes
yes*	formal/polite	neutral
yeah*	neutral	informal
yep*	informal	informal
uh-huh*	informal	not used	not considered a “real word”
mm-hmm*	informal	not used	not considered a “real word”
certainly	formal	formal	a strong “yes”
I think so*	neutral	neutral	an uncertain “yes”
probably*	neutral	neutral	an uncertain “yes”
of course	neutral	neutral	for an obvious “yes”
obviously	neutral	informal	for an obvious “yes”
definitely*	neutral	neutral	a strong “yes”
naturally	formal	formal	for an obvious “yes”
unquestionably	very formal	very formal	a strong “yes”
most assuredly	very formal	very formal	old-fashioned
a positive sentence (e.g. We do have cookies!)	neutral / formal	neutral / formal	the positive sentence will usually repeat the auxiliary verb and emphasize it; often comes after another form of “yes”

You can use any of the answers above to accept an offer that is phrased like a question.

But there are also some ways to say yes that we only use to accept offers, like:

*Starred answers are most common in everyday English.
Negative Answer	…in spoken English	…in written English	Notes
no*	formal/polite	neutral
nope*	neutral	informal
nah	informal	very informal
uh-uh*	informal	not used	not considered a “real word”
mm-mm (falling tone)	very informal	not used
probably not	neutral	neutral	an uncertain “no”
certainly not	formal	formal	a strong “no”
definitely not*	neutral	neutral	a strong “no”
obviously not*	neutral	neutral	an obvious “no”
assuredly not	very formal	very formal	old-fashioned
(of) course not*	neutral	neutral	an obvious “no”
a negative sentence (e.g. We don't have cookies!)	neutral / formal	neutral / formal	more commonly comes after another form of “no”

Answer	…in spoken English	…in written English	Notes
maybe	neutral	neutral	usually needs more explanation
I don’t know	formal	neutral
(I) dunno	informal	not used	= “I don’t know”; dunno is not considered a “real word”
(It) depends.	neutral	neutral	you need more information to answer
(It) depends on whether/if…	neutral	neutral	you need specific information to answer
Who knows?	neutral	neutral	you think nobody knows the answer
a command (e.g. Ask John.)	neutral	neutral

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