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yes
[yes]
adverb
(used to express affirmation or assent or to mark the addition of something emphasizing and amplifying a previous statement).
Do you want that? Yes, I do.
(used to express an emphatic contradiction of a previously negative statement or command).
Don't do that! Oh, yes I will!
(used, usually interrogatively, to express hesitation, uncertainty, curiosity, etc.).
“Yes?” he said as he opened the door. That was a marvelous show! Yes?
(used to express polite or minimal interest or attention.)
noun
plural
yesesan affirmative reply.
verb (used with object)
to give an affirmative reply to; give assent or approval to.
interjection
(used as a strong expression of joy, pleasure, or approval.)
yes
/ ɛ /
used to express acknowledgment, affirmation, consent, agreement, or approval or to answer when one is addressed
used, often with interrogative intonation, to signal someone to speak or keep speaking, enter a room, or do something
noun
an answer or vote of yes
(often plural) a person who votes in the affirmative
51Թ History and Origins
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of yes1
Example Sentences
You know, the ones conditioned to believe that honesty, fairness and yes, the rule of law pertain to everyone and that sports should be the crucible of good character that defines us forever?
“From where I stand you are a perfect pixelation of America: the Black, the brown, the Christian, the Muslim, the native-born, and yes, the powerful immigrant.”
Olsen: You mentioned instinct and how you have to learn to trust your gut working with someone like Jeremy, saying yes to a project.
And yes the prospect of more tax rises in the autumn will hang in the air all summer.
And, yes, the most common takeaway remains: Parents have no idea what’s going on with their teenagers — though “horror” is in the eye of the beholder.
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When To Use
The plural form of yes is either yeses or yesses, but yeses is more widely used. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -s are also formed the same way, such as bus/buses/busses, gas/gases/gasses, and lotus/lotuses/lotusses. In some instances, particularly informally, the plural form of yes is written with an apostrophe, as in yes's. This is not considered standard, but it may be easier to understand in some contexts because many people are unfamiliar with the plural form of yes. The word yes is only pluralized when it is used as a noun rather than in its more common use as an adverb. The word yes as a noun means "an answer or vote of yes" or "a person who votes in the affirmative," as in The noes outnumbered the yeses.
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