Mistakes are often made by students in the use of YES or NO in answering a question.
If the question is affirmative there is less fear of ambiguity in the answer.
Is the sky cloudy today?
Yes. It is.
No. It is not.
But if the question is put in a Negative form, the answer given is often ambiguous.
Did you not find him at home?
The answer sometimes given is….
Yes. I did not find him at home.
This is wrong and the proper answer would be one of the following two versions.
1. Yes. I did find him at home.
2. No. I did not find him at home.
Two rules, then, should be remembered.
(1) If the answer to be given is YES, the Verb following must be in the affirmative.
(2) If the answer to be given is NO, the Verb following must be in the negative.