Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ to give a positive response to a question.
‘Are you a friend of Nick’s?’—‘Yes.’...
‘You actually wrote it down, didn’t you?’—‘Yes.’...
Will she say ~ when I ask her out?
? no
CONVENTION
2.
You use ~ to accept an offer or request, or to give permission.
‘More wine?’—‘Yes please.’...
‘Will you take me there?’—‘Yes, I will.’...
‘Can I ask you something?’—‘Yes, of course.’
? no
CONVENTION
3.
You use ~ to tell someone that what they have said is correct.
‘Well I suppose it is based on the old lunar months isn’t it.’—‘Yes that’s right.’...
‘That’s a type of whitefly, is it?’—‘Yes, it is a whitefly.’
? no
CONVENTION
4.
You use ~ to show that you are ready or willing to speak to the person who wants to speak to you, for example when you are answering a telephone or a knock at your door.
He pushed a button on the intercom. ‘Yes?’ came a voice...
Yes, can I help you?
CONVENTION
5.
You use ~ to indicate that you agree with, accept, or understand what the previous speaker has said.
‘A lot of people find it very difficult indeed to give up smoking.’—‘Oh ~. I used to smoke nearly sixty a day.’...
‘It’s a fabulous opportunity.’—‘Yeah. I know.’
CONVENTION
6.
You use ~ to encourage someone to continue speaking.
‘I remembered something funny today.’—‘Yeah?’
CONVENTION
7.
You use ~, usually followed by ‘but’, as a polite way of introducing what you want to say when you disagree with something the previous speaker has just said.
‘She is entitled to her personal allowance which is three thousand pounds of income.’—‘Yes, but she doesn’t earn any money.’...
CONVENTION politeness
8.
You use ~ to say that a negative statement or question that the previous speaker has made is wrong or untrue.
‘That is not possible,’ she said. ‘Oh, ~, it is!’ Mrs Gruen insisted...
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’—‘Yes, you do.’
CONVENTION
9.
You can use ~ to suggest that you do not believe or agree with what the previous speaker has said, especially when you want to express your annoyance about it.
‘There was no way to stop it.’—‘Oh ~? Well, here’s something else you won’t be able to stop.’
CONVENTION feelings
10.
You use ~ to indicate that you had forgotten something and have just remembered it.
What was I going to say. Oh yeah, we’ve finally got our second computer.
CONVENTION
11.
You use ~ to emphasize and confirm a statement that you are making.
He collected the ?10,000 first prize. Yes, ?10,000.
CONVENTION emphasis
12.
You say ~ and no in reply to a question when you cannot give a definite answer, because in some ways the answer is ~ and in other ways the answer is no.
‘Was it strange for you, going back after such a long absence?’—‘Yes and no.’
CONVENTION vagueness