6 Yes Responses
The Complete (yes) Responses for “To Be” Verbs
Remember the ways the equal sign (=) is said with the “to be” verb.
Two plus one is three.
Two plus one is equal to three.
Two plus one is equivalent to three.
The language of math follows the “to be” pattern of grammar with the responses. We will look at the complete response and the short response.
The complete sentence response examples for “yes”:
Is one plus two three?
Yes. One plus two is three.
Is one plus two equal to three?
Yes. One plus two is equal to three.
Is one plus two equivalent to three?
Yes. One plus two is equivalent to three.
Your Turn–Practice Complete “Yes” Responses to “to be” Questions:
The word “affirmative” means to agree or consent. All of the “yes” responses agree with the answer in the questions.
The Short Affirmative (yes) Response for “to be” verbs
The operation (+, -, x, ÷) in math and its answer in any math equation are always singular. This singular grammar shows up in the short responses.
For example:
Is two plus three five?
Yes. It is.
Is two plus three equal to five?
Yes. It is.
Is two plus three equivalent to five?
Yes. It is.
In the examples above, the pronoun “it” refers to the math operation, which is grammatically singular. The 3rd-person pronoun “it” is the correct pronoun to use.
Your Turn–Practice Short Affirmative Responses for “to be” Questions:
Complete Responses for Non “To-Be” Verbs
Do you remember the other words that do not use the “to be” verb for the equal sign (=)?
- equals
- makes
2 + 3 = 5 is written and said as:
“Two plus three equals five.”
Or
“Two plus three makes five.”
Look at the yes/no question for the same math equation.
Does two plus three equal five?
Yes. Two plus three equals five.
Does two plus three make five?
Yes. Two plus three makes five.
In the questions, the word “does” is used because it is present tense 3rd person singular. The complete sentences use 3rd-person singular grammar as we have seen before with the final -s on the words equal and make.
Your Turn–Practice Complete Affirmative Responses with non-“to be” verbs
The Short Affirmative (yes) Response for Non “to be” verbs
5 + 3 = 8 is written and said as:
“Five and three equals eight.”
Or
“Five and three makes eight.”
Look at the yes/no question for the same math equation. The short affirmative responses are in the examples.
Does five and three equal eight?
Yes. It does.
Does five plus three make eight?
Yes. It does.
In the questions, the word “does” is used because it is present tense 3rd person singular. The short responses use the auxiliary verb “does” to match the question type.
Your Turn–Practice Short Affirmative Responses with non-“to be” verbs
