Yes, yep and yup: Aye, aye

“Yes” is such a simple word, but it can be said in so many ways.

I’m not sure why such a short word needs any alterations, but it has plenty.

“Yeah” is a casual way of answering a question or emphasizing that you agree with something. It’s pronounced like the chorus in the Beatles song, “She Loves You”: (Yeah, yeah, yeah!)

Are you coming or not? Yeah, I’m right behind you.

“Yep” is another alteration, and it’s informal. You probably wouldn’t answer a drill sergeant with a “yep.’’

Is this your dirty plate on the table?

Yep.

And then we have “yup,” another casual way of saying yes.

The American Heritage Dictionary says that “yup” is an alteration of “yep.” So one alteration of “yes” has its own alteration. I can’t decide whether that’s inefficient or hyper-efficient.

In an oral vote, we have the yeas and the nays. That “yea” is pronounced “yay.” Shouldn’t it be spelled the same as “nay”? “Yay,” though, means the same thing as “hooray.”

Many longer words are simply synonyms of “yes.”

All right. This can either be said begrudgingly (Oh, all right, I’ll finish my Brussels sprouts) or enthusiastically (All right! No Brussels sprouts tonight!).

“Aye.” This has a military feel. (Aye, aye, sir.)

“Okeydoke” or “okeydokey.” These sound folksy.

Also: absolutely, affirmative, assuredly, certainly, exactly, indeed, indisputably, OK, positively, unquestionably.

Nobody can say that English doesn’t give us choices.

TOOL NAMES

In the last column, I talked about tools that have human names, and I’ve since received a few other ideas:

Dolly. When you need to move something heavy, you may use a dolly, a platform on wheels. This is not