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I am confused about what exactly a complete sentence. I have read that "Yes." can be a complete sentence, but the subject and verb in a "Yes." sentence are implied. I don't think that someone is expressing what they want to say by implying words. I know that someone can assume that someone else is trying to say "Yes, I like something.", but that doesn't mean that the person saying "Yes." is actually expressing what they are trying to say. Again, I would just like some clarification on what exactly a complete sentence(something that expresses a complete thought) is.

GFD1998
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  • "Hello." is another potential example. – AndyT Aug 09 '16 at 16:46
  • To answer your question, a complete sentence contains a subject and a verb. "Go!" is the shortest sentence in the English language, as commands have implied subjects. – VampDuc Aug 09 '16 at 17:11
  • This question is very similar to the other one that you asked: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/341192/is-the-word-yes-a-complete-sentence – DyingIsFun Aug 09 '16 at 18:18
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    I encourage you to study philosophy of language if you are interested in questions like this. There is an ongoing debate about sub-sentential expressions (for example 'yes', 'hello', 'ouch', etc.) and our use of them to perform speech acts. Some people think that we can use them to perform speech acts, but they do not literally express full thoughts. See http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/22993-words-and-thoughts-subsentences-ellipsis-and-the-philosophy-of-language/ to get a taste. – DyingIsFun Aug 09 '16 at 18:25
  • If people couldn’t express what they wanted to say with the one word, “Yes.” they wouldn’t say it. Yet lots of people say it and it generally gets across the sentiment the speaker wished to convey. – Jim Aug 09 '16 at 22:10
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    You are asking what seems a simple question which seems certain to have a clear-cut answer. Different people are giving simple enough answers, but they're contradictory. This indicates that the question is far from simple. Does the definition of 'sentence' hinge on form (Capital to start, full stop or equivalent to finish; subject (or implied subject); finite verb) or on expression of a complete (if not completely described) concept ('Ouch!' conveys the concept of pain, though not how much). As Silenus says, the second definition, though commonly trotted out, necessitates complex analysis. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 09 '16 at 22:57
  • In the context given in the article cited by Silenus, 'Flying west.' makes perfect sense and borrows from the preceding sentence, enabling a complete thought (The ... tanagers are ...) to be presented. But if a person uttered just the two words 'flying west' when having a dream, the claim for sentencehood becomes far more open to debate. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 09 '16 at 23:05
  • @Edwin Ashworth, would "Yes." by itself be able to convey meaning if someone is talking to himself? – GFD1998 Aug 09 '16 at 23:16
  • I'd say it would usually mean 'Wonderful' or 'Job done' or 'At last'. But you must realise that there's no one answer to "Is 'Yes.' a sentence?" Though you may want there to be, and others may insist that there is (and give conflicting answers). – Edwin Ashworth Aug 09 '16 at 23:32

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According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-sentence, "yes" is not really a complete sentence - it's a "pro-sentence", which can be seen as a contracted form of the "proper" sentence, which can only be understood from the context. So for example, "Yes" could be a contracted form of "Yes, I would like some dessert.". The listener (hopefully) understands the context and can expand it back out into the fuller implied sentence.

On its own, "Yes" has absolutely no meaning: it takes its meaning only from its context, eg a preceding question.

Max Williams
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  • is context the the words said before and after a certain statement, or is context the circumstances, as in the thoughts of the person while saying something. – GFD1998 Aug 09 '16 at 22:07
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    Mind you, 'It is.' is pretty context-dependent. – Edwin Ashworth Aug 09 '16 at 23:35
  • @GFD1998 they are all examples of context. The preceding sentence is the most obvious contextual clue, but many sentences remain ambiguous without extra knowledge, eg of the intentions or desires of the speaker. – Max Williams Aug 10 '16 at 07:26
  • @MaxWilliams, is there a difference between 'situation context' and 'word context'? – GFD1998 Aug 10 '16 at 18:41