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What is the proper grammar to use with the phrase:

Yeah, no?

Where no is the correct answer?

For example if someone asked:

Do you like him?

Would you reply with:

"Yeah. No!" Or "Yeah, no!"

quora.com/When-did-people-start-saying-Yeah-no-or-No-yeah

Gary
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ben olsen
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    there's no grammatically correct way, as the two words contradict each other so are completely meaningless. Unless the person responding has just made a mistake initially, and said "yeah" when they meant to say "no" and then corrected themself. In which case either would work ok, but the meaning is ambiguous, and should instead be something like, "Yeah, I mean, no!" or some such similar if that was the intended meaning. – Gary Dec 28 '17 at 15:36
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    The other possible meaning, could be they are conflicted, so undecided... in which case something like... "Yeah...no! I don't know" could also work ; but you need more context here to get an accurate answer, as intended meaning is too ambiguous. – Gary Dec 28 '17 at 15:39
  • The yeah no part is the answer given, to the question asked. – ben olsen Dec 28 '17 at 15:44
  • The examples listed here: https://www.quora.com/When-did-people-start-saying-Yeah-no-or-No-yeah , all prefer the comma it seems. But as you can see on that page, there are multiple interpretations about what this colloquial phrase means, so I'd just be wary that not everyone will understand the meaning. – Gary Dec 28 '17 at 15:50
  • If I was writting a Phd essay (which I am not lol) which one meets literature standards? Yeah. No! Or Yeah,no. – ben olsen Dec 28 '17 at 15:57
  • Both are fine. The problem you have is both meanings are unclear, so the sentence would need additional context (by way of extra words, or sentences) to explain what this contradictory phrase actually meant. – Gary Dec 28 '17 at 15:59
  • Asking which meets literature standards is essentially to ask for writing advice, which is something we do not usually do here as it is POB. – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_ Dec 28 '17 at 16:05
  • This is a an occasionally used (where I come from) and unambiguous construct; I assume that it appears in only a small number of dialects and the down voter(s) and close voters are unfamiliar with it – James McLeod Dec 28 '17 at 16:20
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    This question already has an answer here. – Laurel Dec 28 '17 at 18:47

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The meaning of the phrase (as I have always heard and used it) is essentially an emphatic yet somewhat sarcastic, "yes, I understand you, but the answer is still no."

If your intended meaning matches this, then it is best written as one sentence, "yeah, no."

James McLeod
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