[1511.] There are no two current Latin words corresponding exactly with yes and no in answers.
[1512.] (1.) A positive answer is expressed by some emphatic word of the question, repeated with such change as the context may require: as,
an nōn dīxī esse hoc futūrum? :: dīxtī, T. Andr. 621, didn’t I say that this would be? :: you did. hūc abiīt Clītiphō :: sōlus? :: sōlus, T. Hau. 904, here Clitipho repaired :: alone? :: alone. The repeated word may be emphasized by sānē, vērō: as, dāsne manēre animōs post mortem? :: dō vērō, TD. 1, 25, do you grant that the soul lives on after death? :: oh yes. Often, however, adverbs are used, without the repetition, such as certē, certō, etiam, factum, ita, ita enimvērō, ita vērō, sānē, sānē quidem, scīlicet, oh of course, vērō, rarely vērum.
[1513.] (2.) A negative answer is expressed by a similar repetition, with nōn or some other negative added: as,
estne frāter intus? :: nōn est, T. Ad. 569. is brother in? :: he’s not. Or, without repetition, by such words as nōn, nōn ita, nōn quidem, nōn hercle vērō, minimē, minimē quidem, minimē vērō, nihil minus.
[1514.] immō introduces a sentence rectifying a mistake, implied doubt, or understatement in a question: as, nūllane habēs vitia? :: immō alia, et fortasse minōra, H. S. 1, 3, 20, have you no faults? :: I beg your pardon, other faults, and peradventure lesser ones. causa igitur nōn bona est? immō optima, Att. 9, 7, 4, isn’t the cause a good one then? good? yes, more than good, very good.
[1515.] The alternative question belongs properly under the head of the compound sentence. But as the interrogative particles employed in the single question are also used in the alternative question, the alternative question is most conveniently considered here.
[1516.] In old English, the first of two alternative questions is often introduced by the interrogative particle whether, and the second by or: as, whether is it easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say Arise? In modern English, whether is not used thus.
[1517.] The history of the Latin alternative question is just the reverse of the English. In old Latin, the first question is very often put without any interrogative particle. Later, in the classical period, the use of -ne, or oftener of utrum, etymologically the same as whether, is overwhelmingly predominant.