grammar - "You have nothing to do" - "Yes I do" / "Yes I don't"

If someone says "You have nothing to do", what is the proper answer to say "what you just said is true":

• You have nothing to do.


• Yes, I do.

Or

• You have nothing to do.


• Yes, I don't

Answer

In English, if you respond to a negative question, like "You don't ...", with a simple "yes", it's ambiguous if you mean, "yes you are correct, I do not", or "you are incorrect, I do". People normally use more words to clearly state what they mean.

In your example, one might answer, "You are correct" or "That's right" to indicate that he does, in fact, have nothing to do. Or if he does have something to do, he'd say, "No, I do have things to do" or something of that sort.

We don't say, "Yes, I don't". Whatever one can say about the grammar of that sentence, it would be considered twisted wording.