Stay as you’re or stay as you are!
And please give the differences also the reason why.
I believe that there is some kind of rule that you cannot end a sentence with a POSITIVE contraction:
Tom: Are you a student?
Mona: Yes, I am. (If you say, “Yes, I’m,” people will laugh at you.)
Joe: Is he sick?
Sue: No, he isn’t. (That is OK, because the contraction is negative.)
Yes, it’s. (People will laugh)
No, it isn’t. (Fine)
Yes, they’re. (People will laugh)
No, they aren’t. (Fine)
Therefore, if you say, “Stay as you’re,” people will laugh or be confused. They may think that you have said, “Stay as YOUR.”
Thanks for the quick reply. I was just trying to find a reference for a student.
Regards.
You are very welcome. Hopefully, one of the language professionals here will give you a link to some reference work. I am guessing that the Web would also have some comments regarding the use of contractions.
It’s an interesting point. It seems to be fairly clearly true in almost all cases, but I wondered if there might be any exceptions. Ignoring trick answers utilising words such as “ma’am”, “o’clock” and so on, I would offer “let’s”, in a sentence such as “Yes, let’s”, as a counterexample. More marginal are sentences like “Well, I might’ve”, “Yes, he could’ve”, etc.
For me, “yes, let’s” sounds quite natural. I think it is because saying “let us” in any context seems overly formal to me.
T.J., would you end a sentence with “yes, let’s”?[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: In the library[YSaerTTEW443543]
Yes, in a informal conversation I would: “Hey, what do you think about going out to the lake? Yes, let’s!”
Excellent point, Dozy – as usual!
So maybe we have to amend that “rule” to:
No positive contractions ending with the verb “to be.”
As you said, “Yes, let’s” is fine. Furthermore, the contraction does not end with a verb.
And, absolutely, people are very comfortable with "Yes, she
could’ve."
I guess when people say that “to be” is irregular, it really is!