Affirmatives and negatives raise interesting issues for both grammar and pragmatics. This paper focusses on the Early Modern English negatives no and nay, and their role in the question-response system. Using data from Shakespeare’s plays and corpus methods, we note the demise of 'nay', and the specific uses and pragmatic meanings of 'no' and 'nay'. We conclude by discussing our key findings in a broader theoretical and cross-linguistic perspective.