No. is really just a shorter version of the
complete sentence "It is not so." Just as in "Go." the
subject is implied, in "No." the verb and subject are
implied. And you cannot "
forget whether they are implied or not," because it is
essential to the function of the
word that they are
implied.
If "No" is not a complete sentence (or even a complete clause, because a clause needs a verb), then "Yes" is not a complete clause either. Now, use "Yes" as part of a complete clause.
You can't, can you.
The word Yes is always found as a clause on its own, so it must imply a verb.
therevengingo: In your
sentence, the
answer is an
instance of the clause "Yes". So it still depends on the
fact that
Yes on its own is a complete clause.