English usage: choose the correct response for the location question in direct speech Context: Someone calls out, "Johny, where are you?" Complete the reply naturally for spoken English: "______ up this tree." Choose the correct option.

Given data

• Prompt: “Johny, where are you?”
• Reply begins “______ up this tree.”

Concept/Approach
In natural English, deictic adverbs here and there refer to proximity to the speaker/listener. The idiomatic response introducing one’s presence is Here I am (subject after verb not required; the fixed expression is conventional).

Option analysis
Here I am — correct fixed expression; also matches the deictic “up this tree” (speaker’s current location). ✅Here am I — rare/poetic inversion; sounds stilted in conversation.There I am / There am I — would point away from the speaker; incongruent with “up this tree” as a direct self-location.

Common pitfalls

• Using inverted “Here am I” in everyday speech.

Final Answer
Here I am