eng5-1.2· Unit 1: Be & Identity· ~13 min

“to be”: questions & short answers

Yes/No and Wh- questions with be.

In English, 'to be' (am / is / are) changes its position when we ask questions. In a statement we say 'She is a student,' but to make a Yes/No question we move 'be' to the front: 'Is she a student?' To answer, we use a short form: 'Yes, she is' or 'No, she isn't.' We never repeat the full sentence. For Wh- questions we put the question word first, then 'be', then the subject: 'What is your name?' / 'Where are your books?' / 'Who is that boy?' The question word tells us what kind of information we need: 'What' for things or identity, 'Where' for places, 'Who' for people. Remember: 'am' is used only with 'I', 'is' with he/she/it and singular nouns, and 'are' with you/we/they and plural nouns. For example: 'Are you a student?' — 'Yes, I am.'

Key terms

to be — A verb that shows identity, state, or location. Its forms are: am, is, are.
Yes/No question — A question that can be answered with 'Yes' or 'No'. Move 'be' before the subject to form it.
short answer — A short reply using only the subject pronoun and 'be' (or 'be + n't'). For example: 'Yes, she is.' / 'No, it isn't.'
Wh- question — A question that starts with a question word (What, Where, Who) and asks for specific information.
subject pronoun — The pronoun used as the subject of a sentence: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.
inversion — Swapping the order of the subject and 'be' to make a question. For example: 'She is...' → 'Is she...?'
The verb 'to be' — statements
SubjectbeExample
IamI am a student.
he / she / itisShe is kind. / It is big.
you / we / theyareThey are brothers. / We are at school.

Use am with I, is with he/she/it (singular), and are with you/we/they (plural).

Yes/No questions and short answers with 'be'
SubjectYes/No questionPositive short answerNegative short answer
IAm I late?Yes, I am.No, I am not. / No, I'm not.
he / she / itIs she kind? / Is it big?Yes, she is. / Yes, it is.No, she isn't. / No, it isn't.
you / we / theyAre you a student? / Are they brothers?Yes, I am. / Yes, they are.No, I'm not. / No, they aren't.

Move 'be' to the front of the sentence to make a Yes/No question. In short answers, use only the subject pronoun + be (or be + n't). Never repeat the full sentence.

Wh- question words with 'be'
Question wordAsks aboutPatternExample
Whatthings / identityWhat + is/are + subject?What is your name? / What are those?
Whereplaces / locationWhere + is/are + subject?Where is your bag? / Where are the books?
Whopeople / identityWho + is/are + subject?Who is that boy? / Who are they?

Wh- question pattern: Wh-word + be + subject. Always choose is or are to match the subject (singular or plural).

✎How to turn a statement into a Yes/No question
  1. 1Statement: Your teacher is kind.
  2. 2Step 1: Find the subject and 'be': Subject = 'your teacher' (singular) → be form = 'is'
  3. 3Step 2: Move 'be' to the front (inversion): Is your teacher kind?
  4. 4Step 3: Write the short answers: Yes, she is. / No, she isn't.
✎How to build a Wh- question with 'be'
  1. 1Information to ask about: You want to know the location of the books.
  2. 2Step 1: Choose the question word: Location → Where
  3. 3Step 2: Choose the correct form of 'be': 'Books' is plural → are
  4. 4Step 3: Build the question: Where + are + the books? → Where are the books?
  5. 5Note: A Wh- question cannot be answered with 'Yes' or 'No'. The answer gives specific information: 'They are on the desk.'
🚫Common mistake

Do NOT use 'do' or 'does' with 'to be'. WRONG: 'Does she a teacher?' / 'Do they are brothers?' CORRECT: 'Is she a teacher?' / 'Are they brothers?' — 'do/does' is for other verbs, not for 'be'.

🚫Common mistake

Do NOT just add a question mark to a statement. WRONG: 'She is a teacher?' — This is not a grammatical question. CORRECT: Move 'is' before the subject: 'Is she a teacher?'

🚫Common mistake

Match 'be' to the subject in short answers. WRONG: 'they is', 'we isn't', 'it are'. CORRECT: 'they are' / 'they aren't'; 'we are' / 'we aren't'; 'it is' / 'it isn't'. Use 'isn't' only with he/she/it.

💡Note

In a short answer, 'not' always comes AFTER 'be'. WRONG: 'they not are'. CORRECT: 'they are not' or 'they aren't'. Never put 'not' before 'be'.

⚠️Caution

A Wh- question and a Yes/No question need different answers. 'Where is she?' cannot be answered with 'Yes, she is.' It needs a place: 'She is in the classroom.' Only a Yes/No question (without a Wh- word) takes a short Yes/No answer.

Rules

  1. 1Move 'be' before the subject to form a Yes/No question: She is kind. → Is she kind?
  2. 2Short answers repeat only the subject pronoun + be (or be + n't): Yes, I am. / No, it isn't.
  3. 3Never use 'do/does' to make questions with 'to be': say 'Is he happy?', NOT 'Does he is happy?'
  4. 4Wh- questions follow the pattern: Wh-word + be + subject: Where are the cats? / Who is that girl?
  5. 5Use 'am' with I, 'is' with he/she/it (singular), and 'are' with you/we/they (plural).

Practice

10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard

10 random questions per test

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