Yes / No Questions with the verb "to be".

1.What Are Yes/No Questions?

Yes/No questions are questions that can be answered with Yes or No.

In this lesson, you will learn how to make Yes/No questions with the verb be.

2.How to Make Yes/No Questions with "Be"

The verb be is different from most other verbs.

To make a question, move am, is, or are before the subject.

Statement	Question
She is happy.	Is she happy?
They are at home.	Are they at home?
I am late.	Am I late?

 

The information after the subject can be:

• an adjective (happy, ready)
• a noun (a teacher, your friend)
• a place (at home, in the office)
• a time expression (at six, on Sunday)

3.How to Answer Yes/No Questions

Short answers always use:

Yes / No + subject + be

3.1Positive answers

Question	Short answer
Am I early?	Yes, you are.
Is she happy?	Yes, she is.
Are they ready?	Yes, they are.

3.2Negative answers

For A1, use No, she isn’t as the easiest default negative answer. Other negative forms are also correct.

Question	Short answer
Am I early?	No, you are not. / No, you're not. / No, you aren't.
Is she happy?	No, she is not. / No, she's not. / No, she isn't.
Are they ready?	No, they are not. / No, they're not. / No, they aren't.

The long and short forms are both correct.

4.Past Questions with Was/Were

Use the same word order in the past: was/were + subject + information?

Statement	Question	Short answer
She was tired.	Was she tired?	Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t.
They were at home.	Were they at home?	Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.

5.Questions with There Is/Are

Move is/are before there.

Statement	Question
There is a café near here.	Is there a café near here?
There are some buses today.	Are there any buses today?

Use the same pattern in the past: Was there…? / Were there…?

• Was there a meeting yesterday? — Yes, there was. / No, there wasn’t.
• Were there any problems? — Yes, there were. / No, there weren’t.

For present questions, use short answers with there too:

• Is there a café near here? — Yes, there is. / No, there isn’t.
• Are there any buses today? — Yes, there are. / No, there aren’t.

6.Common Mistakes

Incorrect	Correct
She is happy?	Is she happy?
Does she is happy?	Is she happy?
Did she was tired?	Was she tired?
Are you a teacher? Yes, you are.	Are you a teacher? Yes, I am.
Is she happy? Yes, she happy.	Is she happy? Yes, she is.

7.Quick Summary

• Move am, is, or are before the subject to make a question.
• For past questions, use was/were + subject: Was she tired? / Were they ready?
• With there, use Is there…? / Are there…?: Is there a café near here?
• Do not use do or does with the verb be.
• Answer with Yes / No + subject + be.