To Be: Questions and Short Answers
To make questions with to be, we put am/is/are before the subject, so we switch their place.
| Affirmative / positive | Questions |
|---|---|
| I am late. | Am I late? |
| He is at home. | Is he at home? |
| She is a teacher. | Is she a teacher? |
| It is cold outside. | Is it cold outside? |
| You are tired. | Are you tired? |
| We are ready. | Are we ready? |
| They are from Spain. | Are they from Spain? |
Short answers
Because these questions usually have a yes/no answer, we use short answers. The correct formal short answers include yes/no and then copy part of the question.
After yes, we do not use short forms:
- Are you hungry? – Yes, I am. (not
Yes, I'm.) - Is she a teacher? – Yes, she is.
- Are they from Spain? – Yes, they are.
After no, we usually use the short negative form:
- Are you cold? – No, I'm not.
- Is he at work? – No, he isn't.
- Is it far? – No, it isn't.
- Are they busy? – No, they aren't.
Wh- questions
Wh- questions are special questions that use question words (where, what, who, how, why) and because of that, they require more specific answers than just a simple yes/no. With these questions, we use this question pattern:
What/Who/When/Where/Why/How + am/is/are + subject?
- Where are you from?
- How old is your sister?
- What is this?
- Why are the children happy?
- Who is that man?
To answer these questions, we often repeat part of the question in the answer (or we just answer simply, depends if we need to be formal):
- Where are you from? – I am from the UK.
- How old is your sister? – She is twelve.
Quick reference
- Questions: am/is/are + subject
Are you tired? Is he at home? - Short answers:
Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.
Yes, he/she/it is. / No, he/she/it isn't.
Yes, we/you/they are. / No, we/you/they aren't. - Wh-questions: question word + am/is/are + subject
Where are you from? What is this?
