Questions with be

What's in the lesson

1. 1Warm-up
2. 2In this lesson
3. 3Check your understandingListening comprehension
4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
5. 5Find the questionsGrammar exercise
6. 6Questions with beGrammar rule
7. 7Questions and short answersGrammar exercise
8. 8Question wordsGrammar exercise
9. 9Find the mistakeGrammar exercise
10. 10Questions for your teacherGrammar exercise
11. 11Say it naturallySpeaking practice
12. 12Role-play: the front deskSpeaking practice
13. 13Your questionsGrammar exercise
14. 14Wrap-up

Homework

1. 1Homework: at a language schoolGrammar exercise
2. 2Homework: which question is right?Grammar exercise
3. 3Homework: questions for a new neighborGrammar exercise
4. 4Homework: at the front deskDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

1. Who is your favorite travel partner?
2. Are you a good traveler?
3. Are hotels in your country expensive?

Grammar rule

Questions with be

Yes/no questions: be comes first

Sentence	Question	Yes	No
You're tired.	Are you tired?	Yes, I am.	No, I'm not.
She's a doctor.	Is she a doctor?	Yes, she is.	No, she isn't.
It's cold.	Is it cold?	Yes, it is.	No, it isn't.
They're at home.	Are they at home?	Yes, they are.	No, they aren't.

Am I late? — Yes, you are. / No, you aren't. A question about I has an answer about you.

After yes, use the long form: Yes, I am. Yes, she is. (not Yes, I'm, not Yes, she's) After no, the short form is normal: No, she isn't.

Questions with what, where, who, how old

Question word	be	Person or thing	Answer
What	is	the address?	It's 20 Main Street.
Where	are	the towels?	They're in the bathroom.
Who	is	at the door?	It's Grandma!
How old	is	your grandma?	She's 88.

Short forms in speaking: What is → What's, Where is → Where's, Who is → Who's.

Watch out

Be comes before the person or thing: Where are you from? (not Where you are from?) Where is the bus stop? (not Where the bus stop is?)