Yes/No Questions and Short Answers — Verb To Be and Simple Present — English 1st Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum

In English, many questions begin with a verb and expect a yes or no answer. These are called Yes/No Questions. This lesson teaches 1st Year Middle School students how to form Yes/No questions with the verb to be and other simple verbs, with short answers. The lesson follows the Algerian English curriculum (My Book of English).

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Learning Objectives

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• Form Yes/No questions with the verb To Be (am, is, are)

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• Form Yes/No questions with other verbs using Do/Does

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• Give correct short answers (Yes, I am / No, I don’t, etc.)

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• Use Yes/No questions in everyday conversations

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Part 1: Yes/No Questions with Verb To Be (am, is, are)

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To make a question with the verb to be, we put the verb before the subject.

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Structure: Am / Is / Are + subject + complement?

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Statement	Question	Short Answer (Yes)	Short Answer (No)
I am happy.	Am I happy?	Yes, I am.	No, I’m not.
You are a student.	Are you a student?	Yes, I am.	No, I’m not.
He is tall.	Is he tall?	Yes, he is.	No, he isn’t.
She is a teacher.	Is she a teacher?	Yes, she is.	No, she isn’t.
It is a cat.	Is it a cat?	Yes, it is.	No, it isn’t.
We are friends.	Are we friends?	Yes, we are.	No, we aren’t.
They are happy.	Are they happy?	Yes, they are.	No, they aren’t.

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Note: In short answers, we do NOT repeat the full sentence. We just say “Yes, subject + verb” or “No, subject + verb + not”.

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Part 2: Yes/No Questions with Do / Does (Present Simple)

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For other verbs (play, like, eat, read, etc.), we use Do or Does to make questions.

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Structure: Do / Does + subject + verb (base form)?

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• Use Do with I, you, we, they

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• Use Does with he, she, it (the verb loses the -s)

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Statement	Question	Yes	No
I like pizza.	Do you like pizza?	Yes, I do.	No, I don’t.
He plays football.	Does he play football?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn’t.
She reads books.	Does she read books?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn’t.
They live in Algiers.	Do they live in Algiers?	Yes, they do.	No, they don’t.
We study English.	Do you study English?	Yes, we do.	No, we don’t.

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Important: In questions with Does, the main verb has NO -s. We say “Does he play?” NOT “Does he plays?”

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Part 3: Short Answers — Rules to Remember

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• We NEVER say “Yes, I” or “No, I” without the verb.

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• We do NOT repeat the main verb in short answers.

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• Wrong: Do you like cats? Yes, I like. ✗

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• Correct: Do you like cats? Yes, I do. ✓ (تعجبني القطط؟ نعم)

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• Wrong: Is she a doctor? Yes, she is a doctor. ✗ (too long)

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• Correct: Is she a doctor? Yes, she is. ✓ (هل هي طبيبة؟ نعم)

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Part 4: Everyday Questions — Dialogues

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Dialogue 1: At School

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Ali: Hi, Ahmed! Are you new here?
\nAhmed: Yes, I am. I’m in class 1AM.
\nAli: Do you like English?
\nAhmed: Yes, I do. It’s interesting!
\nAli: Is your teacher nice?
\nAhmed: Yes, she is. She is very kind.

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Dialogue 2: At Home

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Mother: Are you hungry, Samir?
\nSamir: Yes, I am.
\nMother: Do you want a sandwich?
\nSamir: Yes, please! Does it have cheese?
\nMother: Yes, it does.
\nSamir: Great, thank you!

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Part 5: Practice Exercises

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Exercise 1: Make Yes/No questions from these statements.

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1. You are a student. → Are you a student?

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2. She is from Algeria. → __________________________________

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3. They play tennis on Friday. → __________________________________

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4. He likes chocolate. → __________________________________

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5. We have English class today. → __________________________________

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6. It is a sunny day. → __________________________________

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Exercise 2: Write short answers for these questions.

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1. Is she your friend? (✓) → Yes, she is.

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2. Do you like orange juice? (✗) → __________________________________

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3. Are they in the classroom? (✓) → __________________________________

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4. Does he speak Arabic? (✓) → __________________________________

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5. Am I late? (✗) → __________________________________

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6. Do your parents work in Oran? (✗) → __________________________________

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Exercise 3: Complete the dialogue.

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Teacher: Good morning! ________ you ready for the lesson?
\nStudent: Yes, we ________.
\nTeacher: ________ you like listening to stories?
\nStudent: Yes, I ________. Stories are fun!
\nTeacher: ________ your friend like stories too?
\nStudent: No, he ________. He prefers reading comics.

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Answer Key

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Exercise 1: 2. Is she from Algeria?   3. Do they play tennis on Friday?   4. Does he like chocolate?   5. Do we have English class today?   6. Is it a sunny day?

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Exercise 2: 2. No, I don’t.   3. Yes, they are.   4. Yes, he does.   5. No, you aren’t.   6. No, they don’t.

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Exercise 3: Are, are, Do, do, Does, doesn’t

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Pronunciation Tips

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• Do you → /dʒuː/ in fast speech (sounds like “ju”)

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• Does he → /dʌzi/ in fast speech

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• Don’t → /doʊnt/ — one syllable, the ‘t’ is clear

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• Doesn’t → /ˈdʌzənt/ — two syllables

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• Questions usually go up in pitch at the end (rising intonation ↗)

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Summary

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Verb Type	Question Form	Short Answer Yes	Short Answer No
To Be (am/is/are)	Is he happy?	Yes, he is.	No, he isn’t.
Other verbs (Do)	Do you like cats?	Yes, I do.	No, I don’t.
Other verbs (Does)	Does she read?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn’t.

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◆ دروس مشابهة

• Articles: A and An (Indefinite Articles) — Grammar and Exercises — English — 1st Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum
• The Verb To Be (Am, Is, Are) — Present Simple — English — 1st Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum
• Classroom Commands and Objects — English — 1st Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum