WELCOME... IT'S GRAMMAR TIME!!! VERB TO BE, PART 2: YES/NO QUESTIONS!!!

Hi everybody and welcome to this new entry of Montcada in English. Our very first post was dedicated to the most common verb in the English Language: to be. We explained both affirmative and negative forms, their structure and their use. Today I'd love to talk about how to use the verb to be to ask questions.

First of all it is important to understand that In English -- as in almost every language -- there are two ways of asking questions: YES/NO questions and WH Questions. We will focus this time in the first ones. In linguistics, a YES/NO question, formally known as a polar question, is the one whose expected answer is either yes or no.

So how can we ask YES/NO questions with the verb to be?

QUESTION: VERB TO BE + SUBJECT PRONOUN + COMPLEMENT ?

ANSWER: YES, S.P. + V.TO BE / NO, S.P. + V.TO BE + NOT

For example:

Are you Martin? -------------------------------------- Eres Martin?

Yes, I am ---------------------------------------------- Si soy yo.

Are you Peter? ---------------------------------------- Eres Pedro?

No, I am not / No, I'm not --------------------------- No lo soy.

Are you British? -------------------------------------- Ustedes/Vosotros son/sois Británicos?

Yes, we are -------------------------------------------- Si somos.

Are you Canadians? ---------------------------------- Ustedes/Vosotros son/sois Canadienses?

No, we are not / No, we're not / No, we aren't ---- No somos.

Although it is logical, usually when questiona are asked with you (both forms singular or plural), answers are given with I or we.

When questions are asked in the third person, answers are given in the same way.

For example:

Is he Romina? ----------------------------------------- Ella es Romina?

Yes, she is --------------------------------------------- Si es.

Is she Laura? ------------------------------------------ Ella es Laura?

No, she is not / No, she's not / No she isn't ------- No es.

Is he American? -------------------------------------- El es Americano?

Yes, he is ---------------------------------------------- Si es.

Is he a doctor? ---------------------------------------- El es doctor/médico?

No, he is not / No, he's not / No, he isn't ---------- No somos.

So people, as far as I'm concerned, I'm done! I hope this information can be useful for all of you!

C Ya!!!