Yes/No questions are questions you answer with "Yes" or "No." Two common ways to make these quesions are with the verb "to be" (am / is / are) and the verb do (do / does).
Questions with "To Be"
verb
be
be
verb
am
verb
are
verb
is
If the question uses "to be" (am, is, are), put "to be" first, then the subject (person or pronoun).
Pattern
Question
"to be" + subject
Are you a student?
"to be" + subject
Is she at home?
"to be" + subject
Are they ready?
"to be" + subject
Is the weather cold?
"to be" + subject
Are we late?
"to be" + subject
Is he your friend?
Positive Short Answers with "To Be"
excl.
yes
Say "Yes, I am" or "Yes, she is." Do not use contractions in the positive answer.
Question
Correct Short Answer
❌Incorrect
Are you a student?
Yes, I am.
Yes, I am a student.
❌Yes, I'm.
Is she at home?
Yes, she is.
Yes, she is at home.
❌Yes, she's.
Are they ready?
Yes, they are.
Yes, they are ready.
❌Yes, they're.
Is the weather cold?
Yes, it is.
Yes, it is cold.
❌Yes, it's.
Are we late?
Yes, we are.
Yes, we are late.
❌Yes, we're.
Is he your friend?
Yes, he is.
Yes, he is my friend.
❌Yes, he's.
Negative Short Answers with "To Be"
excl.
no
adv.
not
For negative short answers, you can say "No, I'm not" or "No, she isn't." You can use "is not" or "isn't". Both are correct.
Question
Negative Short Answer
Are you tired?
No, I'm not.
No, I am not.
Is he at home?
No, he isn't.
No, he is not.
Are they students?
No, they aren't.
No, they are not.
Is it cold?
No, it isn't.
No, it is not.
Are we late?
No, we aren't.
No, we are not.
Am I wrong?
No, you aren't.
No, you are not.
Yes/No Questions with Other Verbs
If the question does not use "to be," start with "do" or "does." Use "do" for I, you, we, they. Use "does" for he, she, it.