We use these questions to ask general things about something or someone. These questions are used with adjectives, nouns, and prepositional phrase.
- Is she a doctor? (noun)
- Are they tired? (adjective)
- Is Mark at home? (prepositional phrase)
Remember that the “be verb” (am/is/are) changes depending on the subject.
| Am I…? | Are you…? |
| Are we…? / Are Jon and I…? | Is he…? / Is Bill…? |
| Is she…? / Is Mary…? | Is it…? / Is the cookie…? |
| Are they…? / Are Jon and Bill…? | Are they…? / Are the cookies…? |
Every question in this lesson is in the present tense.
Is/Are + subject…?
Put a noun, adjective, or prepositional phrase after the subject.
- Is Bill a doctor?
- Is she a teacher?
- Is he tired?
- Is Jane funny?
- Is the dog nice?
- Is the weather nice in your country?
- Is he at the coffee shop?
- Is she from India?
- Is the book on the desk?
- Is the boy injured?
- Is the computer broken?
- Are the men artists?
- Are the women friends?
- Are they basketball players?
- Are they brothers?
- Are the children hungry?
- Are the tickets sold-out?
- Are the clothes dry?
- Are the people at your work excited about the holiday?
- Are the children at school?
Bonus Tips and Points
1. We can also ask questions about our self by using “Am I…?”.
A) Am I nice?
B) No, you are not nice.
A) Am I late?
B) Yes, but you are only 10 minutes late.
A) Am I a good friend?
B) Usually.
Real-World English Conversations
A) Is he a doctor?
B) No, he isn’t. He is a teacher.
A) Are they friends?
B) Yes, they are.
A) Is he nice?
B) No, he isn’t.
A) Are they teachers?
B) Yes, they are high school teachers.
A) Are you ready to go home?
B) Yes. I am ready to go.
A) Are you hot?
B) No, I am fine. Are you?
A) I am a little hot.
A) Is your son at the park with his friends?
B) No. He is at school studying for a test.
A) Is it hot in your country?
B) Sometimes. It is hot in the summer, but the other seasons aren’t very hot.
A) Is dinner ready yet?
B) No. It will be ready in about 10 minutes.
Use these free English lessons to learn the most common sentence patterns in the English language. If you learn these sentences and questions, it will help you speak English well. Study the lessons thoroughly, practice making your own sentences, and come back to review often. If you do these three steps, your English speaking will improve quickly and you will be able to have natural English conversations.
English Sentence Patterns for Speaking Index
