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Does it rain in the desert? Yes/no questions with does and short answers

This A1 ESL lesson plan practices yes/no questions with does and their short answers, asked about the weather.

Grammar
Does + a verb with no -s (Does it rain in July?), short answers with does and doesn't, do or does for each person, and Is it hot? beside Does it rain?
Topic
The summer monsoon in Tucson, Arizona, and its afternoon storms, plus the seasons and months in English, with words such as thunder, lightning, cactus and desert.
Activities
A visitor center's questions and answers, a dialogue and a guide's talk, self-checking drills, a chat with a friend in Tucson, a spin wheel and a weather FAQ to write.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Hello, desert!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
    • Study the words: desert and stormsVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: rain in the desert?

    • Look at the photo: a storm in the desertPictureUnlock
    • Read the questions and answersReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: a trip to Tucson

    • Listen to Priya and TundeListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to a guide at the visitor centerListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen to the guide and choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Does it rain?

    • Study the scheme: Does it rain? Yes, it does.Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: questions and short answersFill in the gapsTry it
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Do, Does or Is?Drag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: weather where you live

    • Choose the right replies: a friend in TucsonChatTry it
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Fill in the table: questions and short answersFill in the tableUnlock
    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Write a weather FAQ for your townWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record a weather guide for your townSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

25 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • cactus
  • storm
  • thunder
  • lightning
  • cloud
  • summer
  • monsoon

Grammar: yes/no questions with does

Questions with does ask about he, she or it, from a friend to the weather: Does it rain in July? Does she live in Tucson? Learners start the question with does for he, she and it, answer Yes, it does or No, it doesn't, sort do and does questions by person, and tell Is it hot? from Does it rain?

Does it rain in July? Yes, it does!

Ask yes/no questions with Do and Does. Answer with a short answer.

Does + he, she, it + verb with no -s

In a sentence, the -s sits on the verb: It rains in July. She lives in Tucson. In the question, does takes the -s, and the verb goes bare: Does it rain in July? Does she live in Tucson? So Does she lives…? is wrong.

he, she, it: Does + verb (no -s!)

Doeshe / she / itverb…?

Does it rain in the desert?

Does she live in Tucson?

Does he like storms?

It rains. → Does it rain?

Sentence: verb + -s

  • It rains in July.
  • She lives in Tucson.
  • He likes storms.

Question: Does + verb (no -s)

  • Does it rain in July?
  • Does she live in Tucson?
  • Does he like storms?

Do or does? Short answers

Do goes with I, you, we and they, does with he, she and it: Do you like storms? Does he like storms? A short answer repeats do or does, not the verb: Yes, it does. No, I don't. Never Yes, it rains or No, it don't.

Do or Does? Questions and short answers

WhoQuestion ?Yes ✓No ✗
IDo I need an umbrella?Yes, you do.No, you don't.
youDo you like storms?Yes, I do.No, I don't.
heDoes he live in Tucson?Yes, he does.No, he doesn't.
sheDoes she like thunder?Yes, she does.No, she doesn't.
itDoes it rain in July?Yes, it does.No, it doesn't.
weDo we have class today?Yes, we do.No, we don't.
theyDo they like snow?Yes, they do.No, they don't.

Short answers

A short answer has do / does or don't / doesn't, not the verb: Does it rain in July? – Yes, it does. / No, it doesn't. (Not: Yes, it rains. Not: No, it don't.)

Is it hot? or Does it rain?

Adjectives take be, and verbs take does. Is it comes before an adjective: Is it hot in July? Yes, it is. Does it comes before a verb: Does it rain in July? Yes, it does. Here rain is a verb, so Is it rain? is wrong.

Is it…? or Does it…?

Is it + adjective: Is it hot in July? – Yes, it is. Does it + verb: Does it rain in July? – Yes, it does. (Not: Is it rain?)

Seasons and months

The year has four seasons of three months each: winter (December to February), spring (March to May), summer (June to August) and fall, the American word for autumn (September to November). Seasons and months both take in: in July, in summer.

SeasonMonths
winter ❄️December, January, February
spring 🌷March, April, May
summer ☀️June, July, August
fall 🍂September, October, November

Common mistakes

  • Does she lives in Tucson?

    Does she live in Tucson?

    Does + verb: no -s

  • Do it rain in July?

    Does it rain in July?

    he, she, it: Does

  • Is it rain in the desert?

    Does it rain in the desert?

    rain is a verb here: Does

  • No, it don't.

    No, it doesn't.

    he, she, it: doesn't

More lessons on this grammar: Present simple lessons and exercises · Questions lessons and exercises

Try the does questions exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 12 auto-checked exercises
  • 2 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • ask yes/no questions with does and a verb with no -s: Does it rain in July? Does she live in Tucson?
  • give short answers with does and doesn't: Yes, it does. No, he doesn't.
  • choose between Do, Does and Is: Do you like storms? Does it snow? Is it hot?
  • name the four seasons and their months: summer is June, July and August

Lesson 6 is the second lesson of Weather and seasons in English A1.2 · Out and About. It builds on lesson 2, where doesn't came with a verb with no -s (She doesn't carry a basket.), and on the Do you…? questions of A1.1's lesson 18; lesson 10 adds wh- questions with does, such as What time does the ferry leave? Rain in a desert sounds unlikely, so Does it rain there? is a question learners really want answered.

Students open boxes of questions about rain, snow and the seasons, then learn ten words, from desert and cactus to thunder, lightning and monsoon, with pictures and audio. The reading is a visitor center's page of questions and answers about the monsoon in Tucson, with true-or-false and multiple-choice questions to follow. Priya and Tunde talk about a July trip to Tucson in an AI-voiced dialogue, and a guide explains where the word monsoon comes from. After the scheme, four exercises check themselves: choosing the right word, a gap-fill of questions and short answers, a drag-and-drop of Do, Does or Is, and a choice of the right sentence. In the speaking chapter, students answer messages from a friend in Tucson and spin a wheel of questions about their town and family.

For homework, students fill in a table of questions and short answers and match storm words with their meanings, both self-checking. Then they write a weather FAQ for visitors to their town and record a weather guide for the teacher.

Grammar:
Does…? questions · short answers: Yes, it does. / No, it doesn't. · Do or Does? · Is it…? or Does it…? · seasons and months
Topic:
the desert · the monsoon · storms · weather · seasons and months · Arizona

Teaching tips

  • Write It rains above Does it rain? on the board and draw an arrow as the -s moves from the verb to does.
  • Run a do-or-does race: call out a subject (your mom, my friends, it), and teams answer Do or Does before you add a verb and a place.
  • Start the reading with a vote: Does it rain in the desert? Students answer Yes, it does or No, it doesn't, then check the visitor center's page.
  • Let pairs ask each other the wheel's questions, then write down two of the answers as a first weather FAQ, ready to grow into the homework.

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The whole course: English A1.2 · Out and About

32 lessons that pick up where English A1.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present simple with he and she to was and were. Eight units cover shopping, the weather, getting around, celebrations, health, animals and nature, jobs and weekends. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Shopping

    clothes and colors, he and she in the present simple, sizes and prices, paying in a store

    1. Lesson 1What does she wear on Aloha Friday?Present simple with he, she and it
    2. Lesson 2A basket on wheels?Present simple negatives with don't and doesn't
    3. Lesson 3What size are these boots?What questions and a pair of
    4. Lesson 4Can I try it on? The Santa Fe Indian MarketRequests and permission with Can I and Can you

  2. Unit 2 Weather and seasons

    the weather, seasons and months, the present continuous, how often it rains or snows

    1. Lesson 5Is the Windy City windy?Weather adjectives with It's
    2. Lesson 6 · you're hereDoes it rain in the desert?Yes/no questions with does
    3. Lesson 7Baseball at midnight?The present continuous for now
    4. Lesson 8Is it always windy on Mount Washington?Adverbs of frequency and their place

  3. Unit 3 Getting around

    transport, timetables, where places are, tickets with want and need

    1. Lesson 9How do you get to work?By + transport, take the bus and on foot
    2. Lesson 10What time does the ferry leave?Wh- questions with does
    3. Lesson 11Where's the streetcar stop?Between, behind, in front of and across from
    4. Lesson 12Do you need a ticket?Want and need with a noun

  4. Unit 4 Celebrations

    dates and holidays, in and on, party invitations, object pronouns

    1. Lesson 13Why is it called Juneteenth?Ordinal numbers for saying dates
    2. Lesson 14Never on a Sunday? The Rose ParadeIn, on and at for dates and times
    3. Lesson 15Come to our Lunar New Year party!Some and any with plural nouns
    4. Lesson 16Thank you, teacher!Object pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us and them

  5. Unit 5 Healthy me

    the body, how often, at the pharmacy, steps with first and then

    1. Lesson 17Does your back hurt?Hurt and hurts with parts of the body
    2. Lesson 18How often do you walk?How often questions and expressions of frequency
    3. Lesson 19What's the matter?Have and has for health problems
    4. Lesson 20Clean hands in five stepsSequence words with imperatives

  6. Unit 6 Animals and nature

    there is and there are, what animals are doing, parks, a, an and the

    1. Lesson 21Which frog sings its name?There is and there are for what's in a place
    2. Lesson 22What's the bear doing now?Present continuous questions and negatives
    3. Lesson 23Are there any horses on the beach?Questions with is there and are there any
    4. Lesson 24Where do the baby turtles go?A, an and the for first and second mention

  7. Unit 7 Jobs people do

    jobs and workplaces, the present simple and continuous, job interviews, possessive pronouns

    1. Lesson 25Who makes the sounds in movies?Present simple vs present continuous
    2. Lesson 26Nurses on horses?At, in and on with workplaces
    3. Lesson 27Can you be a lifeguard?Verbs with prepositions
    4. Lesson 28Whose hat is this?Possessive pronouns from mine to theirs

  8. Unit 8 Weekend stories and plans

    was and were, how long and how tall, and, but and or, camping food

    1. Lesson 29Why do we have two days off?Was and were, the past of be
    2. Lesson 30How long is a blue whale?How + adjective questions about size
    3. Lesson 31A cow made of butter?And, but and or for joining ideas
    4. Lesson 32What do you need for s'mores?Containers and quantities with of

Questions about this lesson

When do you use do or does in a question?
Use does with he, she and it, and do with the others: Does it rain in July? Does your sister like snow? Do you like storms? Do they live in the desert? A singular noun works like he, she or it (Does your dad…?), and a plural noun like they (Do your friends…?). After either one, the verb stays in its base form.
What's the difference between do and does?
Does is do for he, she and it, the way lives is live for the same three: Does she live here? Do you live here? The split runs through negatives and short answers too: does and doesn't with he, she and it, do and don't with I, you, we and they. So Do it rain? is wrong, and Does it rain? is right.
How do you make yes/no questions with does?
Put Does first, then the subject and the base verb: Does it snow in January? Does he like thunder? The -s of it snows moves to does, and the order matches Do questions: Do you like thunder? In the A1 lesson Does it rain in the desert? on edio.ai, a gap-fill gives the words in brackets, such as (it / rain), and students write the question.
How do you answer a question with does?
Answer with Yes or No, a pronoun and does or doesn't: Does it rain in July? Yes, it does. Does your brother like storms? No, he doesn't. The short answer doesn't repeat the main verb, so not Yes, it rains, and he, she and it never take don't, so not No, it don't. A second sentence can add the detail: He doesn't like thunder.
Is it "Does it rain" or "Does it rains"?
It's Does it rain?, with no -s on the verb, because does already carries the -s. Every verb after does works the same way: Does she live in Tucson?, not Does she lives…?; Does he like storms?, not Does he likes…? The -s comes back only without does: It rains in July. She lives in Tucson.
Is it "Is it rain?" or "Does it rain?"
Does it rain? is right: rain is a verb, and verbs take does. Is it…? goes with adjectives instead: Is it hot in July? So the pairs are Is it snowy? and Does it snow? A chat in Does it rain in the desert?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, switches to Is your town hot in summer?, where only Yes, it is fits.
What are the four seasons and their months in English?
The four seasons are winter, spring, summer and fall, three months each in the US: winter is December, January and February; spring is March, April and May; summer is June, July and August; fall is September, October and November. Americans say fall more often than autumn. Seasons and months both take in: It snows in winter. Does it rain in July?
How do you talk about the seasons in English?
Talk about the seasons with in: in winter, in summer, and a verb or an adjective: It snows in winter. It's hot and sunny in summer. To ask, use Does it…? or Is it…?: Does it snow in your town in winter? Is it windy in spring? For likes, say My favorite season is fall. Season names are lowercase in English, unlike month names: in July, in summer.
How do I teach do and does questions to beginners?
Start from sentences with -s that students already know, such as It rains in July, and show the -s moving to does: Does it rain in July? Set Do you…? beside it early, and drill short answers until Yes, it does comes easily. In Does it rain in the desert?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, the reading itself is a page of Does it…? questions and their answers.
What's a good game for practicing questions with does?
A spin-the-wheel question game works well: each prompt is a Does…? or Do…? question, and the student gives a short answer plus one more sentence. Does it snow in your town in January? Yes, it does. It snows a lot. This lesson's wheel also asks about people (Does your best friend like snow?) and ends with Ask your partner: Does it … in your town in …?
What's good homework for practicing does questions?
A weather FAQ for visitors to your town makes good homework, because each question needs Does it…? and each answer a short answer: Does it snow in our town? Yes, it does! It snows in December and January. Recording it as a short weather guide adds speaking. The A1 lesson Does it rain in the desert? on edio.ai sets both, after a self-checking table of questions and short answers.
Are there interactive exercises for questions with do and does?
Yes: drills and chats that mark each answer at once catch slips like Does it rains? Four parts of Does it rain in the desert?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, play on this page without an account: the visitor center's questions and answers, a dialogue about a trip to Tucson, a gap-fill of questions and short answers, and a chat with a friend in Tucson. The other drills are locked.
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