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Six languages at the UN: yes/no questions and short answers with be

An A1 ESL lesson plan for yes/no questions and short answers with be, and for saying which languages you speak.

Grammar
Yes/no questions with am, is or are first (Are you a guide?), short answers (Yes, I am, never Yes, I'm), and I speak… for languages.
Topic
Languages, on a tour of the United Nations in New York, where six are official, and on a first video call, with words like guide, interpreter, headphones and laptop.
Activities
A UN tour poster to read, a guide's dialogue with a visitor, self-checking drills of questions and short answers, a video-call chat with a classmate and an open-the-box game.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Hello, hello!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Look at the pictures and learn the wordsVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: a tour of the UN

    • Look at the photo: the UN in New YorkPictureUnlock
    • Read the posterReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: Kofi at the UN

    • Before you listen: match the countries and the languagesMatchUnlock
    • Listen to Kofi and the guideListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Are you…? Yes, I am!

    • Study the scheme: questions with beGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the short answersFill in the gapsTry it
    • Choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Your turn: a video call

    • Choose the right repliesChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: a video callOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Record yourself: hello on a video callSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

22 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

  • guide
  • tour
  • headphones
  • microphone
  • video call
  • laptop
  • camera

Grammar: yes/no questions with be and short answers

Six languages are official at the United Nations in New York, which makes a UN tour a good place for questions: Are you a guide? Is this tour in English? Learners turn sentences with be into questions and answer them briefly.

Questions with be: Are you…? Is she…?

Put am, is or are first. Answer with a short answer: Yes, I am. No, I'm not.

Questions with be: am, is or are goes first

A yes/no question starts with the verb: You are a guide becomes Are you a guide?, and It is in English becomes Is it in English? Nothing else in the sentence changes.

be: sentence and question

SentenceQuestion
I am late.Am I late?
You are a guide.Are you a guide?
He is a bus driver.Is he a bus driver?
She is American.Is she American?
It is in English.Is it in English?
We are in the right room.Are we in the right room?
They are interpreters.Are they interpreters?

At the UN

  • Are you a student? — No, I'm not. I'm a bus driver.
  • Is this tour in English? — Yes, it is.
  • Is she a guide? — Yes, she is.
  • Are the interpreters here today? — No, they aren't.

Short answers: Yes, I am. No, I'm not.

Learners answer with the pronoun and the verb, not the whole sentence. After yes, the verb stays full: Yes, I am, never Yes, I'm. After no, short forms are fine.

Short answers

QuestionYesNo
Am I late?Yes, you are.No, you aren't.
Are you a student?Yes, I am.No, I'm not.
Is he from Atlanta?Yes, he is.No, he isn't.
Is she a guide?Yes, she is.No, she isn't.
Is it in English?Yes, it is.No, it isn't.
Are you and Kofi roommates?Yes, we are.No, we aren't.
Are they interpreters?Yes, they are.No, they aren't.

Yes answers: no short form

After yes, say the full word: Yes, I am. Yes, she is. Yes, they are. Never Yes, I'm or Yes, she's. After no, the short form is OK: No, I'm not. No, he isn't. No, they aren't.

Languages, with a capital letter

Language names start with a capital letter, like the six at the UN: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Learners say which ones they speak with I speak.

Languages start with a capital letter

  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • English
  • French
  • Russian
  • Spanish

Say your languages

  • I speak English and Spanish.
  • I speak English, French and Arabic.
  • Do you speak French? — Yes, a little.

Common mistakes

  • Yes, I'm.

    Yes, I am.

    No short form after yes.

  • Is they from China?

    Are they from China?

    they → are

  • Are you speak English?

    Do you speak English?

    With speak, ask: Do you speak…?

  • I speak english.

    I speak English.

    A language starts with a capital letter.

More lessons on this grammar: Verb to be lessons and exercises · Questions lessons and exercises

Try the yes/no question exercises

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

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 10 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 teacher-checked task
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 1 audio clip
  • 2 pictures
  • 1 transcript

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • ask yes/no questions with be by putting the verb first: Are you a guide? Is she American?
  • answer with short answers, Yes, I am and No, he isn't, with no short form after yes
  • name the six official UN languages and say which ones they speak: I speak English and Spanish.
  • start a video call: Is my camera on? Are you the new student?

Lesson 3 of English A1.1 · Hello, World is the last lesson of new grammar in the unit Hello!, just before the review in lesson 4. It builds on lesson 2, which took the verb to be to he, she, it, we and they with countries and nationalities, and turns those sentences into questions. On a tour offered in six languages, Kofi's first question is a yes/no one: Is this tour in English?

Students begin with a spin wheel and ten words for a tour and a video call, with pictures and audio. They read the tour poster and answer questions about it, match countries with languages, then listen to Kofi and the guide (an AI-voiced dialogue). The grammar chapter has the scheme, short-answer practice and a drag-and-drop, each checked as students answer. The speaking chapter is a video call: students reply to Zoe, a new classmate, in a chat and open boxes of questions to ask each other.

Homework puts questions in the right order, unscrambles tour words and ends with a short recorded hello for a video call, which the teacher reviews.

Grammar:
to be: yes/no questions · short answers · languages
Topic:
the United Nations · New York · languages · video calls

Teaching tips

  • Ask real yes/no questions about the class first, like Are you a student? and Is she from Brazil?, so students hear the pattern before they see it.
  • Write YES, I'M on the board and cross it out. The rule about full forms after yes sticks better with a picture.
  • Before the reading, ask which languages students think the UN uses, then let the poster and Kofi's tour check their guesses.
  • Run the video call chat, then let pairs make real calls in breakout rooms with the same questions.

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The whole course: English A1.1 · Hello, World

32 lessons for complete beginners in simple American English, from the verb to be to can and can't. Eight units cover greetings, family, numbers, home, food, daily routines, the town and free time, and each ends with a review lesson. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Hello!

    greetings, the verb to be, countries and nationalities, yes/no questions

    1. Lesson 1Hi, hey, howdy or aloha?The verb to be with I and you
    2. Lesson 2Ellis Island: where are they from?He's, she's, they're: the verb to be
    3. Lesson 3 · you're hereSix languages at the UNYes/no questions with be and short answers
    4. Lesson 4Review: hello from the Statue of LibertyThe verb to be and yes/no questions, reviewed

  2. Unit 2 My people

    family members, possessive adjectives, have got, describing people

    1. Lesson 5Why is Mother's Day in May?Possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her
    2. Lesson 6Best in show!Have got and the possessive 's
    3. Lesson 7National Best Friends DaySubject pronouns, possessives and describing people
    4. Lesson 8Review: Bobbie the Wonder DogPossessives, have got and 's, reviewed

  3. Unit 3 Numbers all around

    numbers and dates, a/an and plurals, phone numbers and prices

    1. Lesson 9Why is March 14 Pi Day?Numbers 0 to 100, decimals and US dates
    2. Lesson 10How old is the General Sherman tree?A, an and plurals, with big numbers and How old…?
    3. Lesson 119-1-1 and other numbers to knowSaying phone numbers, emails and prices
    4. Lesson 12Review: 102 floors and 1,860 stepsNumbers, dates, ages and prices, reviewed

  4. Unit 4 Home sweet home

    rooms in a house, this, that, these and those, furniture, opposites

    1. Lesson 13A house with 132 roomsThis is, these are and plurals
    2. Lesson 14Boston's skinny house: where's the bed?This, that, these, those and Where's…?
    3. Lesson 15Can a dorm room be cozy?Opposite adjectives and have got
    4. Lesson 16Review: homes for everyoneShowing and describing a home, reviewed

  5. Unit 5 Food I love

    likes and dislikes, present simple questions, ordering food

    1. Lesson 17Pancakes for breakfast?I like, I don't like and plural nouns
    2. Lesson 18New York pizza or Chicago deep-dish?Present simple questions and short answers
    3. Lesson 19A coffee to go, please!Ordering food with I'd like and Can I have…?
    4. Lesson 20Review: lunch from a food truckI like, Do you like and I'd like, reviewed

  6. Unit 6 My day

    telling the time, daily routines, days of the week, prepositions of time

    1. Lesson 21What time is it in Times Square?Telling the time and daily routines
    2. Lesson 22Who brings the mail?The present simple with we and they
    3. Lesson 23Is it morning in Hawaii?Prepositions of time with parts of the day
    4. Lesson 24Review: a New York morningTime, routines and days, reviewed

  7. Unit 7 My town

    places in town, prepositions of place, giving directions

    1. Lesson 25Main Street, USAPrepositions of place: near and next to
    2. Lesson 26Meet me at Union SquarePresent simple questions and negatives with we and they
    3. Lesson 27Turn left on 42nd StreetImperatives for giving directions
    4. Lesson 28Review: streets for peoplePlaces, the present simple and directions, reviewed

  8. Unit 8 Free time

    hobbies, can and can't, sports, making plans

    1. Lesson 29Can you play Scrabble?Can and can't for ability
    2. Lesson 30Can you surf?Can for ability and how well
    3. Lesson 31Saturday morning: Little LeagueFree time and making plans
    4. Lesson 32Review: a book for every childCan, can't and free time, reviewed

Questions about this lesson

What are yes/no questions in English?
Yes/no questions are questions you can answer with yes or no, and with the verb to be they start with am, is or are. The verb moves in front of the person: He is a bus driver → Is he a bus driver? Other verbs need do: Do you speak French? Six languages at the UN, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, practices them on a tour of the United Nations.
What are short answers in English?
Short answers are yes or no plus the pronoun and the verb, without the rest of the question. Is the hall big? Yes, it is. Are you a student? No, I'm not. The verb in the answer matches the question: Are they…? Yes, they are. On the UN tour in Six languages at the UN on edio.ai, a visitor answers the guide this way: No, I'm not. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia.
Why can't you say "Yes, I'm"?
I'm, she's and they're can't end a sentence, so after yes the verb has to be full: Yes, I am. Yes, she is. Yes, they are. Answers with no are different: they end on not or n't, so the short form is fine there: No, I'm not. No, he isn't.
Is it "Are you speak English?" or "Do you speak English?"
Do you speak English? is right, because speak is a different verb from be, and its questions start with do. Keep are and is for who or what someone is: Are you a guide? Is she American? The video-call chat in Six languages at the UN on edio.ai catches the same slip, with I'm speak Spanish and English as a wrong reply.
Is it "Is they from China?" or "Are they from China?"
Are they from China?, because they takes are in questions just as in sentences. Only he, she and it take is: Is she a guide? Is it in English? The short answer keeps the question's verb: Yes, they are. No, they aren't.
How do you say which languages you speak in English?
Say I speak and the names of the languages: I speak English and Spanish. For one you know only partly, add a little: I speak English and a little Spanish. To ask, use Do you speak French? The six official languages of the UN make a good first list: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. And the language isn't always the nationality: people in Mexico speak Spanish, not Mexican.
What do you say at the start of a video call in English?
Check the camera, then say hello and your name. Yes/no questions with be do most of the work: Is my microphone on? Are you the new student? Are you in New York? To end, say Nice to meet you! and See you in class! Students practice one in Six languages at the UN on edio.ai, answering a new classmate whose first words are Hello? Hello! Is my camera on?
How do I teach yes/no questions to beginners?
Put the questions in a real situation, like a tour or a first meeting, where asking Are you…? makes sense. This lesson's listening is a UN tour, where the guide asks a visitor Are you from New York? and Are you a student? The scheme then turns sentences into questions, and the drills move from choosing am, is or are to writing short answers and completing a dialogue.
What's a good game for practicing yes/no questions?
An open-the-box game set on a pretend video call works well: each box holds a task, and every question gets a short answer back. Ask your partner: Is your camera on? Is your microphone on? Ask about a classmate: Is she a student? In Six languages at the UN on edio.ai, this game follows the video-call chat, and the warm-up wheel asks Is your city big?
How do you practice short answers one-to-one?
Ask quick yes/no questions and accept only short answers, then swap roles so the student asks too: Is English difficult for you? No, it isn't. The video-call chat in this lesson works for one student, who picks every reply, and the open-the-box tasks turn into a real call between teacher and student.
What's good homework for practicing questions with be?
Jumbled questions to put back in order, followed by a short recording that uses them aloud. In this lesson, students rebuild questions like Is / the tour / in English? and unscramble words such as interpreter, both checked automatically. Then they record a hello for a video call with two questions, Are you a student? and Are you from…?, which the teacher reviews.
Are there interactive exercises for yes/no questions?
Yes, gap-fills and chats that check each answer suit yes/no questions and short answers well. Without signing up, visitors to the edio.ai page of Six languages at the UN can play four parts: the UN tour poster, a dialogue on the tour, a gap-fill of short answers such as Yes, he is and No, I'm not, and a video-call chat with replies to choose. A free trial opens everything else.
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