Making a question with the verb "to be" is actually very simple. A normal sentence starts with the subject (I, you, he, she, the dog, a banana etc.) and then the verb. For example:
They are happy.
He is tall.
The dog is old.
The banana is on the table.
In order to make a question (with the verb "to be"), you have to change the order of the subject and the verb.
For example:
Are they happy?
Is he tall?
Is the dog old?
Is the banana on the table?
Notice that the original sentence was, "You are happy" and the question is, "Are you happy?". All we did was change the subject (you) and the verb "to be" (are).
The next sentence was, "He is tall." and the question is, "Is he tall?"
"The dog is old." Question: "Is the dog old?"
"The banana is on the table." Question: "Is the banana on the table?"
WE NEVER USE THE WORD "DO" OR "DOES" WHEN WE MAKE A QUESTION WITH THE VERB "TO BE"!!!!!! (But we always use "do" or "does" to make a present tense question with EVERY OTHER VERB.) Again.... NEVER with the verb "to be"!
Now we know how to make yes/no questions (present tense) with the verb "to be". The short answer to these yes/no questions are:
Yes, I am. No, I am not.
Yes, he is. No, he is not.
Yes, she is. No, she is not.
Yes, it is. No, it is not.
Yes, we are. No, we are not.
Yes, they are. No, they are not.
For example:
Are they happy? Yes, they are.
Is he tall? Yes, he is.
Is the dog old? Yes, it is.
Is the banana on the table? No, it is not.
Let's add a question word (when, why, where). The question word goes at the beginning of the question. But don't forget to keep the verb "to be" (am, is, are) in front of the subject (they, he, the dog, the banana) when making a question. The order is still the same as a yes/no question but with a question word in front.
For example:
When are they happy?
Why is he tall?
Where is the banana?
*remember: We still don't need the word "do" or "does" because of the verb "to be"(am, is, are).
The answers will now be different.
When are they happy? They are happy when they are at the park.
Why is he tall? He is tall because his parents are tall.
Where is the banana? The banana is on the table.
“I, you, he, she, it, we, they” are common subjects. However, the subject may be something like “the cars”, “the computer” or “an apple”.
Sentence: “The cars are dirty.”
*change the order of the subject and the verb “to be”.
Question: Are the cars white?
Sentence: The computer is cheap.
Question: Is the computer cheap?
Sentence: An apple is red.
Question: Is an apple red?
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