Yes/No Question Using "Was" and "Were"

Yes/No question using was and were is used in a past tense sentence which does not contain verb. We must not be confused with yes/no question using am, is or are. The difference is only the matter of Tense. Was/were is past tense while am/is/are is present tense. Look at the examples below:

1. Was he at home last night ?
(not is he at home last night?)

2. Were you sick two days ago?
(not Are you sick two days ago?)

3. Was she a diligent student when he studied in a university?
(not Is she a diligent student when he studied in a university?)

4. Were they in your house last week?
(not Are they in your house last week?)

5. Was your mother fat last year?)
(not Are your mother fat last year?

Yes/No question using "Do", and "Does"

Do and Does are used in yes/no question of the present tense. Do and Does are used in the sentence which contain verbs. When there is no verbs in the sentence, am, is, or are are used. The pattern of yes/no question using Do and Does is as follows:

Do/Does + S + V1 + ....

Remember!
Does is for the subjects he, she, singular subject
Do is for the subjects they, we, I, you, plural subject

Look at the examples below:
(+) -----He goes to school.
(?) Does he go to school?

(+) -----She cooks every morning.
(?) Does she cook every morning?

(+) -----Sally studies every night.
(?) Does Sally study every night?

(+) -----Robert swims twice a week.
(?) Does Robert swim twice a week?


(+) -----They work in a hotel.
(?) Do they work in a hotel?

(+) -----You come here everyday.
(?) Do you come here everyday?

(+) -----I come late.
(?) Do I come late?

(+) -----we need help.
(?) Do we need help?

(+) ----John and sally work in Florida.
(?) Do John and sally work in Florida?

The answer key of the exercises on Yes/No Question using "am", "is" or "are"

Translate the following Indonesian yes/no questions into English using am, is, or are .

1. Apakah Sally seorang perawat?
--> Is Sally a nurse?

2. Apakah saya tua?
--> Am I old?

3. Apakah John di kantornya tiap pagi?
--> Is John in his office every morning?

4. Apakah Ibumu sakit?
--> Is your mother sick?

5. Apakah mereka lapar sekarang?
--> Are they hungry now?

6. Apakah Dia (laki laki) temanmu?
--> Is he your friend?

7. Apakah buku ini mahal?
-- > Is this book expensive?

8. Apakah mereka di kamarmu sekarang?
--> Are they in your room now?

This is the answer key of the exercise here.

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Yes/No Question using "am", "is" or "are"

Yes/No question using am, is or are is used in a present tense sentence which does not contain verb. For Indonesian learners learning English, they must remember that yes/No question is the question which uses the word apakah, and the answer must be yes/No. Don't be confused with Wh- Question using What which is in Indonesian is apa or apakah . Some Indonesian learners make English Yes/No Question using the word What which is in Indonesian language is apakah/apa. Look at the examples below.

1. Is he a teacher?
--'Apa/Apakah dia seorang guru?'
(Is = Apa/Apakah, he = dia, a = seorang, teacher = guru)

2. Am I happy?
--'Apa/Apakah saya bahagia?
(Am = Apa/Apakah, I = saya, happy = bahagia)

3. Are you at home every night?
--Apa/Apakah kamu di rumah setiap malam?'
(Are = Apa/Apakah, You = kamu, at home = di rumah)

Based on the examples above, the Indonesian word apa/apakah used in yes/no question can be represented by the auxilary verbs is, am and are. While, some Indonesian learners have an assosiasion that apakah is what in English. That is why we sometimes findthat Iindonesian learners make English yes/no question using the word apakah like the examples below.

1. What are you happy? instead of Are you happy?
--( Apakah kamu bahagia?)

2. What is he sick? instead of Is he sick?
--(apakah dia sakit?)

Note: something that Indonesian learners must keep in mind is that the word apakah is not always represented by the word what in English. In English yes/no Questions, the word apakah can be represented by auxiliary verbs such as am, is, are, do, does, did, was, were, has, have, can, may etc.

Exercises:
Translate the following Indonesian yes/no questions into English using am, is, or are .

1. Apakah Sally seorang perawat?
2. Apakah saya tua?
3. Apakah John di kantornya tiap pagi?
4. Apakah Ibumu sakit?
5. Apakah mereka lapar sekarang?
6. Apakah Dia (laki laki) temanmu?
7. Apakah buku ini mahal?
8. Apakah mereka di kamarmu sekarang?

The answer key is available here.

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