1. Keep what the answer needs
When someone asks whether a person is ready, something is open, or people are somewhere, you do not have to repeat the whole description. A short answer keeps Yes or No, a pronoun, and the appropriate form of to be.
First identify the fact being checked. Yes confirms it; No denies it. Words such as ready, open, or at home are already understood from the question.
Yes, + pronoun + am/is/are. / No, + pronoun + am/is/are + not.
- pronoun —
- A word used instead of naming a person or thing: I, you, she, it, they.
Is the door open? — Yes, it is.
Is the door open? — Yes, it is.
It refers to the door; there is no need to repeat open.
Are the cups clean? — No, they aren't.
Are the cups clean? — No, they aren't.
The answer denies that the cups are clean, not that they exist; they replaces the plural the cups.
2. A change of speaker may require a change of form
Do not copy the pronoun from the question. When someone addresses you alone, you in the question becomes I in your answer. When someone asks about themselves with Am I…?, you answer them with you.
Keep the verb to be and the present tense, but make its form agree with the subject of the ANSWER rather than mechanically repeating the question: Are you…? → Yes, I am., not Yes, I are.
You can refer to one person or several. If you answer for yourself and someone else, use we. If we in the question includes both you and the person asking, we can remain in the answer too.
Are you ready, Lina? — Yes, I am.
Are you ready, Lina? — Yes, I am.
Lina answers about herself: you → I, are → am.
Am I early? — Yes, you are.
Am I early? — Yes, you are.
The answer addresses the person who asked about themselves: I → you, am → are.
Are you and Tom neighbours? — No, we aren't.
Are you and Tom neighbours? — No, we aren't.
One person answers for two: you and Tom → we.
Are we in the right room? — Yes, we are.
Are we in the right room? — Yes, we are.
Both speakers are in the same room; we includes both of them.
3. Use a full form in an affirmative short answer
At the end of a standard affirmative short answer, write and say am, is, or are separately: do not contract it with the pronoun. This applies to all persons, not just I.
Distinguish a short answer from a full statement. Yes, I'm ready. is correct because ready follows I'm. But Yes, I'm. with nothing after it is not a correct standard short answer.
Are you a student? — Yes, I am.
Are you a student? — Yes, I am.
I takes am; am ends the answer and cannot be contracted.
Is she your neighbour? — Yes, she is.
Is she your neighbour? — Yes, she is.
She agrees with is. Yes, she's. does not work here.
Are they ready? — Yes, they are.
Are they ready? — Yes, they are.
They takes are, not they're at the end of the short answer.
Are you ready? — Yes, I'm ready.
Are you ready? — Yes, I'm ready.
This is a correct full answer with a contraction, but not the pattern in which ready is omitted.
4. Negatives have several correct forms
With I, use No, I am not. or No, I'm not. In the standard English practised here, do not form I amn't or replace am with aren't.
With he, she, and it, three forms are possible: full is not, contracted isn't, or the pronoun contracted with is followed by separate not. Similarly, you, we, and they can take are not, aren't, or you're/we're/they're not.
Full and contracted negatives preserve the same basic meaning. Contractions are common in conversation; the full form is also correct and can sound more emphatic. If a task specifically asks for a full form, a contraction will not meet that requirement even if it is grammatical.
Are you tired? — No, I am not. / No, I'm not.
Are you tired? — No, I am not. / No, I'm not.
Both answers deny that the speaker is tired; not remains a separate word.
Is he at home? — No, he is not. / No, he isn't. / No, he's not.
Is he at home? — No, he is not. / No, he isn't. / No, he's not.
All three forms are correct. In he's not, not follows the contraction.
Are they busy? — No, they are not. / No, they aren't. / No, they're not.
Are they busy? — No, they are not. / No, they aren't. / No, they're not.
You can contract are not or they are, but not both combinations at once.
5. Replace the person or thing with a clear pronoun
In a short answer, we usually do not repeat the name or noun. Use it for one thing and they for several. For a person, choose the pronoun established by context; do not guess it from their profession alone.
Then match the verb form: I am; he/she/it is; you/we/they are. The grammatical gender of an object's name in another language does not determine its English pronoun: a phone is it, not he.
Is your phone here? — Yes, it is.
Is your phone here? — Yes, it is.
One object: it + is, regardless of how the word for phone is gendered in another language.
Are Nina and Eva at work? — Yes, they are.
Are Nina and Eva at work? — Yes, they are.
Two people make a plural subject: they + are.
Is your brother a cook? — No, he isn't.
Is your brother a cook? — No, he isn't.
Brother establishes he clearly; the answer denies the particular profession named in the question.
6. Correct English and the exercise goal are different things
In a real conversation, standalone Yes. or No. is possible, as is a full answer. These are not automatically grammatical errors or impolite. Here we specifically practise the pronoun + to be pattern, so the task explicitly asks you to use it.
After a short answer, you can add a useful detail in a separate sentence. There is no need to lengthen the short answer itself or repeat the entire question.
In closed tasks requiring an exact form, follow the visible requirements for a capital letter, comma, and full stop. In your own replies, the model is only one way to express the intended meaning; check your text against the content criteria.
Is this seat free? — No, it isn't. It's for Alex.
Is this seat free? — No, it isn't. It's for Alex.
The short negative answers the question; the next sentence explains why.
Are you new here? — Yes.
Are you new here? — Yes.
A natural brief conversational reply, but without I am it does not demonstrate this lesson's target pattern.
7. Limits: the answer depends on the question
Here we work with ordinary am/is/are questions about a present state, location, or identity. These answers do not introduce do or does. However, No, she doesn't. can correctly answer a different question, for example about a regular action.
Questions with where or who require information, not just Yes/No. Negative questions, tags such as isn't it?, past was/were, and other verbs are neighbouring topics, not extra traps in this A1 lesson.
Before answering, check three things: who you are speaking about, whether you confirm or deny the fact, and which form of to be your pronoun needs.
Is Eva at work? — No, she isn't.
Is Eva at work? — No, she isn't.
A question with linking is needs is in the answer, not does.
Where is Eva? — She's at home.
Where is Eva? — She's at home.
Where asks for a location. An informative answer is appropriate here, not Yes, she is.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:Are you ready? — Yes, I are.
Correct:Are you ready? — Yes, I am.
The speaker has changed: an answer about yourself uses I, and I takes am. Mechanically copying are from the question does not work.
Incorrect:Is she busy? — Yes, she's.
Correct:Is she busy? — Yes, she is.
Do not end a standard affirmative short answer with a contraction of the pronoun and to be. The full Yes, she's busy. would be correct, but it is a different type of answer.
Incorrect:Is he here? — No, he doesn't.
Correct:Is he here? — No, he isn't.
Doesn't does not match the question's verb. It can answer a question with does, but it does not deny Is he here? using the required pattern.
Incorrect:Are they open? — No, they are.
Correct:Are they open? — No, they aren't.
To give an ordinary denial of the fact that they are open, combine No with a negative form of to be; do not lose not.
Incorrect:Are you tired? — No, I isn't.
Correct:Are you tired? — No, I'm not.
I takes am, not is. Use No, I'm not. or the full No, I am not. in a short negative answer.