This document provides information about Yes/No questions formed with the verb "be" in English. It begins by defining Yes/No or closed questions as those that can be answered with just "Yes" or "No". It then gives examples of correct and incorrect Yes/No questions using "be" and discusses how "be" is used to ask about identity, description, location, current activities, past activities, and the passive voice. It also provides examples of questions and responses. Finally, it directs the reader to additional online resources on topics including infinitives, gerunds, expressions of quantity, and phrasal verbs.

1. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO
BLOG OF GRAMMAR VI
ALISON VARELA
June 2nd , 2014
UNIT 2
Yes / No questions (closed
questions)WITH BE
In English, there are two basic types of questions: Yes / No questions and Wh-
questions. Yes / No questions are also called closed questions because there
are only two possible responses: Yes or No. When forming a Yes / No question,
it must include one of these verbs: BE, DO, HAVE, or a modal verb. It is
impossible to ask a Yes / No question without one of these verbs.
correct incorrect
Are elections next year? Elections next year?
Does he want to stay? He want to stay?
Have the boys eaten? The boys eaten?
Can the dog swim? The dog swim?
Use the verb BE to ask Yes / No questions about the identity or description of a
person, place, or thing.

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question response
Am I your friend? Yes. / Yes, you are. / Yes, you are my friend.
Is this a good
restaurant?
No. / No, it is not. / No, it is not a good restaurant.
Are these islands
Greek?
Yes. / Yes, they are. / Yes, these islands are
Greek.
Was his idea
interesting?
No. / No, it wasn’t. / No, his idea was not
interesting.
Were they happy? Yes. / Yes, they were. / Yes, they were happy.
Note that the response can be short (Yes. / No.), or long: Yes or No followed by
the subject and verb.
Use the verb BE with a preposition to ask Yes / No questions about a present or
past location.
question response
Am I at the correct location? No. / No, you aren’t.
Are the keys under the books? No. / No, they are not.
Was his house on an island? Yes. / Yes, it was.
Were the demonstrations in the center of town? No. / No, they weren’t.
Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No question about a current activity or situation.
This requires the present progressive: BE + (verb+ing).
question response
Am I going with you and Tom? Yes. / Yes, you are.
Is she working today? No. / No, she isn’t.
Are we seeing a play tomorrow? Yes. / Yes, we are.
Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No question about a past activity or situation.
This requires the past progressive: WAS / WERE + (verb+ing).
question response

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Was it raining? Yes. / Yes, it was.
Were they playing? No. / No, they weren’t.
Use the verb BE to ask a Yes / No question with the passive voice.
question response
Is gold mined in Canada? Yes. / Yes it is.
Are flowers grown here? No. / No, they are not.
Was the book read? Yes. / Yes, it was.
http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/blog/learn-english/grammar/questions-yes-no/

4. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO
BLOG OF GRAMMAR VI
ALISON VARELA
June 5th , 2014
WH Question Words
We use question words to ask certain types of questions (question word
questions). We often refer to them as WH words because they include the
letters WH (for example WHY, HOW).
Question
Word
Function Example
what asking for information
about something
What is your
name?
asking for repetition or
confirmation
What? I can't
hear you.
You did what?
what...for asking for a reason,
asking why
What did you
do that for?

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when asking about time When did he
leave?
where asking in or at what
place or position
Where do they
live?
which asking about choice Which colour do
you want?
who asking what or which
person or people
(subject)
Who opened
the door?
whom asking what or which
person or people
(object)
Whom did you
see?
whose asking about
ownership
Whose are
these keys?
Whose turn is
it?
why asking for reason,
asking what...for
Why do you say
that?
why don't making a suggestion Why don't I
help you?
how asking about manner How does this
work?
asking about condition
or quality
How was your
exam?
how +
adj/adv
asking about extent or
degree
see examples
below

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BLOG OF GRAMMAR VI
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how far distance How far is
Pattaya from
Bangkok?
how long length (time or space) How long will it
take?
how many quantity (countable) How many cars
are there?
how much quantity (uncountable) How much
money do you
have?
how old age How old are
you?
how come
(informal)
asking for reason,
asking why
How come I
can't see her?
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/wh-question-words.htm

7. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO
BLOG OF GRAMMAR VI
ALISON VARELA
June 10th , 2014
Infinitives
To help the poor people of the world is a noble goal.
In the above sentence, which words form the infinitive? To help. An infinitive
is the base form of a verb with to. Here are some more infinitives:
To sleep
To wash
To love
An infinitive phrase is a group of words with an infinitive (it is NOT the whole
sentence). Again, looking at the above example, what is the infinitive
phrase? To help the poor people of the world.
book recommendation
Grammar Tests and Exercises (with all
the answers and explanations!)
Here's help for anyone who has something
to say or write but has difficulty doing so.
Better Grammar in 30 Minutes features

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BLOG OF GRAMMAR VI
ALISON VARELA
thorough coverage of key grammar skills,
clear explanations with a minimum of
grammatical terms and an abundance of
exercises and activities to help reinforce
new skill development. An answer key in
the back encourages readers to work at
their own pace. Click here for more
information.
Infinitives and infinitive phrases can be both subjects and objects in
sentences. Take a look at these examples:
SUBJECT
To study hard will increase your chances
of getting into college.
OBJECT Kathy wants to study with her friends.
There are some verbs that are followed only by infinitives. For example,
Hesitate
She didn’t hesitate to tell the boss that
some employees were stealing office
supplies.
Offer
The Martin Family offered to watch their
neighbor’s dog for the whole week.
Promise
The school promised to help me find an
apartment.
Want
We want to visit all of the historic sites
in Tehran.
These words are rarely followed by gerunds (nouns that look like -ing ending
verbs).
For a list of verbs that are followed by
infinitives, click here.
For a list of adjectives followed by

9. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO
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infinitives, click here.
For a list of verbs followed by infinitives +
object, click here.
For a list of verbs that are followed by
gerunds, click here.
Students are often confused about this. When should I use infinitives? When
should I use gerunds? There are some situations when BOTH an infinitive and
gerund can be used with no change in meaning. For example,
The children like to go to the
zoo.
The children like going to the
zoo.
These two sentences have the same meaning.
For some other verbs, there is a difference in meaning:
Example Meaning
GERUND
Louise
stoppedsmoking.
She doesn’t
smoke
anymore.
INFINITIVE
Louise
stopped to
smoke.
She stopped
doing an
activity
because she
wanted to
smoke.
So, now you may want to ask, “What’s the difference between infinitives and
gerunds?” That’s a good question. We are glad you asked!

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Though there are always exceptions to the following, here are two suggestions
that will help you distinguish the difference between infinitives and gerunds:
http://www.myenglishteacher.net/infinitives.html
June 16h , 2014
GERUNDS
This looks exactly the same as a present participle, and for this reason it
is now common to call both forms 'the -ing form'. Howeverit is useful to
understand the difference between the two. The gerund always has the
same function as a noun (although it looks like a verb), so it can be used:
a. as the subject of the sentence:
• Eating people is wrong.
• Hunting tigers is dangerous.
• Flying makes me nervous.
c. after prepositions. The gerund must be used when a verb comes after a
preposition:
• Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?
• She is good at painting.
• They're keen on windsurfing.
• She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.

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• We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.
• My father decided against postponing his trip to Hungary.
This is also true of certain expressions ending in a preposition, e.g. in spite of,
there's no point in..:
• There's no point in waiting.
• In spite of missing the train, we arrived on time.
d. after a number of 'phrasal verbs' which are composed of a verb +
preposition/adverb
Example:
to look forward to, to give up, to be for/against, to take to, to put off, to keep on:
• I look forward to hearing from you soon. (at the end of a letter)
• When are you going to give up smoking?
• She always puts off going to the dentist.
• He kept on asking for money.
http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/gerund.php

12. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO
BLOG OF GRAMMAR VI
ALISON VARELA
June 20h , 2014
Using Gerunds and Infinitives
Gerunds and infinitives are verb forms that can take the place of a noun in a
sentence. The following guidelines and lists will help you figure out whether a
gerund or infinitive is needed.
Following a verb (gerund or infinitive)
Both gerunds and infinitives can replace a noun as the object of a verb.
Whether you use a gerund or an infinitive depends on the main verb in the
sentence. Consult the lists below to find out which form to use following which
verbs.
I expect to have the report done by Friday. [INFINITIVE]
I anticipate having the report done by Friday. [GERUND]

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Some common verbs followed by a gerund (note that phrasal verbs, marked
here with *, always fall into this category):
acknowledge She acknowledged receiving assistance.
* accuse of He was accused of smuggling contraband
goods.
admit They admitted falsifying the data.
advise The author advises undertaking further
study.
anticipate He anticipates having trouble with his
supervisor.
appreciate I appreciated having a chance to read your
draft.
avoid He avoided answering my question.
complete I finally completed writing my thesis.
consider They will consider granting you money.
defer She deferred writing her report.
delay We delayed reporting the results until we
were sure.
deny They denied copying the information.
discuss They discussed running the experiments
again.
entail This review procedure entails repeating the
test.
* look after He will look after mailing the tickets.
* insist on He insisted on proofreading the article again.
involve This procedure involves testing each sample
twice.
justify My results justify taking drastic action.

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mention The author mentions seeing this event.
* plan on They had planned on attending the
conference.
postpone The committee has postponed writing the
report.
recall I cannot recall getting those results before.
resent He resented spending so much time on the
project.
recommend She recommends reading Marx.
resist The writer resists giving any easy answers.
risk She risks losing her viewing time.
sanction They will not sanction copying without
permission.
suggest I suggest repeating the experiment.
* take care of He will take care of sending it to you.
tolerate She can't tolerate waiting for results.
Some common verbs followed by an infinitive
afford We cannot afford to hesitate.
agree The professors agreed to disagree.
appear The results appear to support your theory.
arrange They had arranged to meet at noon.
beg I beg to differ with you.
care Would you care to respond?
claim She claims to have new data.
consent Will you consent to run for office?
decide When did he decide to withdraw?
demand I demand to see the results of the survey.

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deserve She deserves to have a fair hearing.
expect The committee expects to decide by tomorrow.
fail The trial failed to confirm his hypothesis.
hesitate I hesitate to try the experiment again.
hope What do you hope to accomplish?
learn We have learned to proceed with caution.
manage How did she manage to find the solution?
neglect The author neglected to provide an index.
need Do we need to find new subjects?
offer We could offer to change the time of the
meeting.
plan They had planned to attend the conference.
prepare He was not prepared to give a lecture.
pretend I do not pretend to know the answer.
promise They promise to demonstrate the new
equipment.
refuse She refused to cooperate any longer.
seem Something seems to be wrong with your design.
struggle We struggled to understand her point of view.
swear He swears to tell the truth.
threaten The team threatened to stop their research.
volunteer Will you volunteer to lead the group?
wait We could not wait to hear the outcome.
want She did not want to go first.
wish Do you wish to participate?
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/infinitive-gerund

16. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO
BLOG OF GRAMMAR VI
ALISON VARELA
June 26h , 2014
EXPRESSIONS OF QUANTITY:
TOO
Too is used before adjectives and adverbs. Too is negative; we use it too mean
there is more or less than we need/want. Too can be used with infinitive + to
after the adjective/adverb. Use for + someone/something to explain who/what
we mean.
"It's too noisy in here. Let's go outside." (too + adjective)
"My soup is too hot to drink." (too + adjective + to + infinitive)
"This is too difficult for me to understand." (too + adjective + for
someone/something)
http://w w w .ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/very-too-and-enough

17. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO
BLOG OF GRAMMAR VI
ALISON VARELA
July 2nd , 2014
ENOUGH
Enough expresses that something is adequate, within what is desirable. The
expression is complemented by an infinitive. The infinitive may include a
subject introduced: by, for. [For her] to do.
 Jill is old enough to drive. (She can / may drive.)
 The car is simple enough for her to drive. (She can drive it.)
 The driving test is easy enough for her to pass. (She can pass it.)
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=3110

18. UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZO
BLOG OF GRAMMAR VI
ALISON VARELA
July 8th , 2014
PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal verbs are usually two-word phrases consisting of verb + adverb or verb
+ preposition. Think of them as you would any other English vocabulary. Study
them as you come across them, rather than trying to memorize many at once.
Use the list below as a reference guide when you find an expression that you
don't recognize. The examples will help you understand the meanings. If you
think of each phrasal verb as a separate verb with a specific meaning, you will
be able to remember it more easily. Like many other verbs, phrasal verbs often
have more than one meaning.
As well as learning their meanings, you need to
learn how to use phrasal verbs.
Verb Meaning Example
ask someone out invite on
a date
Brian asked Judy out
to dinner and a
movie.
ask around ask many
people
I asked around but
nobody has seen my

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the same
question
wallet.
add up
to something
equal Your purchases add
up to$205.32.
back something up reverse You'll have to back
upyour car so that I
can get out.
back someone up support My
wife backed me upo
ver my decision to
quit my job.
blow up explode The racing car blew
upafter it crashed
into the fence.
blow something up add air We have to blow 50
balloons up for the
party.
break down stop
functionin
g
(vehicle,
machine)
Our car broke
down at the side of
the highway in the
snowstorm.
break down get upset The woman broke
downwhen the police
told her that her son
had died.
break somethingdo
wn
divide
into
smaller
parts
Our
teacher broke the
final
project down into

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three separate parts.
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/phrasal-verbs-list.htm