10.4 Questions, Negatives and There Is/Are

10.4 Questions, Negatives and There Is/Are

Quick Answer: Build Yes/No and Wh- questions with be inversion or do/does/did + base. Answer shortly with the same auxiliary (Yes, I do / No, she didn't). Make negatives with not or don't/doesn't/didn't. Use there is/are (present) and there was/were (past) for existence, and prefer some in positives vs any in many questions and negatives.

If tenses and modals are the engine, questions and negatives are the steering system. Cambridge A2 Key Speaking is built on questions. Writing Part 6 often requires you to ask the reader something. Open cloze frequently hides do/does/did/not/there/any. This section makes those patterns automatic.

Yes/No Questions

With be

Invert am/is/are/was/were:

With have to / going to / continuous / modals

Move the first auxiliary/modal:

With other verbs: do / does / did

After do/does/did, the main verb is always the base form:

• ✅ Does she work? ❌ Does she works?
• ✅ Did you go? ❌ Did you went?

Wh- Questions

Common question words: who, what, where, when, why, how, which, whose, how much, how many, how often, how long, what time.

Pattern:
Wh- word + auxiliary/modal/be + subject + (base verb) …?

Who as subject (light A2 awareness)

If who is the subject, you may not need do:

• Who called you? (someone called)
  Compare object: Who did you call?

For productive safety at A2, master the auxiliary pattern first; recognise subject questions in Reading/Listening.

Short Answers

English prefers short answers that repeat the auxiliary, not only Yes/No.

Speaking tip: short answers sound natural, then add one detail:
Do you like sport? → Yes, I do. I play football on Fridays.

Trap: ❌ Yes, I like. as a full short-answer system substitute when the question used do—prefer Yes, I do (+ detail).

Negatives

With be, modals, will, continuous, going to

Add not (often contracted):

With other verbs: don't / doesn't / didn't

Form traps

Double negative (avoid)

❌ I don't know nothing.
✅ I don't know anything. / I know nothing. (choose one negative system)

There Is / Are / Was / Were

Use there is/are to say that something exists or is present in a place—not it has for pure existence at A2 (There is a park near my house not It has a park near my house as the default existence form).

Form agreement

Agreement rule: look at the noun after there:

• There is a cat.
• There are three cats.
• With a list starting singular: There is a pen and a book on the desk (common elementary pattern) / many teachers also accept careful rephrasing—There are a pen and a book is less natural; keep it simple with separate clauses if unsure.

Exam links

• Writing Part 7: There was a big dog in the garden. There were two children near the tree.
• Speaking: Is there a cinema in your town? Are there any parks near your home?
• Open cloze: There ___ many students in the room → are; There ___ a message for you yesterday → was.

Some and Any (Questions and Negatives)

At A2, use this reliable default:

Countable vs uncountable reminders

• Countable plural: some apples / any apples / many apples
• Uncountable: some water / any water / much water (much/many details can stay light; focus some/any first)

Error traps

Open cloze favourites: any, some, there, is/are, a/an.

Building Exam-Ready Questions for Writing Part 6

When a bullet says ask, produce a real question with correct auxiliary:

A statement without ? usually fails an “ask” content point (see Writing chapters).

Speaking Part 1 Expansion After Short Answers

Train a two-step habit:

1. Short answer with auxiliary
2. One extra sentence (present/past/future as needed)

Examples:

• Do you study English at school? → Yes, I do. I have English three times a week.
• Did you go out last weekend? → No, I didn't. I stayed at home and watched a film.
• Is there a sports centre near your house? → Yes, there is. I sometimes go swimming there.

Integrated Error Trap Table

Open Cloze Mini-Set

1. ___ you want to come with us? → Do
2. She ___ not like loud music. → does
3. ___ there any milk in the fridge? → Is
4. I didn't buy ___ bread. → any
5. There ___ a big storm last night. → was
6. Why ___ he leave early yesterday? → did

Practice Plan

1. Transform drill: turn 10 statements into Yes/No and Wh- questions.
2. Short-answer tennis: partner asks only Yes/No; answer with auxiliary + one detail.
3. There is/are photo description: describe a room with five there is/are sentences, then past version there was/were.
4. Some/any rewrite: convert positives to negatives and questions.
5. Part 6 ask bank: write 12 ready-made exam questions for time, place, permission, preference, and quantity.

Chapter Close: Grammar Essentials Map

You do not need rare grammar to score well at A2 Key. You need reliable control of high-frequency forms under exam pressure—especially in open cloze, Writing Language, and Speaking interaction. Use the tables as weekly checklists: if you can produce each pattern quickly and accurately, your grammar is exam-ready.