You'll notice the negative (-) answers use auxiliary verbs in contraction form (it is = it's / I am= I'm). Of course, it's not always necessary. You can also say, " No, it is not" but it's much more common in spoken English to use these contractions.

If you would like to learn about auxiliary verbs in contractions, please view this previous lesson.

Every sentence needs a verb, whether an action verb, helping verb, or linking verb. Verbs are one of the most important parts of any sentence because it can show an action or state. It's basically what a sentence is all about!

In this comic, you'll see lots of AUXILIARY VERBS, also known as HELPING VERBS. These verbs provide extra information about a subject.

Below are examples of auxiliary verbs:
am, is, are, was, were, being, been, does, do, did, has, have, had, having, can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would

When answering a question with Yes or No, it is considered much more polite to answer using auxiliary verbs than simply saying, "yes" or "no."

In this image, there are many examples of auxiliary verbs being used to answer the question, for example, "Yes, he is," " No, he doesn't."

You will also notice that auxiliary verbs are used when a question is being asked, for example, Can I touch your dog? Does your dog bite?

This is the form for a simple question sentence using an auxiliary:
Auxiliary + subject + main verb + other ?

Take a look at some more examples of auxiliary verbs used in questions and how to answer using the verbs in positive and negative short answers:

We express gratitude so many times a day whether we realize it or not. For example, someone holds the door open for you, takes your food order, or offers to carry your bags to your car. These are just a few of the examples. But what if someone expresses gratitude to YOU for doing something for them? What are the different ways you could respond? 

This list shows just a few of these examples. The first three (you're welcome, my pleasure, happy to help) are a little more formal than the rest of responses on the list. In everyday casual settings, I usually just respond with "no problem." You can, of course, choose to respond in any way that feels familiar to you.  Although some are more formal and some are more casual, I have heard all of these used in either settings. So don't stress out too much over which one to use as all of these are good manners! 

In the beginning, I only wanted to start a small blog to provide more interesting resources for my students because it was so hard to find things that were fun and easy to understand for visual learners. Eventually I got more ideas, studied a bit about website coding, learned Photoshop, and now I'm drawing all my work for my newly designed website! I am, like you, still learning too but the biggest lesson I've learned is: anything is possible, just don't give up when things get difficult, as you will accomplish great things! I'm not sure what the next year will bring, but I only hope that you will continue to be motivated to learn and share the joy of learning with others! 

To celebrate The English Student turning one, here is a countdown of this years ten most popular posts! Click on the image to read each one. 

Do you like to drink coffee? I didn't like it so much before, but Seattle is known as the world coffee capital (it's where Starbucks was born!) so it's become a part of my culture now!

A lot of the coffee shops here are unique and sometimes "quirky". They range from simple cafes that are perfect for working and reading, to coffee shops with interesting and artsy decor with live music. Some of the Starbucks here even serve local wine, so there really is a wide variety of coffee shops here. It's the perfect place to be for a coffee lover.

My favorite coffee to drink is a cappuccino, what about you? Do you like to put milk and sugar in your coffee or do you drink it black?

When I was young and living in another country, watching cartoons was very integral in helping me develop new language skills- new vocabularies, mastering pronunciation, and understanding sentence structures. The best part was, I never felt like I was learning, I was just watching My Little Pony!

The good news is, no matter how old you are, cartoons can be very beneficial to you! Don't judge it as being too childish or boring. It's actually a very good way to learn, especially if you can't live in the language environment.

It can help develop listening skills, new vocabularies, and help you become familiar with common everyday words. If there are subtitles, you can practice reading it to improve pronunciation and reading skills. Furthermore, because of the simple context of cartoons, it's much easier to learn tenses that way. Even a cartoon with no dialog like Tom and Jerry can be used to help you practice writing. The possibilities are endless!

Try and watch an episode for yourself!

If you want to watch cartoons with transcript to follow, take a look at this website.

My nephew spent the summer in Seattle with me and although it's already been two weeks since he left, I'm still missing him!

He's such a funny, smart, and caring young boy but he's also very curious and energetic. This means he'll hide my keys, use my cooking pots as a hat, and try to put my make-up on all over his face!

It's difficult having people you love and care about live far from you. Sometimes it's not just distance but work demands or financial issues that can make it difficult to visit the people you love. The good thing is, there's a lot we could do to show that we care and they don't always have to be expensive. Is there someone that you miss who lives far away? What have you done to show them that you miss them? Use a verb to describe what you do for them (schedule, send, hand write, order etc)