English Grammar: Should you use DO or BE?

Should you say "Where do you from?" or "Where are you from?" Is the correct question "What do you do?" or "What are you do?" Are both forms correct, or is one of them completely wrong? In this lesson, I will erase your doubts about this common problem English learners have when they start forming questions. Are you ready? Do you want to improve your English grammar? Are you going to watch the lesson?
www.engvid.com/english-grammar...
TRANSCRIPT
Hi, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this beginner lesson on questions with "do" and "be". This is a very common problem, a very common question that students, who are learning English for the first time, ask. "When do I use 'be' and when do I use 'do'? Especially when I'm asking questions."
So, first, what I'm going to do is actually just to go through these with you, and see what your natural instinct tells you, and afterwards, I'm going to explain the rules which are behind me, and we'll explain why, you know, these answers are the answers that we gave.
For example, number one:
"Where _______ you from?"
Do we say: "Where are you from?" or "Where do you from?" - "Where are you from". That's one of the most common questions, so you probably knew that one.
"What _______ you do?"
"What are you do?", "What do you do?" - "What do you do". Not: "What are you do".
"_______ you want to go?"
"Do you want to go?", "Are you want to go?" Okay? "Do you".
"How old _______ he?"
"How old does he?", "How old is he?" - "How old is he". Okay?
"_______ she a student?"
"Does she a student?", "Is she a student?" - "Is she a student". Okay?
"_______ you happy?"
"Do you happy?" or "Are you happy?" - "Are you happy".
"Where _______ you going?"
"Where do you going?" or "Where are you going?" - "Where are you going".
And finally:
"_______ he here?"
"Is he here?" or "Does he here?" - "Is he here". "Is he here?"
Okay, so do you notice anything common about some of these questions when we use "do" and when we use "be"? The ones with "be" are a little more complicated, so let's look at the two examples we have with "do", and you can tell me what is the same; what is common to these two questions.
"What do you do?", "Do you want to go?" Number one: one is an open question; one is a yes or no question. But they still have something in common. Specifically, they both use a verb: "do" and "want". So, here, you see: "What do you do?" Base verb. "Do" is a base verb. "Do you want to go?", "want" is a base verb. So, this is the basic, basic rule when you're using questions with "do" or "did" if you're speaking in the past. If you want to ask a question that uses an action, a base action, always use "do" or "did", if you're speaking in the past. "Where did you go?", "What do you do?", "Who did you see?", "What do you want?" These types of questions where you have an action, a base verb, always use "do" or "did".
Now, "be" can be used in many more situations than "do". It's much more versatile in that way. So, let's look at the rules. Like I said, for "do", you can ask the question word, "do" or "did" plus the subject, plus the base verb. And we can say "do" is only for actions. Only use it with actions, only with base verbs.
Now, "be", you have your question, you have the verb "to be", which can be "am", "is", "are", "was", "were", "will be" even. You have your subject: "I", "you", "he", "she", "it", "we", "they", and then you have a number of different parts of speech and functions that you can use. So, you can ask a question about age with the verb "to be": How old are you? "I am", whatever your age is. You can use actions with the questions with the verb "be", but they can only be continuous actions. So: "Where are you going?" Right? "What are you doing?" So you can add verb+ing, present continuous.
You can ask questions with adjectives: "Are you happy?" You can ask questions with nouns or jobs, for example: "Is he a student?", "Are you a teacher?" I am... You don't say "I do", but you would say: "I am an engineer", for example.
And finally, you can use "be" with prepositions and adverbs. And when I say adverbs and prepositions, sometimes they relate to locations, adverbs specifically. So: "Is he here?" And again, "here" is an adverb, and it refers to a space, a location. So you don't say: "Do you here?" or "Does he here?" but: "Is he here?", "Are you here?" And same with prepositions. So, in the first question: "Where are you from?", "from" is, again, a preposition, so you would use the verb "to be" in this situation.
So let's look at these. We have "from", which is a preposition. "How old is he?" Here, we're asking about age. "Is she a student?", "student" is a noun. "Are you happy?", "happy" is an adjective. "Where are you going?" This is verb+ing, "going". And: "Is he here?", "here" is an adverb.

[@engvidAlex]

If you like this video, check out my channel and don’t forget to subscribe! If you want more grammar videos, I recommend checking this one out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5fdpYmgaraqp80 You can also check out FREE quizzes for all of my videos on our main website: www.engvid.com Finally, if you’d like a free audio book to practice your listening, sign up for a free 30-day trial with Audible. Check it out here: audibletrial.com/engvidalex Thanks for studying with me and with EngVid!

[@HabibRahman-bl2fl]

Thanks my dear Teachre...

[@ghenasghenas9123]

Can you teatche us a question with " have"

[@ayaanfaarax4310]

Thanks you

[@gyatrigyatri5892]

Very nice thank you sir I am proud of you.

[@Dark-Dragon-1013]

Thanks, this was my question

[@patriciawong5090]

this is exactly what I was looking for, thanks!

[@engvidAlex]

Thanks for clicking, everyone! Just a reminder that you can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Facebook: facebook.com/alex.engvid Twitter: twitter.com/alexengvid Finally, if you would like to support EngVid, you can donate at this link: www.engvid.com/support We truly appreciate every donation we receive. Thank you for studying with us.

[@waewdaoyodpimai8102]

good

[@paulomarciano4554]

ok

[@mohamadkdalaarab6442]

Thank you sir 💖

[@atizaeugene6922]

English Lessons with Alex (engVid AlexESLvid) so I want you give me homework after each lesson

[@saoleksann1390]

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[@daly5631]

You are one of a few teachers who explain this topic in a completely way! Right now a get it. Thanks so much

[@kakanangtanapaisalgit6513]

Thank you so much for this lesson . Really useful , essential . Everything now is clear super thanks again!!! Even I don’t understand “base verb” but I understand “ only use Do for action “

[@JamesDrawings]

Perfect explanation! Congratulations, teacher and thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@annasabrina972]

Hi! I am an english teacher here in Brazil and this video really helped me to prepare a lesson! You're excelent! Thanks ;)

[@nadiabeccaria1782]

My compliments for actually explaining the structures, so many others just do not highlight the differences!

[@deler9516]

I struggled to find a rule for this question. You explained it really nicely. Thank you

[@clairezachow591]

Excellent! This is perfect for my class - and an excellent listening exercise too.

[@mohammedabubaker6844]

Thank you very much for the explanation, I was really confused about using BE or Do in a question.

[@sawblessingrain4000]

Thank you so much teacher I was so confused how to use them. But now, I could understand because of your clear explanation.

[@mendozatapia2650]

hello mr. Alex! I love all your Inglish classes. I'm Spanish speaking, I love to see your channel every time, thanks so much!

[@engvidAlex]

+Mendoza Tapia I'm happy to hear that. Thank you so much for clicking!

[@diegohenriquesilva9186]

Great explanation! I'm brazilian and I'm learning English. Your videos are awesome!! Thank you.

[@saminabee5315]

Thank you sir, i have so many doubts but when i watched your video, it clears all my doubt

[@CleonaPattersoneFluentEnglish]

Terrific lesson as always Alex. ANY level of student would benefit from revising the formation of questions!

[@engvidAlex]

+Cleona Patterson (eFluentEnglish) Precisely. :) Thank you!

[@CleonaPattersoneFluentEnglish]

Look forward to more videos, keep up the good work!

[@eRmexMusic]

7 years old but still gold. I've come here to revise some "intuitive" thing in my mind about English that I had leant years ago :D

[@myhaAa]

Was trying to explain this to my husband, however it's been a long time since i've studied English and the only thing i came up with was "using do/does only in questions regarding some actions". I've looked for other explanations, as he was still confused, and came across your video. Your way of teaching and explaining is admirable! Thanks a lot for helping us both! Will definitely subscribe to your channel!

[@engvidAlex]

I’m so glad I could help you and your husband! Cheers from Canada! 😃

[@myhaAa]

Cheers from Bulgaria! :) We're already big fans of yours.

[@miryamoranegari2514]

Thank you! It was very helpful! I'm not a native speaker but I teach young students and I couldn't find the reason for this rule so thank you for the clear explanation:)

[@patriciawong5090]

love your channel!keep going!you are really good teacher!

[@Leslie-fq7lp]

this is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks, teacher!

[@kasahunabera1294]

Thank you Alex I benefited a lot from your lesson!

[@CesarFlores-bu5sq]

I am so happy, I am learning what I did not understand in class, you have taught me, thank you brother

[@_lalaley]

Thanks for your lessons, man! Very simple and understandable! From Russia with love!

[@florvalencia8868]

Teacher thank you so much, your explanation was awesome, you are the best 👌❤Never before in my life, had I been so clear about the Do and Be as now. Thank you again you are awesome.

[@palakthakur7795]

thank you it was a wonderful lesson....really grateful..

[@marcioa.f.1016]

With no doubt! I think this was one of the most important video for me. Thanks a lot, Alex!

[@engvidAlex]

No problem, Marcio! Thanks for watching!

[@AzizjanAyupov_leo]

Thank you very much, Alex! I was thinking about it for all day)))

[@engvidAlex]

+Azizjan Ayupov That's great to hear! Keep on studying!

[@Luiz_ASA]

Parabéns, Alex! Você fala bem devagar, bem pausado. Entendi quase tudo!!!

[@engvidAlex]

Bonus points if you recognize my t-shirt!

[@winglessfowl9263]

+English Lessons with Alex (engVid AlexESLvid) Please clarify whether to use the following sentence this way or the other? I understand the difficulties of the students. or I understand the difficulty of the students. Any commenter here can reply please if u know. Which one is correct and why? I think the second one sounds good. Please sir.

[@engvidAlex]

+Nahid Ahmed See above. :)

[@astronoybrasil7990]

+Nahid Ahmed I think both are correct... one word you are using in the plural form.

[@winglessfowl9263]

Thank you sir.

[@winglessfowl9263]

English Lessons with Alex (engVid AlexESLvid) Thanks a lot sir.

[@chienluocthanhcongc]

These are the kinds of things people take for granted when they´re studying english. thanks. I really like the way you explain out your lessons. paused and methodical.

[@engvidAlex]

+Learn Speaking fast 1 month with Bacitikdaithanh Thank you very much. I agree that many people just take things like this for granted, which is why I wanted to focus on it.

[@Amber-hd3px]

+Learn Speaking fast 1 month with Bacitikdaithanh had confusion regarding this but thanks to you for clarifying it. I am from Indian and it is the Teachers day here so Happy Teachers Day sir. Thank you so much again.

[@phanthanhnhut4678]

+Learn Speaking fast 1 month with Bacitikdaithanh And you speak any foreign language? Please explain why you put the word "do"?

[@user-nb6ij3yh8r]

How are you doing dear mr. Alex? You are my the likest teacher in the engvid! Your explanations are so clear, suitable and fit for me. Thank you so very much for your useful work!

[@engvidAlex]

+Алексей Баринов Not a problem. Thank you very much for your support!

[@dongle8710]

+Алексей Баринов when i am begin to learn english. i was watching video by AlexESLVid. thank for your help( Alex and teacher in Engvid). my life is brilliant when i know other people on the earth talk and share. thank a lot. at the moment, no word can describe my think.:D

[@engvidAlex]

+Dong Le "No words can describe my thoughts." :)It's important to feel like you are connected to the language and to the teachers.

[@dongle8710]

+English Lessons with Alex (engVid AlexESLvid) ok. thank you.:D

[@manimekalaveerapandian3535]

surely this lesson erase my long time doubt sir,before that i am very confusing for whichone is used do/be verbs,but now my problem sloved,thank u so much sir

[@JorgeRamirez-cf5fn]

Great!. At last I understand this matter, simple and useful. Thanks.

[@albertofrancese9777]

This is a good video because it helps me understand this concept. Thank you!

[@navdeepdeol1605]

I was confused between do and be and suddenly i found your video which made my day.Thanks to u teacher to solve my problem.

[@Najlata]

I am an arabic person and I understood the lesson clearly thank you mr. Alex

[@hovhannesstepanyan2512]

I tink that EngVid is the most important and most useful channel in youtube. So thank you guys soooo much for your job and your help! :)

[@engvidAlex]

+Hovhannes Stepanyan Any time! Thanks for clicking!

[@dongle8710]

+Hovhannes Stepanyan before start to learn english. i have been met lots of problem. i want to give up,when i see few video on youtube. i am glad to say that youtube channel is a good way to do it. Thanks

[@gabrieladacosta5305]

Perfect. I watched many videos in Spanish but I didn’t understand in my language. And I understood it with your explanation in English. Thank you so much.

[@engvidAlex]

That's such a nice compliment! Thank you, Gabriela. I'm glad it's clear. :)

[@sergiomendes7727]

Hi Alex, thank you for amazing explanation.

[@balajigajendran3082]

Examples and explainations are very clear . thankyou alex

[@keekaa.]

I've started to teach english recently and this video helped me a lot! This topic involves the most common mistakes and questions of the students. Thank you so much for helping!

[@engvidAlex]

My pleasure! I made it after getting similar questions from students in the beginner levels.

[@sameerkapoor823]

@@engvidAlex I have a question to u. Mr Alex solve it. For example. The book might have been read. Which tense it is. I think it is modal + perfect+ passive passive of perfect infinitive because

[@sameerkapoor823]

Passive is being made. Why do we use third form with have.

[@enelnombredeKakashi]

I love this lesson. Thanks teacher!

[@curious399]

Thank u very much ..I've been looking for these doubt's for solving

[@user-ux9xx7iq8z]

Thanks for explaining

[@grazieleruas]

Excellent class! Thank you!

[@MrPepecoco]

thank you, I've been searching an explanation for months. It's earier than I thought

[@engvidAlex]

Awesome! It's not as bad as some people think. :)

[@stevenchu7149]

Thank you so so much , Your lesson have been helping to solve my issue........

[@larisajaaskelainen7137]

Alex you are the best teacher in the world! Perfect teacher! I wish you God blessing and long life!

[@engvidAlex]

+Larisa Jääskeläinen Thank you so much. I truly appreciate it.

[@lajag395]

sir very informative classes thank you, best teacher one of them i have in my career, sir how i make out line from the question and solutions suggestions etc please guide us

[@sakshikantela5982]

Thank you so much sir, It is really helpful.

[@bakralrefai2296]

thank you Alex ,, that lesson is so important

[@MrHjozsef]

Thank you the nice explanation! Somehow I did not know the rule, however I continued to use the wrong "do" for everything. It makes sence! Thank you!

[@engvidAlex]

No problem! I'm glad I could help.

[@annisarahmah3267]

Thanks Alex, your explanation very clear

[@angelavu6810]

Exactly what I want to learn. Thank you

[@receitaspraticasdabia1593]

Thank's a lot!! You're so good to explain...❤❤

[@polinachervova818]

Great lesson! Thank you so much!

[@luiseduardoovalle1354]

you are a awesome teacher... I understood... thank you so much...

[@aimangames5180]

Thank you so much for this video , You are so good teacher :(

[@annaverb9159]

Hi, Alex! Thank you for good theme:)

[@engvidAlex]

+Anna Verbitskaya No problem. :) Thanks for clicking.

[@inventoresanonimos]

Thanks for your video. It's very helpful. I still have a question. The two sentences below they are pretty much similar, but the auxiliar verbs are different: - Who is that man? What ______ (he / want)? - Who is that man? Why ______ (he / look) at us? Why does that happen? Thank you

[@jungsookchung8491]

Hi Alex, thank you for your good intention to try to teach English using KZbin. I don't believe this type of questions is the best. You shoud not recite the wrong anwers. There are strong possiblities for the beginners that they would remember the wrong answers instead of right ones.

[@Javadmirjalilii]

Short and useful, thanks a million 🌹

[@ugherdz]

thank u Alex! ..You are a good teacher!

[@alexanderavetisyan5074]

thank you very much, you are very good teacher

[@yingying9389]

My understanding is if the sentence include the "notional verb" in we can use do/does/did, if no notional verb ,use be "am/is are/was/were.

[@adrianasanches8102]

You are the best in the world, thanks for helping me, I never have had a good explanation like this. Thank

[@engvidAlex]

I’m happy to hear this has helped you. Keep learning!

[@linermgn]

Thank you very much, I finally got the difference

[@pinwinessa]

I love you, you saved my life! Or at least, my class from confusion.

[@milindshukla5151]

Hii

[@luisantoniobernalvargas579]

Thanks a lot, your explanation is really helpful

[@sumayia_kk]

Thanks a lot sir, you are a great teacher 💫🌟

[@leonardocortes7135]

Thank you Teacher.Big hug.

[@karenwoo93]

Very clear lesson. thanks!!!

Thanks to you Alex and EngVid , I found this lesson too easy for me.

[@engvidAlex]

+Amrani Class Easy is sometimes good. :) This video is meant for beginner students.

[@alexthai2456]

lucky that I found this video, I had been stucking on this problem for so long.

[@marciowagner8273]

Great teacher! thank you Alex!

[@cccEnglish]

Hi, my name is Christian. I’m also an English Teacher on KZbin, I think you are very clear.

[@alfredgalatos9522]

sometime questions could be made with Have.... confusing . Thanks anyway Alex your lessons are always clear and easy to understand

[@CryBaby-4-life]

present perfect

[@MedEasyAnas]

Thank you Mr.Alex

[@engvidAlex]

+Gadeed Mofeed Any time.

[@eikaiwawithsam2549]

By coincidence, I saw this video this morning, when making my lesson plan. Then, in the evening, I decided to see how good my new mic is, by doing some tongue twisters.... and surprise, surprise, guess who made a list of 50? (though honestly, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream." is not really a tongue twister, but 50 was a big promise, so whatever.) Good job Alex, you gave me the info that nobody seemed to plainly say

[@artihlec]

Awesome! Exactly what I was looking for.

[@engvidAlex]

I'm glad you found it! Thanks for checking out the video, Artur.

[@elhimmelstein1913]

Amazing! Thank you!

[@rayssaoliveira6389]

Thank you so much for your explanation, congrats!! ❤

[@engvidAlex]

You're so welcome!

[@MrAdrianoCBB]

Wonderful lesson! I really appreciate your channel. You've been helping me a lot, because it's always good to get more knowledge. Thanks for this great lesson and keep up the awesome work.

[@engvidAlex]

+Adriano Adkins Not a problem. As always, thanks for watching! I'm glad you're learning from these videos. :)

[@sureskahahshs4026]

k ha

[@sureskahahshs4026]

Laila Noor Mohammad Noor Mohammad public

[@ivanny48]

It's a better explain i have encountered, that's easy and your pacienty is great, i will learning with your channel, Thanks!

[@engvidAlex]

Welcome to my channel! :) I'm glad you thought this video was useful. Good luck with your studies.

[@user-jl5lt4ty3e]

Thank you! That is very good!

[@ytwatcher181]

Awesome ! The best explanation of this topic I’ve ever seen!

[@engvidAlex]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

[@user-bf6uv4wu2r]

thank yiu very much..it is so clear for me now.,.

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Thank you so much this is what i need

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Man, tanks you a lot! It's verry clean to understand. I seek it many years..... for my self.... The Best regards for you and your family!

[@ReggieKYChan]

Easy and clear explaining.

[@mariaosullivan4926]

Very helpful, thanks!

[@user-pd6bn5eg8x]

Thanks a lot, Alex, the nice job!

[@engvidAlex]

+ Татьяна Афанасьева Thanks for watching!

[@hengky09]

everything is clear now... thanks

[@zoheirmai7156]

Thanks for the explanation ❤️

[@nimaenrique]

this is really nice finally I found best way learn and improve my English Alex.

[@engvidAlex]

That's awesome to read! Welcome to my channel, nima.

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Thanks Mr Alex u helped me alot 👍👍👍

[@dr.kalidindivsnraju3054]

Very clear explanation sir.Thank u.

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very helpful, thank you so much

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Thank you a lot l leaned from this vido . You give your video by easy way

[@edisondrh7015]

Thank you for your lesson. This video helps me to learn English.

[@engvidAlex]

+edison drh I'm happy to hear that! Thanks for clicking.