The Right Answer

The Right Answer – A Yes/No Question Game. Fun ESL Speaking Activity to Practice Auxiliary Verbs and Short Answers in the Present, Continuous, and Future Tenses

The Right Answer – A Yes/No Question Game

The Right Answer – A Yes/No Question Game

Looking for a fun, interactive ESL game that helps students practice yes/no questions and short answers with be, do, and going to?
“The Right Answer” is a lively speaking activity that supports learners in mastering question forms and auxiliary verbs across three key tenses: Present Simple, Present Continuous, and Future with going to.

It’s perfect for small groups, elementary to pre-intermediate learners, and ideal for grammar review, warm-ups, or as a speaking-focused extension.

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🎯 Learning Objectives

• Practice forming yes/no questions with be, do, and going to
• Improve accuracy in using short answers (e.g. Yes, I am. / No, they don’t.)
• Build fluency and confidence in speaking
• Encourage peer interaction and active listening

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🖨️ What You Need

• One set of printable answer cards per group of 4 students
• Scissors for pre-class prep

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👟 How to Play

1. Pre-Teaching & Demo

Start by reviewing short answers and their matching questions on the board:

• Yes, I am. → Are you tired?
• No, he doesn’t. → Does he like pizza?
• Yes, they are. → Are they studying?

Demonstrate the game by taking a card (e.g. Yes, we are.) and asking the class a question that would match it:
👉 “Are we in English class right now?”
Once they respond correctly, show them the card and discard it.

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2. Group Setup

• Divide the class into groups of four.
• Give each group a set of shuffled short answer cards.
• Students deal the cards evenly (ignore any extras).

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3. Game Play

• The first student chooses one card from their hand.
• They think of a yes/no question that will lead to the short answer written on the card.
  👉 For example, if the card says No, I’m not., the question might be “Are you hungry?”
• They ask the question to any player in the group.
• If the player replies using the exact short answer on the card, the question-asker discards the card. 🎉
• If the answer is incorrect, the card stays.

Play continues clockwise.
The first player to discard all their cards wins!

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🧠 Example Short Answers

• Yes, I am.
• No, I’m not.
• Yes, she is.
• No, he doesn’t.
• Yes, we are.
• No, they aren’t.
• Yes, it is.
• No, I’m not going to.
• Yes, they are going to.
• No, he isn’t going to.

(You can customize cards based on the tense focus of your lesson.)

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🔄 Game Variations

• 🔄 Reverse Game: Students are given questions, and they must produce the correct short answers.
• 🎭 Roleplay Challenge: Students pretend to be someone else (e.g. a celebrity or character) when answering.
• ⏱️ Timed Rounds: Add a timer to keep the energy high!

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👨‍🏫 Teacher Tips

• Support struggling students by keeping a cheat sheet of possible question structures on the board.
• Mix groups mid-way through to keep engagement high.
• Use this game as a transition into freer conversation tasks with yes/no topics.

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📥 Download the Free Printable

Print your ready-to-go “The Right Answer” card set — just cut, shuffle, and play!

DOWNLOAD THE PDF FOR FREE

📩 Want more free ESL grammar lesson? Share this post with other teachers and let us know how it worked in your classroom!

💬 What other grammar topics would you like? Drop your ideas in the comments!

More ESL Classroom Games & Activities

Looking for more fun grammar activities for your English class? Check out these ideas:
✅ ESL Speaking Games to improve fluency
✅ Grammar Board Games for practicing sentence structures
✅ Interactive Writing Activities for ESL learners