First English questions and answers for children: name, colour, “What’s this?” and “Is it a …?” (Pre-A1, ages 4–7)

Four questions, four kinds of answer

Children usually learn first words in groups: colours, school things, toys. A review mixes them, so your child has to decide what kind of answer each question wants. The clue is in the first words. Stress them a little when you ask, and if your child hesitates, repeat just the start: “What colour …?” The four cards above play the questions.

• “What’s your name?” wants a name: “I’m Leo.”
• “What colour …?” wants a colour, with no “a”: “It’s green.”
• “What’s this?” wants a thing, with “a” in front: “It’s a notebook.”
• “Is it …?” wants yes or no: “Yes, it is.” or “No, it isn’t.”

Listen: one route, four stops

In the recording below, two children follow a picture route from left to right: a gate where they meet, a green circle, a notebook and a toy plane. Play it once while you trace a route with your finger; four quick drawings on paper are enough. Next time, pause after each question so your child can answer first.

The picture alone doesn’t decide the answer. A green notebook could be “It’s green.” or “It’s a notebook.”: the question tells your child which one is wanted.

The words to answer with

Before you play, put a few real things on the table and check that your child can point to each one when you say it.

• Colours: red, green, blue, black, white
• School things: desk, chair, crayon, pencil, notebook
• Toys: plane, puppet, robot, balloon, teddy
• Sounds and numbers: a for apple, b for bat, c for cat, up to i for insect, and counting to eight (say each letter’s sound, not its name)

A picture route game at home

Draw a path on a big sheet of paper with four stops: a smiley face for names, a blob of colour, a school thing and a toy. Walk a small toy along it; whoever reaches a stop asks the question that fits.

• Round one: you ask at every stop and your child answers. Unsure how a question sounds? Play the cards first.
• Round two: swap roles. Give one wrong answer on purpose, such as “It’s a robot.” at the colour stop; children love catching a grown-up out.
• My own stop: your child picks one question, draws a new stop for it, such as a blue balloon, and leads it: they ask, you answer.
• Behind my back: hide a toy and let your child guess: “Is it a robot?” “No, it isn’t.” “Is it a teddy?” “Yes, it is!”

Common mistakes and quick fixes

These slips are normal. Don’t stop the game; say the right version back with a smile. Leaving out “a” and asking “It is a plane?” are especially common when a child’s home language has no small word like “a”, or asks questions by raising the voice.

• A colour for “What’s this?”: your child says “Green!” about the notebook. Point, ask again, then give both answers: “It’s green. It’s a notebook.”
• “a” before a colour: “It’s a green.” A colour alone takes no “a”: “It’s green.” With a thing, “a” comes first: “It’s a green notebook.”
• No “a” before a thing: “It’s notebook.” becomes “It’s a notebook.”
• “Yes, it’s.”: short answers end with the full words: “Yes, it is.”
• “It is a plane?”: English swaps two words to ask, so answer with the real question: “Is it a plane?”

What comes next

When your child picks the right kind of answer every time, add a fifth question: “Who’s this?” “This is my mum.” It works like “What’s this?”, but for people, and it opens the door to family words.