The verb to be
The verb to be is the most important verb in
the English language. It is difficult to use because it is an irregular verb in
almost all of its forms. In the simple present tense, to be is conjugated
as follows:
Affirmative forms of the verb to be
|
Subject Pronouns
|
Full Form
|
Contracted Form
|
|
I |
am |
'm |
|
you |
are |
're |
|
he/she/it |
is |
's |
|
we |
are |
're |
|
you |
are |
're |
|
they |
are |
're |
Interrogative forms of the verb to be:
|
Am |
I? |
|
Are |
you? |
|
Is |
he/she/it? |
|
Are |
we? |
|
Are |
you? |
|
Are |
they? |
Negative Forms of the verb to be:
|
Subject Pronouns
|
Full Form
|
Contracted Form
|
|
I |
am not |
'm not |
|
you |
are not |
aren't |
|
he/she/it |
is not |
isn't |
|
we |
are not |
aren't |
|
you |
are not |
aren't |
|
they |
are not |
aren't |
Examples:
o Is Brad Pitt French?
o No, he is not. He is
American.
o What about Angelina Joli? Is she
American, too?
o Yes, she is. She is
American.
o Are Brad Pitt and Angelina Joli French?
o No, They are not. They are
American.
Use of the simple present of to be
The principal use of the simple present is to refer to an
action or event that takes place habitually, but with the verb "to
be" the simple present tense also refers to a present or general state,
whether temporary, permanent or habitual.
o I am happy.
o She is helpful.
The verb to be in the simple present can be also used to
refer to something that is true at the present moment.
o She is 20 years old.
o He is a student.
Remember:
5.
I,
you, he, she, it, you, they
are subject pronouns (also called personal pronouns, a term used to
include both subject and object pronouns.)
6.
am,
are, is are forms of the
verb to be in the simple present.
7.
'm,
're, 's are short
(contracted) forms of am, are, is
8.
'm
not, aren't, isn't
are short (contracted forms) of am not, are not, is not.
5. Fill in the blanks with the right subject / personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they):
1.
Angelina
Joli is American. isn't French.
2.
Brad
Pitt is American, too. isn't German.
3.
Brad
and Angelina aren't French. are American.
4.
My
friend and I are high school students. aren't primary school students.
5.
The
Statue of Liberty is in New York. isn't in Washington.
Fill in the blanks with the right form of to be ( am, are or is):
6.
Are
you the new student? Yes, I .. .
7.
Leila
and Nancy… students.
8.
Nancy…
Australian .
9.
My
sister and I… students.
10.
The
girls… tired.
11.
These
women… beautiful.
12.
The
tea… delicious.
13.
Nadia
and Leila… friends.
14.
The
newspaper… cheap.
Choose the correct answer (negative or affirmative form of to be):
Is Julia Robert French? No, she …
What about Robert de Nero? Is he an
American actor? Yes, he …
Are New York and Los Angeles Spanish
Cities? No, they Spanish cities.
Is Big Ben in Paris? No, it … in Paris.
Is Mount Everest in Africa? No, it… in Africa. It … in Asia.
PAST AND FUTURE TENSES
Past simple
· Add ‘ed’, or ‘d’ or ‘ied’
· The dog barked all night long
· The kids played with the dog in the garden
· I walked
to the train station
Lead
in to past simple:Yesterday, I talked to her.
T: I
visited her. We watched TV. She cooked lunch. We listened to music.
This is
the same for all people and pronouns
The Simple
Past: Regular Verbs
|
Regular verbs make their past tense by adding -
d, - ed,
or (if the verb ends in a consonant + y), changing the y to i and then adding - ed.
Examples:
|
Simple of
regular verbs
T: I sometimes walk in the park.
S: You walked in the park yesterday.
T: I sometimes walk in the park.
S: You walked in the park yesterday.
Past Simple of irregular verbs
present simple: I have lunch at 12 every day.
present simple: I have lunch at 12 every day.
Lead in
to past simple: Yesterday I had lunch at 12.
T:
Yesterday I spoke to a friend. We went to the movies. We saw Eclipse. My friend
ate popcorn. I drank soda.
Past Simple of irregular verbs
T: I usually drink orange juice for breakfast. S: Yesterday you drank orange juice.
T: I usually drink orange juice for breakfast. S: Yesterday you drank orange juice.
Past Simple – Negative
forms
Say, 'Yesterday I talked to John. I didn't talk to Sarah.' alternating between affirmative and negative statements:
Sarah had lunch at 12. She didn’t have lunch at one. You went to the gym yesterday. You didn’t go to the movies.
And so on with all persons, singular and plural.
Say, 'Yesterday I talked to John. I didn't talk to Sarah.' alternating between affirmative and negative statements:
Sarah had lunch at 12. She didn’t have lunch at one. You went to the gym yesterday. You didn’t go to the movies.
And so on with all persons, singular and plural.
