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Understanding the Verb "To Be"

The document provides information about using the verb "to be" in English, including its affirmative, contraction, negative, and question forms. It discusses the basic conjugations of to be for each subject (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they). It also covers forming contractions, negative sentences, questions, and short answers with to be. The verb to be is one of the most fundamental verbs in English and this document outlines its various forms and uses in both affirmative and interrogative sentences.

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Elton Cohen
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109 views5 pages

Understanding the Verb "To Be"

The document provides information about using the verb "to be" in English, including its affirmative, contraction, negative, and question forms. It discusses the basic conjugations of to be for each subject (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they). It also covers forming contractions, negative sentences, questions, and short answers with to be. The verb to be is one of the most fundamental verbs in English and this document outlines its various forms and uses in both affirmative and interrogative sentences.

Uploaded by

Elton Cohen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

To Be - Present Tense

English Grammar Rules


To Be - Affirmative
Subjec
To Be Examples
t

I am I am from New Zealand.

You are You are Chilean.

He is He is twenty years old.

She is She is a nurse.

It is It is a big dog.

We are We are intelligent.

You are You are students.

They are They are married.

To Be - Contractions
Contractions of To Be are very frequent when we are speaking.

To Be Contraction Examples

I am I'm I'm from New Zealand.

You are You're You're Chilean.

He is He's He's twenty years old.

She is She's She's a nurse.

It is It's It's a big dog.

We are We're We're intelligent.

You are You're You're students.

They
They're They're married.
are
To Be - Negative Sentences
The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb.

Subjec
To Be Examples
t

I am not I am not from Spain.

You are not You are not Australian.

He is not He is not thirty years old.

She is not She is not a secretary.

It is not It is not a small cat.

We are not We are not stupid.

You are not You are not teachers.

They are not They are not single.

To Be - Negative Contractions
There are two ways of forming contractions of To Be in negative sentences.
One is with a contraction of the subject and the verb (e.g. I am = I'm) OR a
contraction of the verb and not (e.g. are not = aren't)

I'm not from Spain. --- --------------*

You're not Australian. OR You aren't Australian.

He's not thirty years


OR He isn't thirty years old.
old.

She's not a secretary. OR She isn't a secretary.

It's not a small cat. OR It isn't a small cat.

We're not stupid. OR We aren't stupid.

You're not teachers. OR You aren't teachers.

They're not single. OR They aren't single.

* Notice that the only possible contraction for I am not is I'm not.

To Be - Questions
To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.
Affirmativ
You are happy.
e

Subjec
  Verb  
t

happy
Question Are you
?

Subjec
  Verb  
t

Affirmative Question

I am intelligent. Am I intelligent?

You are a student. Are you a student?

He is a pilot. Is he a pilot?

She is from Spain. Is she from Spain?

It is a big house. Is it a big house?

We are ready. Are we ready?

You are doctors. Are you doctors?

They are rich. Are they rich?

To Be - Short Answers
In spoken English, we usually give short answers in response to questions.
Are you a student? - Yes, I am (a student). The last part (a student) is not
necessary. We use shorts answers to avoid repetition, when the meaning is
clear.

Short
Question Short Answers
Answers**

Am I intelligent? Yes, you are. No, you aren't.

Are you a
Yes, I am. No, I am not.
student?

Is he a pilot? Yes, he is. No, he isn't.


Is she from Spain? Yes, she is. No, she isn't.

Is it a big house? Yes, it is. No, it isn't.

Are we ready? Yes, we are. No, we aren't.

Are you doctors? Yes, we are. No, we aren't.

Are they rich? Yes, they are. No, they aren't.

** With To Be, We don't use contractions in affirmative short answers unless


there is additional information after it (in which case they are no longer
considered short answers).
Summary Chart

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