Grammar: The verb “To Be”

Be as an auxiliary verb.

Form and use in the formation of tenses.

●Form

Principal parts: be, was, been.

Gerund/present participle: being.

Present Tense:

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I am	I am not	Am I?
You are	You are not	Are you?
He is	He is not	Is he?
She is	She is not	Is she?
It is	It is not	Is it?
We are	We are not	Are we?
You are	You are not	Are you?
They are	They are not	Are they?

Past Tense:

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I was	I was not	Was I?
You were	You were not	Were you?
He was	He was not	Was he?
She was	She was not	Was she?
It was	It was not	Was it?
We were	We were not	Were we?
You were	You were not	Were you?
They were	They were not	Were they?

The forms are the same when be is used as an ordinary verb. Other tenses follow the rules for ordinary verbs. But be is not normally used in the continuous form except in the passive.

●use to form tenses

●Be is used in continuous active forms: He is working / will be working

and in all passive forms: He was followed / is being followed.

Note that be can be used in the continuous forms in the passive:

Active: They are carrying him.

Passive: He is being carried.

●Be as an ordinary verb.

●Be to denote existence, be + adjective.

-be is the verb normally used to denote the existence of, or to give information about, a person or thing:

Tom is a carpenter.

Malta is an island.

The dog is in the garden.

Peter was tall and fair.

-be is used to express physical or mental condition:

I am hot.

He was excited.

They will be happy.

-be is used for age: How old are you? - I am ten.

How old is the tower? - It is 400 years old.

●Size and weight are expressed by be: How tall are you? What is your height? - I am 1.65 meters.

-be is used for prices:

How much is this melon? Or What does this melon cost?

Ex.5. Put in am, is or are.

1. The sky is very blue today. 2. I … not tired. 3. This shelf … very heavy. 4. These shelves …very heavy. 5. The child … asleep. 6. Look! This ... Mabel. 7. I … cold. Can you shut the window, please? 8. The castle … one thousand years old. 9. My brother and I … good tennis players. 10. Amy … at home but her parents ... in church. 11. I … a student. 12. My sister … an archaeologist.

Ex.6. Ask questions (Read the answers to the questions first.)

1. (his name?) What's his name? Robert.

2. (single or married?) I'm single.

3.(British?) No, I'm not.

4.(where/from?); from Australia.

5. (how old?) I'm 18.

6. (a student?) No, I'm a secretary.

7. (your mother a teacher?) No, she's a lawyer.

8. (where / from?) She's Italian.

9. (her name?): Rachel

10. (how old?) She's 40.

Ex. 7. Translate into English.

1. Сенің ағаң үйде ме? 2. Мына открытка қанша тұрады? 3. Мынау өте қымбат қонақ үй. 4. Мен өнерге қызығамын. 5. Бүгін барлық дүкендер ашық. 6. Мұражай бүгін ашық. 7. Мен ыстықтадым. 8. Менің апам – сәулетші. 9. Мен шаршаған жоқпын. 10. Оның күйеуі қай жақтан? 11. Олар студенттер емес, олар – дәрігерлер. 12. Саған шет тілдері қызық па?

Ex.8. Put in am / is / are / was / were. Some sentences are present and some are past.

1. Today the weather ... nice, but yesterday it ... cold. 2. I ... cold. Can I have something hot to drink? 3. I … hungry last night, so I had something to eat. 4. Where ... you at 10 o'clock last Sunday morning? 5. Don't buy those shoes. They ... too expensive. 6. Why ... you so tired yesterday? 7. We must go now. It ... very late.

Ex. 9. Translate into English.

1. Кеше кешке олар қайда болды? 2. Сен неге кеше кешіктің? 3. Ол кеше институтта болған жоқ. 4. Мен ол жерде болған жоқпын. 5. Ол сағат 5-те үйде болған жоқ.

Ex.10. Choose the correct form of be (am, are, is). Example: He __ a boy. Answer: He is a boy.

1) I ……a girl.

2) My father …..at work.

3) Trixi and Susi ……my cats.

4) The hamster …..in the cage.

5) I …..a painter.

6) My green pencil …..on the floor.

7) Emma and Betty ……good friends.

8) ……you from Scotland?

9) His sister ……seven years old.

10) We …….children.

Ex.11. Put in the following forms of be (am, are, is) into the gaps. Do not use short/contracted forms.

Example: He __ a boy. Answer: He is a boy.

1) My mother ……in the kitchen.

2) The pupils ….not at school today.

3) Maria's grandmother ……..from Brazil.

4) I …..a football fan.

5) It …Sunday today.

6) They …..in the car.

7) His pencil case ….at home.

8) …..you from Sheffield?

9) I ……not your friend.

10) Hey John! We ……..here.

Ex.12. Put in the following forms of be (am, are, is) into the gaps in the text. Do not use short/contracted forms.

Example: He __ a boy. Answer: He is a boy.

2. Peter Baker …….from Manchester, but Paul and John ……from London. Manchester and London …….cities in England. Hamburg ……..a city in Germany. Sandra ……at school today. Jack and Peter …….her friends. They ……in the same class. Mr and Mrs Baker ……on a trip to the USA to visit their cousin Anne. She ………a nice girl. Peter says: "My grandfather …….in hospital. I …….at home with my grandmother." What time ……it? It ……..8 o'clock. …….you tired? No, I ……not.

Ex.13. Put in was or were into the gaps.

1) I …. in Canberra last spring.

2) We …..at school last Saturday.

3) Tina …..at home yesterday.

4) He …..happy.

5) Robert and Stan ……Garry's friends.

6) You ……very busy on Friday.

7) They …..in front of the supermarket.

8) I …..in the museum.

9) She ….in South Africa last month.

10) Jessica and Kimberly ……late for school.