The “BE” Verb

Forms of BEI am…

She is...Be

He is…

It is…You are…We are…They are...

AmIsAre

Meaning of BE5 = 5

Five is five.

I = studentI am a student.

I am...

I am + noun.

I am a son.

I am a

daughter.

I am a parent.

I am a student.

I am a teacher.

She/He/It is...

He is a doctor. She is a nurse.

We/You/They are...They are runners.

We are friends. You are twins.

Subject + BE + AdjectiveHe is old.

We are happy.

It is blue.

Subject + Be + PrepositionA computer is on the desk. Apples are in the basket. A cat is under the table.

BE-verb in Questions

Is it a ball?

Yes, it is a ball.

Where is it?

It is on the ground.

Yes/No Questions

Am I a student? Are you a student? Is he/she a student? Are you students? Are they students?

BE + Subject + Noun ?

WH- Questions with BE

What is your name? Where are the pencils? When is the exam? Who is our teacher? How are your classes?

WH- + BE + Subject (+ Complement)?

BE-verb in Questions

Are they friends?Yes, they are friends.

How old are they?They are 8 years old.

Negative SentencesSubject + BE + “not” + ______

with Nouns: She is not a teacher.

with Adjectives: They are not old.

with Prepositions: It is not on the table.

BE ContractionsSubject +BE and BE + “not” can be together in complete sentences.

I am tired. = I’m tired.They are not here. = They aren’t here.

ContractionsSubject BE Contraction

I am I’m

You are You’re

He is He’s

She is She’s

It is it’s

We are We’re

They are They’re

BE not Contraction

am not XXXXXX

is not isn’t

are not aren’t

In At On

There are 50 states in the U.S.

It is at the corner of Riverside and McKinley.

He is on this small planet.

Preposition of Place: In The family is in the living room

Use in for enclosed spaces

In the bedroom

In the bathroom

In the kitchen

In the dining room

Use in for the names of land-areas: cities, countries, continents, etc.

I am in New York

We live in the United States

Italy is in Europe

Preposition of Place: At The kids are at the park

Use at for locations: buildings, addresses, specific places...

We are at the library.

The White House is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

She is at the lake today.

At vs. InI am at school.

● I am at the location.

I am at the hospital.● I am at the

building.

I am in school.● I am a student.

I am in the hospital.● I am sick or hurt.

Preposition of Place: OnThe ball is on the floor

Use on when items touch or connect.

A sign is on the door.

The boat is on the beach.

The food is on the table

Use on when mentioning transportation.

He is on a boat.

They are on the bus.

I am on a plane.

Prepositions of Time

at a precise time at 9 o’clock/noon/dinner time

on days or dates on Sunday/my birthday/25, October

in long periods(month, year,century) in May/ 2015/ the next century

at at dinner time at noon

on on their wedding day on her birthday

in World Cup in 2014 fun time in the summerOlympics in 2016

Other Simple Present Verbs Simple present does not use the be-verb.Use simple present to describe habits, routines, facts:I eat breakfast at 8:00a.m. every day.Our class starts at 1:00p.m. They always watch a movie on weekends. I don’t ride my bike to school in the morning.

Simple Present: Forms Use the base form of verbs with all subject pronouns, except for: he/she/it:

I ride my bike. We ride our bikes.You ride your bike. You ride your bikes.He rides his bike. They ride their bikes. She rides her bike.

Add -s/-es to verbs for the third person singular:

Simple Present: Negative To make negative statements in simple present we need to use the auxiliary: do + not = don’t I don’t eat lunch at home on weekdays.We don’t have class on Fridays.

He does not drive his car to work. She doesn’t have a cat. =

For he/she/it, we add -es to the auxiliary do: does

doesn’t + base form

Simple Present: Questions To make questions statements in simple present we need to use the auxiliary: doDo you eat lunch at home on weekdays?Do we have class on Fridays?

Does he drive his car to work? Does she have a cat? =

For he/she/it, we add -es to the auxiliary do: does

does +subject + base form