THE VERB BE

BE is the most important verb in English because it works as a MAIN VERB or as an

AUXILIARY VERB.
BE Expresses existence (I am a teacher) or sate (I am happy).
In the present form, Be has three conjugated forms:
o I am
o You, we, they are
o He, she, it is
In NEGATIVE sentences we add the word not after the form of be.
o I am not an actor.
o They are not waiters.
In QUESTIONS, we place the form of be before the person (subject).
Question marks (?) are used only at the end.
o Are they chemical engineers?

SUBJECT PRONOUNS

A subject pronoun is a word that replaces a name. Subject pronouns are used to avoid
repetition and make communication easy.
o I, you, he, she, it, we, they.

NOTICE:

a. I is always written in CAPITAL letter: i am = I am.

b. you is singular and plural, but its conjugation is always in plural form.

CONTRACTED FORMS

Contractions are used mostly to give speed and a natural pace to the conversation.
In contracted forms we replace vowel or weak initial sounds in the verb for a () and
put the person subject- together with the verb.
o Examples:
I am = Im
You are = youre
He is = hes
She is = shes
It is = its
We are = were
They are = theyre
With the exception of sentences with I, it is possible to make the contraction in
NEGATIVE sentences in the word NOT.

Examples:
She is not = shes not/she isnt
We are not = were not/ we arent
I am not = Im not/ I amnt

INDEFINITE ARTICLE A/AN

We use indefinite articles when we talk about a single idea that is not specific.
We use a when the word begins with a consonant sound or when u is pronounced
[iu]
o A university (u is pronounced iu in this word), a ball, a door
We use an when the word begins with a single vowel sound.
o An actor, an honor (h is not pronounced in this word), an umbrella

DEMONSTRATIVES

We use this when we talk about a single object or idea that is not distant.
We use that when we talk about a single object or idea that is distant.
We use these when we talk about two or more objects or ideas that are not distant.
We use those when we talk about two or more objects or ideas that are distant.

FOR PRACTICE
1. Change the name of the person with a subject pronoun (I, you, he). The first is an
example.
a. Sara is a waitress = She is a waitress.
b. Tom and I are architects = ______ are architects.
c. Charles is a doctor = ______ is a doctor.
d. Susan and Sharon are vets = _____ are vets.
e. The dog is big = _____ is big.
f. Albert is a lawyer = _____ is a lawyer.
g. Angie and Paul are managers = _____ are managers.
2. Complete the following sentences with an appropriate contracted form of be.
a. She ___ a teacher.
b. They ____ painters.
c. He ___ a salesperson.
d. I ___ a constructor.
e. We ___ janitors.
3. Change the following sentences into negative forms. The first is an example.
a. Were cooks. = We arent cooks.
b. Shes a tour guide. =
c. Im a police officer. =
d. Were painters. =
e. Hes a musician. =
f. Theyre singers. =