Instructions
The form of the verb to be is am (contracted to 'm), is ('s) and are ('re) in the present tense and was/were in the past. To be is used as an auxiliary verb, to form continuous tenses and the passive, and as a main verb. Here we are looking at it as a main verb.
After the verb to be we use an adjective phrase, a noun phrase, a preposition phrase or an adverb phrase.
Oh, wow! That sounds complicated.
No, don't worry. I'm going to give you lots of examples. Here are some examples with adjectives or adjective phrases:
I'm a bit tired.
He was late last time too.
The journey was fantastic.
My brother isn't very tall.
Here are examples with nouns or noun phrases:
She was an English teacher for years.
They're both teachers at our school.
That's my laptop.
And here are examples with adverb and preposition phrases:
I'm here at the café, and you're not!
Are you there yet?
Your phone's in my bag.
Where were you at 5 o'clock?
So you use contractions (I'm, you're, he's, etc.) in the present. Can you use contractions in the past?
No, we don't contract was or were.
I was just like you when your Dad and I were together.
What about forming questions and negatives?
They are quite easy. For questions, you just change the order of the subject and the verb. Sometimes you need to add a question word.
Is he in his room?
Where are you?
What was that noise?
For negatives, you just add not. If you're speaking, don't forget to use a contraction.
We aren't ready yet.
Is Daisy at home? ~ No, she isn't.
Those books weren't on the table. I don't know where they are.
I think I've heard a different type of contraction. Like We're not ready yet.
Yes, that's also possible. Also:
Is Daisy at home? ~ No, she's not.
But there's only one form of the first person negative:
I'm not interested in football.
And there's only one way to contract the past negative form:
She wasn't always a writer.
There weren't any peppers in the supermarket.
To be is used in a lot of everyday questions, isn't it? Can you give me some more examples?
OK, in this table there are some common areas where we use to be.
| Age | How old are you? | I'm 18. |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Where are you from? | I'm from Beijing. |
| Nationality | What's your nationality? | I'm Brazilian. |
| Health | How are you? | I'm very well, thanks. |
| People | What's she like? | She's really nice. |
| Prices | How much is it? | It's £3.50. |
What about Where were you born? ~ I was born in London. Isn't that with to be?
Yes, but that's a passive. We'll look at passives another day.
'To be or not to be.'
And that's Shakespeare. We'll look at Shakespeare another day too!
Worksheets and downloads
Transcript
Discussion
What would you like to be when you've finished studying?
Comments
I'd like to be a police officer .
After studying, I would become a software engineer.
The practice is the most important for to learn.
when I finish stady English I would like to travel aroun the world
i would like to be a doctor and help to everybody
I would like to help people around the world and do something for a cause.
I'm not happy with the day , because is cloudy.
I would like to travel the world, pass my exams and I would also like to learn how to live each and every day by day :-)
I like to learn too many lenguajes and travel around the worl with a proffesion like engineer beacuse they have a lot of money, meet some people on my travels and meet the love of my life that i have already
After studying I would like to sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep. Hahaha
After finishing my studies, I would like to find a job, and with my salary, I start to buy my own things, go on a long and beautiful vacation, I would like to learn other languages so I can travel to more and more places. A new camera.
After finishing school I would like to go to my parents' house and spend a lot of time there, because I miss them and my sisters.
I would like to go a lot of different country and use english.
I wanna be the boss oh sorry i'm that now
I'd like to be an Entrepreneur and I'd like to have a startup...also I'd like to make lots of new friends...
I love it! a new person is a new experience. If I want to be an entrepreneur I must have good public relation, I think this is necessary for an Entrepreneur....
I'd like to be a translator.
I like to be a author and a printmaker
Hope you know what i mean
I am from A U S T R I A .................not from australia ;)
When I've finished studying, I would like to be a psychologist/scientist.
I would like to be a doctor, it is a very interesting job and I wish to achieve my goal.
i would like to be a dantist
I would like travel to E.E.U.U with my family, also travel a disney world is my wish.
When I finish studying I go to train soccer in my team.
when i finish studying , I'd like to work with my father and my cousin in their construction.
When I finish studying I want to be a recognized architect and have my own company.
I would like make architecture. I would want that my architecture can touch the emotions of the people, change the way to see the world around us, I would want that my architecture be a way to improve the quality of life of people. And I would like always to continue learning.
when I finish studying I´d like to be a excellent leader in my company
I would like to construct buildings .
When i finish studying, I'd like to be an Geographer engineer.
when I finish my studies I would like to be an excellent
lawyer and also have a good job
how can i understand whether a word noun or adjective
Hi sam10,
A noun is the name of something, like a thing, an animal, a person, a place, an idea, etc. Examples of nouns are table, cat, school, happiness, society, etc.
An adjective is a describing word. It gives you information about a noun. Examples of adjectives are black, hot, difficult, interesting, long, etc.
Adjectives often go before the noun they are describing: a black cat, a hot classroom, an interesting book, etc.
OK, let's see if you can do this! How many adjectives in this sentence?
It was a long, hot summer and the children were happy to be on holiday from school.
Joanna (LearnEnglish Teens team)
I would like to be fashion designer and model.
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