You will not envy a person who is learning a foreign language for the first time. The student thinks in his native language, unconsciously tries to transfer the categories, norms and rules of his language into a foreign one. Therefore, when confronted with a concept or phenomenon that is absent in the native language, even elementary things seem difficult to perceive.
Often the stumbling block is the verbs am, is, are English. It is necessary to allocate time and understand this issue.
Three-headed dragon To be
The verb to be has no analogue in Russian. The fact is that the verb is rather a pointer to a person and a number than a word that has an independent meaning. To be retained separate singular and plural forms for the first and third person in the present tense.
Other verbs retained only the ending -s, which is a sign of the 3rd person singular, for example, She speak s . The same verb in conjunction with the pronouns of the 1st and 2nd person will differ from the initial form to speak only by the absence of the particle to: "I speak" and "You speak". The verbs am, is, are forms to be. To draw attention to this student can depict the verb to be in the form of a dragon, and his head is called Am, Is and Are.
Translation Issues
The translation am, is, are sounds like is or be. The most common mistake made by young students is trying to translate phrases like "I am Kristian" as "I am Christian." This is a delicate moment for beginners to learn a language. It is worth immediately correcting such reservations.
The interaction of the native and foreign languages is very important for the learning process, so the translation should always sound competently and in accordance with the norms of the language. In general, everyone should memorize the verbs am, is, are.
When am and is said, and when - are?
The verbs am, is, are used in the present tense. For the past, there were forms were and were, in sentences with the future tense they will use the will will form and very rarely - shall be. Remember the rules for using the forms of the verb to be by examining the table below.
As can be seen from the table, the forms am, is, was used to indicate the singular, and are and were - the plural. In modern English, shall and will are considered insufficient verbs. Both verbs are used only in the present tense - shall / will, and the past - should / would.
Shall in current English is used only in the British version. In American English, shall retained its modal meaning and is used only in cases where they want to say about the inevitability of an event. In British English, shall is used with the pronouns I and we, and will is used with the pronouns she, he, it. Carefully study the following table, which presents the use of the verb shall.
Common abbreviations for spoken and written language
When used in negative sentences, the particle not is added to all forms of the verb to be. Full spelling is rarely used; an abbreviated form of notation is more common:
- I am = I'm, I am not = I'm not;
- he is = he's, he is not = he's not or he isn't;
- she is = she's, she is not = she's not or she isn't;
- it is = it's, it is not = it's not or it isn't;
- we are = we're, we are not = we're not or we aren't;
- you are = you're, you are not = you're not or you aren't;
- they are = they're, they are not = they're not or they aren't;
- I (he, she, it) was not = I (he, she, it) wasn't;
- we (you, they) were not = we (you, they) weren't.
In common parlance and for writing, the following abbreviations of the will and shall forms are used:
- will / shall = 'll;
- will not = won't;
- shall not = shant't;
- would / should = 'd;
- would not = wouldn't;
- should not = shouldn't.
As you can see, the abbreviated form for shall in the present and past tenses coincides with will, and in speech the difference between the use of forms has practically disappeared.
"To be or not to be" is the question
What does Shakespeare have to do with it?
To fix the rules for using the verbs am, is, are and others in practice, it is worth practicing in the preparation of affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences.
Interrogative sentences are most effective in terms of developing a speech skill. It is necessary to train the use of the verb to be not only in the present, but also in the past and future tenses.
Another way to practice language skills is to memorize small poems and poems. Studying poems in a foreign language will not only expand knowledge in grammar, but also increase vocabulary.
Options for using the verb to be and its forms in speech
In speech, the verb to be can be used as the main semantic predicate, and as a connecting or auxiliary part of the composite predicate.
Here are examples of the most common ways to use a verb in speech:
- The verb to be acts as the main predicate in order to emphasize belonging to a certain group. For example, Sara is a florist (Sara florist) or Alan is my brother (Alan is my brother). In other words, the verb to be does not express action, but states the state of the object and its affiliation.
- To be plays the role of the main word in a compound predicate along with adjectives. For example, Jilian is a beautiful young lady or The TV-show is interesting (This TV show is interesting).
- The verb is the main predicate in statements indicating the place or geographical affiliation. For example, She is at dinner (She is at dinner) or His flat is in the center (His apartment is located in the center).
- To be predicates in comparative constructions. For example, The light is faster than the sound.
- The verb to be can play a supporting role in continuous tenses. For example, Present Continuous: They are sitting on the ground; Past Continuous: We were watching the TV-show when she telephoned (When she called, we watched a TV show); Future Continuous: Jilly will be singing tonight (Jillie will sing all evening).
- The verb is used to express the passive voice. In such sentences, to be harnessed to the passive voice of the required time. The semantic verb is always used in the form of past participles - Past Participle. The form of all passive sentences is the same: Passive Subject + To Be + Past Participle. For example, Past Perfect: The breakfast had been eaten before she arrived (Past Simple: His car was bought in 1995 (His car was bought in 1995).
The verb to be plays a huge role in the English language. Proper use of the forms of the verb is necessary for a beautiful and correct speech.