We will devote our article to the analysis of one unusual verb in the English language - the word to be, which translates as "to be," "is," "appear," or "be." This semantic verb can be safely attributed to a separate full-fledged topic, because its use, formation has a special meaning that differs from other verbs. This information will be useful to schoolchildren, perhaps students, as well as all those who study and are interested in English.
The verb to be, or what is am, is or are?
To be is the initial form of the verb with the particle to, the infinitive. It is freely used in the language where necessary. For example, I want to be a singer - " I want to be a singer ." But besides this initial form, the verb to be has other independent forms: am, is or are .
This is the same verb with the same translation. However, the use of one of its indicated varieties ( am, is or are) depends directly on which person and number the subject is in. Everything is very simple. Let's figure it out and figure it out.
Am
The verb to be in the form of am is used exclusively with the subject in the form of the first person singular (pronoun "I" - I ):
If you literally translate every word, it will be like this: " I am a student " or " I am a student ." Of course, in Russian we rarely build a sentence in this way, often we simply omit this verb in our speech. It’s easier for us to say: “ I am a student .” Let's look at another example:
Literally: " I am ten years old ." In Russian, we say: “ I am ten (years) ”.
Is
The verb to be in the form is is used with the subject in the form of a third person singular (pronouns: he, she, it / this ). We give examples:
- He is a pupil (he is a pupil).
- She is her mother (she is her mother) .
- It (fox) is red (she (the fox) is red) .
- It is a table (this is a table) .
Are
The verb to be in the form of are used:
- with plural first-person subjects (pronoun “we” - we );
- in the form of a second person in the singular and plural (the pronouns “you”, “you” - you );
- in the form of a third person plural (the pronoun "they" - they ).
Here are some examples:
- We are friends .
- You are my teacher .
- They are brothers .
Often the verb to be is presented in the form of a dragon with three heads. Sometimes this visual representation helps to better understand the use of this verb for students of a foreign language.
Negative sentences with the verb to be
The choice of a certain form of the verb to be (am, is, or are) when constructing negative sentences also depends on the principle stated above. Just after using this form, you need to negate not :
- I am not a child (in the abbreviated form I'm not a child - "I am not a child ").
- He is not Peter (in an abbreviated form I 'm not Peter or he isn't Peter - "he is not Peter ").
- She is not a doctor (in abbreviated form she's not a doctor or she isn't a doctor - "she is not a doctor" ).
- It is not a cat (in an abbreviated version it's not a cat or it isn't a cat - "this is not a cat" ).
- We are not classmates (in the abbreviated form we're not classmates or we aren't classmates - "we are not classmates" ).
- You are not our friends (in the abbreviated form you're not our friends or you aren't our friends - "they are not friends" ).
- They are not sisters (in the abbreviated form they're not sisters or they aren't sisters - "they are not sisters" ).
Interrogative sentences with the verb to be
It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the questions are also constructed differently than the other sentences in the present tense in Present Simple. The word order is unusual here - the difference from the usual affirmative sentence.
Forms am, is or are , depending on the form of the subject, are taken to the very beginning of the sentence. It is followed by the subject and the remaining members of the sentence:
- Am I happy ?
- Is he a teacher (is he a teacher) ?
- Is she your daughter (is she your daughter) ?
- Is it our cat (is this our cat) ?
- Are we good children ?
- Are you good parents ?
- Are they my old friends (they are my old friends) ?
It should be borne in mind that the interrogative words " what", "what" - what; " where" - where; "when" - when; "why", "why" - why; "what time" - at what time , etc., in the interrogative sentence, if any, are taken to the very first place in the question. In other words, the question word is first put, then the form of the verb to be , then the subject and the rest of the sentence. Let's look at examples:
- Where is he ?
- What time is it now ?
- What is it ?
Pay attention to the relationship of the verb to be with the question word who (who) . It has the ability to confound students of English. So, does the question word who are or is require after itself? In this particular case, it can be compared with the third person pronoun in the singular or plural. So with who can be used both is and are :
- Who is glad ?
- Who are you ?
Verb to be in the past tense
In the past tense, this verb has only two forms ( was - " was " or were - " were "), which again depend on the person and number of the subject. With the pronouns I, he, she, it was used. Conversely, were used with we, you, they . Negative sentences in the past tense are constructed like negative ones in the present tense, only here not is added to was or were . In abbreviated form, werent and weren't .
With questions in the past tense, things are (we are talking about word order) in the same way as with questions in the present tense.
Verb to be in the future tense
The future tense with the verb to be is easiest to build. In affirmative sentences with any subject, there is only one form - will be . In negative sentences - will not be . Interrogative sentences are also constructed in the same word order as in the present tense.
The most important thing is training and fastening. You should do as many exercises as possible to select the desired form of the verb to be . Assignments exist of varying complexity and in different wordings to practice your English: is or are, am or are, was, were or will be necessary to put in place of the omissions in the sentences. They help to hone the ability to quickly determine the verb to be at all times. However, for tasks such as "insert are or is" (and the like), you should not go in cycles for a long time. You need to move on and slowly complicate.
Do not ignore tasks in which you need to translate, for example, into Russian, but more often from Russian into English. At first glance it may seem that it is very difficult, but over time the conquered peaks will seem to you a plain, and even greater heights will rise in front. The main thing is not to stop there! Go ahead and you will succeed!
We hope this information is helpful and clear to you.