Be

Use: Use be with: Names Your age Hello, Im John. How old are you? Im 17. London is in England. The Pyramids are in Egypt. The bank is one kilometre from here. This hotel is nice. Im hungry. Im a student. My parents are doctors. This is my sister. Ann and Tom are my children. Jess is a dog. Hamlet is a play. Thats a nice dress. Shes a good actor.

Places

Adjectives

Jobs and family

Other Nouns adjective + noun Form: Positive sentences I You / We / They He / She / It Negative Sentences I You / We / They He / She / It Questions Am Are Is Short answers Yes, I am. you are. he / she / it is. we are. they are.

am / m are / re is / s

cold / hungry a student / a teacher at home / in the kitchen

am not / m not are not / arent / re not is not / isnt / s not

cold / hungry a student / a teacher at home / in the kitchen

I you / we / they he / she / it

cold / hungry? a student / a teacher? at home / in the kitchen?

No,

Im not. you arent / youre not. he isnt / hes not. we arent / were not. they arent / theyre not.

Contractions The verb be has a full form and a contracted form. I am = Im He is = Hes We normally use the contracted form (m / s / re) in speaking and informal writing. We write the words in full in formal writing. You can only use one contraction at a time: eg: He isnt Hes not but NOT Hesnt You can contract be after pronouns (I, you, she etc) and names. You can contract is after question words. What is your name? => Whats your name? But do not contract are after question words. Where are you from? => Wherere you from?

Do not contract short answers: Yes, I am NOT Yes, Im Common mistakes 1. In English, every sentence must have a verb. Some students write sentences with no verb. I very hungry. => Im very hungry My brother in his bedroom. => My brother is in his bedroom. 2. Some students write questions incorrectly. She is your sister? => Is she your sister?