Unit 1 Introductions & basic vocabulary

The alphabet

Numbers
Cardinal Numbers:

Ordinal Numbers:

Dates
The Calendar

1. Year
Nineteen ninety-nine
2. Month
January
February
March
April
May
June

July
August
September
October
November
December

3. Day
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday

Thursday
Friday
Saturday

4. Day
January 2, 1999
1/2/1999
January second, nineteen ninety-nine

Common ways of giving the date

Written

Spoken

July 18, 1992

(Br) July the eighteenth, nineteen ninety-two

(Am) July eighteenth, nineteen ninety-two

18 July 1992

the eighteenth of July, nineteen ninety- two

Dates may be written using numbers only (notice the difference between British and
American styles). They are spoken as above, and also:
(Br) 18/7/92 or 18/07/92 or 18.7.92
DAY-MONTH-YEAR

the eighteenth of the seventh, ninety-two

eighteen, seven, ninety-two

(Am) 7/18/92 or 07/18/92

MONTH-DAY-YEAR

seven, eighteen, ninety-two

* Sometimes when writing the full date people use the forms 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 18th, 31st and so
on. This is becoming old-fashioned.
* The year is usually read two numbers at a time: 1950- nineteen fifty; 1809- eighteen o
nine. But notice: 1900- nineteen hundred; 2001- two thousand and one .The first two
numbers of the year are sometimes omitted: Where were you in 82?
* Some months may be written in a short form: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept,
Oct, Nov, Dec.
* Dates before the year 0 are followed by BC (abbreviation for before Christ). For dates
after 0 the letters AD (abbreviation for anno Domini) are put before or after the number,
when this is necessary: The Roman poet Ovid (43BC-18AD)
Exercises
Complete and answer the following statements
1) What year is it?
Its ___________
2) What month is it?
Its___________
3) What day is it?
Its __________
4) Whats todays date?
Its __________
5) When is your birthday?
My birthday is on ______________
6) What is your favorite month of the year?
________________________________

Verb To Be
Forms:
Affirmative

Negative

Interrogative

I am (Im)
You are (Youre)
He is (He isnt)
She is (she isnt)
It is (Its)
We are (were)
You are (youre)
They are (theyre)

I am not (Im not)

you are not (youre not)
he is not (he isnt)
she is not (she isnt)
it is not (it isnt)
we are not (were not)
you are not (youre not)
they are not (theyre not)

am I?
are you?
is he?
is she?
is it?
are we?
are you?
are they?

Examples:

Im cold. Can you close the window, please?

Im 32 years old. My sister is 29.

My brother is very tall. Hes a policeman.
John is afraid of dogs.
Its ten oclock. Youre late again.
Ann and I are good friends.
Your keys are on the table.
Im tired but Im not hungry.
Tom isnt at home at the moment. Shes at work.
Those people arent English. Theyre Australian.
Its sunny today but it isnt warm.

Thats=that is

theres=there is

heres=here is

Thank you. Thats very kind of you.

Look! Theres Chris.
Heres your key. Thank you.
To make questions with verb To Be we can also use the following wh- words:
Where?

What?

Who?

How?

Why?

Wheres your mother? Is she at home?

What colour is your car? Its red.
How are your parents? Are they well?
How much are these postcards? Fifty pence.
Where are you from? Canada.
How old is Joe? Hes 24.
Why are you angry?
Whats=what is
whos=who is hows=how is
Whats the time?

wheres=where is

 Wheres Jill?
Whos that man?
Hows your father?
Short answers
Yes, I am
[ he ]
Yes, [ she ] is
[ it ]
[ we ]
Yes, [ you ] are
[ they]

No, Im not
[hes ]
No, [shes] not
[its ]
[were ]
No, [youre] not
[theyre]

or
or

[he ]
No, [she] isnt
[it ]
[we ]
No [you ] arent
[they]

Are you tired? Yes, I am

Are you hungry? No, Im not but Im thirsty
Is your friend English? Yes, he is.
Are these your keys? Yes, they are.
Thats my seat No, it isnt

Exercises
a) Write the short form
1) She is_______
4) That is_______

2) They are_______
5) I am not_______

3) I am not _______
6) you are not____

b) Put in am, is or are.

1) The weather_____ nice today.
2) I_____ not tired.
3) This bag______ heavy.
4) These bags______ heavy.
5) Look! There______ Carol.
6) My brother and I______ good tennis players.
7) Ann_____ at home. Her children_____ at school.
8) I______ a taxi driver. My sister______ a nurse.
c) Write full sentences. Use is/isnt/are/arent.
1) (your shoes very clean) _________________________________
2) (my sister a secretary) ___________________________________
3) (this house not very big) _________________________________
4) (the shops not open today)________________________________
5) (my keys in my bag)_____________________________________
6) (Jenny 18 years old)_____________________________________
7) (you not very tall)________________________________________
d) Make questions with these words. Use is or are.

1) (at home/your mother?) ____________________________________

2) (your parents/well?)______________________________________
3) (interesting/your job?)____________________________________
4) (the shops/open today?)__________________________________
5) (interested in sport/you?) _________________________________
6) (near here/the post office?) _______________________________
7) (at school/your children?) _________________________________
8) (why/you/late?) _________________________________________
Personal Information
Surname
First name
Country
Job/occupation
Address
Phone number
Age
E-mail address
Marital status

Exercises