Lesson 1

LEARN

THE VERB TO BE

The Verb "To be"

To be is the most common verb in the English language, but it doesn't always look like "be", it
changes - a lot.

Singular = 1 Plural = 1+
I am You are
You are We are
He/she/it is They are
Uses

To be can be used as an auxiliary or a main verb.

Am/Is/Are

QUESTION ? POSITIVE STATEMENT + NEGATIVE STATEMENT  -

  SINGULAR WRITTEN CONTRACTED WRITTEN CONTRACTED 
FORM OR FORM FORM OR FORM
SPOKEN (SPOKEN) SPOKEN (SPOKEN)
FOR FOR
EMPHASIS EMPHASIS

Am I? I am I'm I am not I'm not

Are you? You are You're You are not YOU'RE NOT
OR 
YOU AREN'T

Is he? He is He's He is not HE ISN'T

She is She's SHE ISN'T
Is she? It is It's She is not IT ISN'T
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Is it? It is not OR 
HE'S NOT
SHE'S NOT
IT'S NOT

  PLURAL

Are we? We are We're We are not WE AREN'T

OR 
WE'RE NOT

Are you? You are You're You are not YOU'RE NOT
OR 
YOU AREN'T

Are they? They are They're They are not THEY AREN'T
OR 
THEY'RE NOT

Examples

The verbs am / is / are are used with:-

Am/Are Is
a noun group Are you an English teacher? Mr Bean is an English
teacher.
an adjective I'm tired. She's English.
an expression of place or They're at home. It's nine o'clock.
time
an expression of age I'm 44. He's two years old.
when forming the We're learning English. She's teaching English.
present continuous tense
 

Am/Are Is
Question - ? "Am I disturbing you?" "Is this your coat?"
Positive Answer + Yes "Yes you are. We're  very busy." "Yes, it is"
Negative Answer - No "No you're not. We aren't very busy." "No, it isn't"
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FULL SHORT
FORM FORM
(WRITTEN)   (SPOKEN)

I am = I'm

you are = you're

he is = he's

she is = she's

it is = it's

are not = aren't

is not = isn't

For the teacher - Articles   For the student - Picture This 

Articles - The / A / An
There are only three articles in the English language: a, an and the.

Their actual use is a complex one especially when you get into the advanced use of English. Quite
often you have to work by what sounds right, which can be frustrating for a learner.

We usually use no article to talk about things in general - the doesn't mean all.

For
"Books are expensive." = (All books are expensive.)
example:

"The books are expensive." = (Not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking
about.)
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A AND AN

A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you
are communicating with.

You use a when the noun you are referring to begins with a consonant.

You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel.

For
"I saw an elephant at the zoo."
example:

"I ate a banana for lunch."

THE

You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you
are talking about.

For
"The apple you ate was rotten."
example:

"Did you lock the car?"

You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.

For
"She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."
example:

We also use the when we know there is only one of a particular thing.

For
the sun, the wind, the world, the North Pole etc..
example:

However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.

For
"I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."
example:

"What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."
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Learn English Through Pictures

Picture This - Articles - a / an / the

An = a, e, i, o, u

A = b, c, d, ....

This is an apple.

This is a banana.

This is a coat.

This is a dress.

This is an egg.

This is an ice cream.

This is an orange.

This is an umbrella.

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A/An or The

This is a house.

This is the house where I

live.

This is a bed.

This is the bed in my
bedroom.

This is a dress.

This is the dress that I

bought.

a or an?

a = b, c, d ... an = a, e, i, o, u
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an apple, an elephant,
a banana, a car, a
an igloo, an orange, an
dog...
umbrella

QUESTION - WHAT/WHO IS IT?

What ....? = things

Who .....? = people
"What's" = What is
"It's" = It is
"Who's" = Who is
"HELLO.
I'M LYNNE.
Who's your teacher? I'M YOUR
TEACHER."
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I am what I am One life so it's time to open up your closet.

Life's not worth a damn, till you can shout out,
"I am what I am!"

BY GLORIA
"I am what I am!"
GAYNOR
I am what I am  I am what I am,
I am my own special creation. And what I am needs no excuses.
So, come take a look  I deal my own deck;
Give me the hook  Sometimes the ace, sometimes the deuces.
Or the ovation. It's one life and there's no return and no
It's my world, deposit.
That I want to have a little pride in. One life so it's time to open up your closet.
My world, Life's not worth a damn, till you can shout out,
And it's not a place I have to hide in. "I am what I am!"
Life's not worth a damn, 
Till you can say,
"I am what I am!" I am, I am.
I am, I am, I am good!
I am what I am, I am, I am, I am strong!
I don't want praise, I don't want pity. I am, I am, I am worthy! 
I bang my own drum,  I am, I am, I belong!
Some think it's noise, I think it's pretty,
And so what if I love each sparkle, and each I am!
bangle?
Why not try to see things from a different I am!
angle?
Your life is a sham, Who whoooo etc. 
Till you can shout out,  I am...
"I am what I am!"
I am, I am, I am useful!
I am what I am, I am, I am, I am true!
And what I am needs no excuses. I am, I am somebody!
I deal my own deck, I am as good as you!
Sometimes the ace, sometimes the deuces.
It's one life, and there's no return and no Yes I am!...
deposit,
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