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EXERCISE 2: Complete the sentences. Use an ARTICLE (an or an) and the words in the list.
animal continent insect
city country language
(c) SINGULAR: a city, a country Some singular nouns that end in -y have a special
PLURAL: cities, countries plural form. They omit the -y and add -ies.
NOUN and NOUN + ARE + NOUN Two nouns connected by and are followed by are.
(d) Canada and China are countries. In (d): Canada is a singular noun. China is a singular
noun. They are connected by and. Together they
are plural (more than one).
EXERCISE 4: Complete the sentences with is or are and one of the nouns in the list. Use the correct singular
form of the noun (using a or an) or the correct plural form.
animal country language
city insect machine
continent
PRONOUN + BE + NOUN
SINGULAR PLURAL I
PRONOUN + BE + NOUN PRONOUN + BE + NOUN you
(a) I am a student. (f) We are students. she
(b) You are a student. (g) You are students. he = pronouns
(c) She is a student. (h) They are students. it
(d) He is a student. we
(e) It is a student. they
am
is = forms of be
are
Pronouns refer to nouns.
(i) Rita is in my class. She is a student.
In (i): she (feminine) = Rita
(j) Tom is in my class. He is a student.
In (j): he (masculine) = Tom
(k) Rita and Tom are in my class. They are students.
In (k): they = Rita and Tom
EXERCISE 5: Complete the sentences. Use a VERB: am, is, or are. Use a NOUN: a student or students.
1. We are students .
2. I _______________________________.
3. Rita goes to school. She ________________________.
4. Rita and Tom go to school. They ___________________________.
5. You (one person) ________________________.
6. You (two person) ________________________.
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CONTRACTIONS WITH BE
NEGATIVE WITH BE
Ms. Black
Jim Mr. Rice
BE + ADJECTIVE
EXERCISE 8: Find the ADJECTIVE in the first sentence. Then complete the second sentence with be + an
adjective that has an opposite meaning. Use the adjectives in the list. Use each adjective only one time.
beautiful expensive open
clean fast poor
cold happy short
dangerous noisy sour
easy old tall
EXERCISE 9: Make sentences by using is are are and an ADJECTIVE from the following list. Use each adjective
only one time.
beautiful hot sour
cold important square
dry large/big sweet
flat round wet
funny small/little
1. Fire is hot
2. Ice and snow ______________________
3. A box ____________________________
4. Balls and oranges ________________________
5. Sugar ____________________________
6. An elephant _______________________, but a mouse _____________________
7. A rain forest _______________________, but a desert _____________________
8. A lemon __________________________
9. A joke ___________________________
10. Good health ________________________
11. Flowers ____________________________
12. A coin ____________________ small, round and ___________________
EXERCISE 10: Complete the sentences. Use is, isn’t, are, or aren’t.
1. A ball isn’t square.
2. Balls are round.
3. A mouse _____________ big.
4. Lemons ______________ yellow. Ripe bananas ____________ too.
5. A lemon ______________ sweet. It _______________ sour.
6. A diamond _____________ cheap.
7. Diamond _______________ expensive.
8. Apples _________________ expensive.
9. The earth _______________ flat. It _______________ round.
10. My pen _________________ heavy. It _____________ light.
11. This room _______________ dark. It ______________ light.
12. English grammar ______________ hard. It ________________ easy.
13. This exercise _______________ difficult. It ________________ easy.
14. My classmates ______________ friendly.
15. A turtle _____________ slow.
16. Airplanes ______________ slow. They ______________ fast.
17. The floor in the classroom _____________ clean.
18. The weather ______________ cold today.
19. The sun ________________ bright today.
20. Ice cream and candy _______________ sour. They ____________ sweet.
21. My shoes _______________ comfortable.
22. My desk ________________ comfortable.
23. Flowers ________________ ugly. They _______________ beautiful.
24. Traffic at rush hour _______________ noisy. It _____________ quiet.
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BE + A LOCATION
ON
IN
NEXT TO
ABOVE
BEHIND
UNDER
EXERCISE 11: Complete the sentences with PREPOSITIONS that describe the pictures. Use each preposition
one time.
above next to on
behind under between
Between
EXERCISE 12: Find the PREPOSITIONS and the PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES in the following sentences.
1. Mike is in his apartment.
in = a preposition
in his apartment = a prepositional phrase
4. My book is on my desk.
On a p
On my desk a pp
SUBJECT + BE + NOUN The noun or pronoun that comes at the beginning of a sentence is
(a) I am a student. called the “subject”.
SUBJECT + BE + ADJECTIVE
(b) He is intelligent. Be is a “verb”. Almost all English sentences have a subject and a verb.
Notice in the examples: There are three basic completions for
sentences that begin with a subject + the verb be.
SUBJECT + BE + A LOCATION
(c) We are in class. a noun, as in (a).
an adjective, as in (b).
an expression of location, as in (c).
EXERCISE 13: Write the form of be (am, is, or are) that is used in each sentence. Then write the grammar
structure that follows be.
BE COMPLETION
1. We’re students. are N (a noun)
2. Anna is in Rome. is LOC (a location
3. I’m hungry. am ADJ (an adjective)
4. Dogs are animals. Are N
5. Jack is at home. Is Loc
6. He’s sick. Is an adj
7. They’re artists. Are noun
8. I’m in class. In loc
9. China is upstairs. Is loc
10. My pockets are empty. Are an adj
EXERCISE 14: Is and are are often contracted with nouns in spoken English. Listen to your teacher say the
contractions in the following sentences and practice saying them yourself.
1. Grammar is easy. 9. My money is in my wallet. My money’s in my wallet
“Grammar’s easy.”
2. Rita is a student. Rita’s a student 10. Mr. Smith is a teacher. Mr smith’s a teacher
3. My book is on the table. My book’s on the table 11. Tom is at home now. Tom’s
at home
4. My books are on the table. They’re on the table 12. The sun is bright today.
5. The weather is cold today. The weathers is cold today 13. My roomate is from Chicago. My
roomate’s from chicago
4. A:
B: (Bob is homesick.)
5. A:
B: (Sue isn’t here today.)
6. A:
B: (The students in this class are intelligent.)
7. A:
B: (The chairs in this room aren’t comfortable.)
8. A:
B: (I’m not married.)
9. A:
B: (Tom and I are roomates.)
10. A:
B: (A butterfly is not a bird.)⁹
QUESTIONS WITH BE: USING WHERE
Where asks about location. Where comes at the beginning of the question, in front of be.
QUESTION SHORT ANSWER + (LONG ANSWER)
BE + SUBJECT
(a) Is the book on the table? Yes, it is. (The book is on the table.)
(b) Are the books on the table? Yes, they are. (The books are on the table.)
WHERE + BE + SUBJECT
(c) Where is the book? On the table. (The book is on the table.)
(d) Where are the books? On the table. (The books are on the table.)
2. A: Where is Kate?
B: At home. (Kate is at home.)
3. A:
B: Yes, it is. (Cairo is in Egypt.)
4. A:
B: In Egypt. (Cairo is in Egypt.)
5. A:
B: Yes, they are. (The students are in class today.)
6. A:
B: In class. (The students are in class today.)
7. A:
B: On Main Street. (The post office is on Main Street.)
8. A:
B: Yes, it is. (The train station is on Grand Avenue.)
9. A:
B: Over there. (The bus stop is over there.)
10. A:
B: At the zoo. (Sue and Ken are at the zoo today.)
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EXERCISE 18: Complete the sentences. Use My, your, her, his, our, or their.
1. I have a pen. My pen is blue.
2. You have a pen. __________ pen is black.
3. Kate has a pen. __________ pen is green.
4. Jim has a pen. ___________ pen is yellow.
5. Sara and I have pens. __________ pens are gray.
6. Sara and you have pens. _________ pens are red.
7. Sam and Kate have pens. _________ pens orange.
8. I have a sister. ________ sister is twenty-one years old.
9. Ann has a car. ________ car is a Ford.
10. You have a pen. __________ pen is a ballpoint.
11. Jim and you have mustaches. _________ mustaches are dark.
12. Ann and Alex have a baby. _________ baby is eight months old.
13. Alice and I have notebooks. __________ notebooks are green.
14. Ann has a brother. _________ brother is in high school.
15. Ken has a coat. _________ coat is brown.
16. We have a dog. __________ dog is gray and white.
EXERCISE 19: Complete the sentences. Use have or has. Use my, your, her, his, our, or their.
1. I have a book. My book is interesting.
2. Bob ________ a bookbag. _________ bookbag is green.
3. You ________ a raincoat. _________ raincoat is brown.
4. Kate ________ a raincoat. _________ raincoat is red.
5. Ann and Jim are married. They ________ a baby. _________ baby is six months old.
6. Ken and Sue _________ a daughter. __________ daughter is ten years old.
7. John and I _________ a son. _________ son is seven years old.
8. I _________ a brother. _________ brother is sixteen.
9. We _________ grammar books. __________ grammar books are red.
10. Tom and you _________ bookbags. __________ bookbags are green.
11. Ann _________ a dictionary. _________ dictionary is red.
12. Mike _________ a car. _________ car is blue.
EXERCISE 20: Complete the sentences with my, your, her, his, our, or their.
1. Rita is wearing a blouse. ________ blouse is light blue.
2. Tom is wearing a shirt. _________ shirt is yellow and brown.
3. I am wearing jeans. __________ jeans are blue.
4. Bob and Tom are wearing boots. ________ boots are brown.
5. Sue and you are wearing dresses. ________ dresses are red.
6. Ann and I are wearing sweaters. _________ sweaters are green.
7. You are wearing shoes. _________ shoes are dark brown.
8. Sue is wearing a skirt. _________ skirt is black.
9. John is wearing a belt. _________ belt is white.
10. Sue and Ann are wearing slacks. _________ slacks are dark gray.
11. Tom is wearing slacks. ________ slacks are dark blue.
12. I am wearing earrings. _________ earrings are gold.
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