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1 Be: Present Simple (1)

1 Here are some examples of be in the Present 4 We use be:
Simple: � to say who we are:
Tenses:
present

This is my brother. He’s ten years old. I’m Steve and this is my friend Bill. We’re
I’m a student. These are my books. from Scotland.
They aren’t at home. They’re at the theatre. I’m Janet and these are my sisters. This is
Sandra and this is Patricia. Sandra and
2 We form the Present Simple of be like this: Patricia are doctors.
positive � to talk about the weather:
FULL FORM SHORT FORM It’s cold today.
Singular I am I’m It’s a beautiful day.
you are you’re It’s usually hot here
he/she/it is he’s/she’s/it’s It isn’t very warm today.
Plural we are we’re � to talk about the time:
you are you’re
It’s ten o’clock.
they are they’re
It’s half past four.
negative You’re late!
FULL FORM SHORT FORM
� to talk about places:
Singular I am not I’m not
Milan is in the north of Italy.
you are not you aren’t
John and Mary are in Yorkshire.
he/she/it is not he/she/it isn’t
Plural we are not we aren’t � to talk about people’s ages:
you are not you aren’t My sister is six years old.
they are not they aren’t

3 In speech, we usually use the short forms:

She’s my sister. He’s my brother.
I’m from Italy. They’re German.

Practice
A Maria is from Brazil. She is writing about herself and her family. Put full forms of be
in the gaps.
� I am a student from Brazil.
� My parents are not (not) rich.
1 My father a teacher.
2 My mother (not) Brazilian.
3 She from America.
4 I twenty years old.
5 My little brother two.
6 My older brothers (not) students.
7 They in the army.
8 It often very hot in Brazil.

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o!
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B Now fill these gaps. This time, use short forms of be, as in the examples.
� I’ m a doctor. � I’ m not (not) a bank manager.
1 She (not) a teacher. 6 It eight o’clock.
2 He a student. 7 We from Paris.
3 They at home. 8 We (not) from Bordeaux.
4 They (not) in the park. 9 You (not) twenty-one.
5 It (not) cold today. 10 I twenty-four.

C Choose words from the box to put in the gaps.

He’s She’s They’re It’s (x2) are is We isn’t

� My parents live in Scotland. They’re teachers.

1 New York in England. in America.
2 Paul from Germany. German.
3 My sister is a doctor. thirty years old.
4 six o’clock! are late.
5 Look at the time! Chris and Mary late.

D Look at these pictures. These people are saying who they are. Write sentences,
choosing the correct jobs from the box, as in the example.
a pop star a farmer a bank manager a footballer a dentist a doctor
a policeman an artist a teacher a film star a scientist a photographer

� names: I’m Paolo and this is Federico.

nationality: We’re from Italy.
jobs: I’m a policeman and Federico is a footballer.

1 names:
nationality
jobs:

2 names:
nationality:
jobs:

3 names:
nationality:
jobs:

4 names:
nationality:
jobs:

5 names:
nationality:
jobs:

TENSES: PRESENT • PAGE 3

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PAGES 2,3,20,46,60 FROM THIS DOC 02/09/05 06:06 Page 2

1 Be: Present Simple (1)

1 Here are some examples of be in the Present 4 We use be:
Simple: � to say who we are:
Tenses:
present

This is my brother. He’s ten years old. I’m Steve and this is my friend Bill. We’re
I’m a student. These are my books. from Scotland.
They aren’t at home. They’re at the theatre. I’m Janet and these are my sisters. This is
Sandra and this is Patricia. Sandra and
2 We form the Present Simple of be like this: Patricia are doctors.
positive � to talk about the weather:
FULL FORM SHORT FORM It’s cold today.
Singular I am I’m It’s a beautiful day.
you are you’re It’s usually hot here
he/she/it is he’s/she’s/it’s It isn’t very warm today.
Plural we are we’re � to talk about the time:
you are you’re
It’s ten o’clock.
they are they’re
It’s half past four.
negative You’re late!
FULL FORM SHORT FORM
� to talk about places:
Singular I am not I’m not
Milan is in the north of Italy.
you are not you aren’t
John and Mary are in Yorkshire.
he/she/it is not he/she/it isn’t
Plural we are not we aren’t � to talk about people’s ages:
you are not you aren’t My sister is six years old.
they are not they aren’t

3 In speech, we usually use the short forms:

She’s my sister. He’s my brother.
I’m from Italy. They’re German.

Practice
A Maria is from Brazil. She is writing about herself and her family. Put full forms of be
in the gaps.
� I am a student from Brazil.
� My parents are not (not) rich.
1 My father a teacher.
2 My mother (not) Brazilian.
3 She from America.
4 I twenty years old.
5 My little brother two.
6 My older brothers (not) students.
7 They in the army.
8 It often very hot in Brazil.

EE fr
FR
Gram
om

to g mar
o!
PAGE 2 • TENSES: PRESENT

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PAGES 2,3,20,46,60 FROM THIS DOC 02/09/05 06:07 Page 3

EE fr
FR
Gram

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o!
B Now fill these gaps. This time, use short forms of be, as in the examples.
� I’ m a doctor. � I’ m not (not) a bank manager.
1 She (not) a teacher. 6 It eight o’clock.
2 He a student. 7 We from Paris.
3 They at home. 8 We (not) from Bordeaux.
4 They (not) in the park. 9 You (not) twenty-one.
5 It (not) cold today. 10 I twenty-four.

C Choose words from the box to put in the gaps.

He’s She’s They’re It’s (x2) are is We isn’t

� My parents live in Scotland. They’re teachers.

1 New York in England. in America.
2 Paul from Germany. German.
3 My sister is a doctor. thirty years old.
4 six o’clock! are late.
5 Look at the time! Chris and Mary late.

D Look at these pictures. These people are saying who they are. Write sentences,
choosing the correct jobs from the box, as in the example.
a pop star a farmer a bank manager a footballer a dentist a doctor
a policeman an artist a teacher a film star a scientist a photographer

� names: I’m Paolo and this is Federico.

nationality: We’re from Italy.
jobs: I’m a policeman and Federico is a footballer.

1 names:
nationality
jobs:

2 names:
nationality:
jobs:

3 names:
nationality:
jobs:

4 names:
nationality:
jobs:

5 names:
nationality:
jobs:

TENSES: PRESENT • PAGE 3

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Oxford Practice Grammar LINK Basic

Unit 1 ‘Be’: Present Simple

Lesson length 45 minutes
Preparation You will need: thick paper or card and ‘blu tack’, or a similar adhesive.
Before the lesson, write out the following words in large print on to the thick paper
or card, ready to stick them on the board in Exercise C:

He’s She’s They’re It’s You’re is We I’m

Photocopy the worksheet (at the end of the lesson plan) for Exercise A. You will
need half as many worksheets as there are students in your class. Cut them in half
so that Student 1 and Student 2 sections are separate.
Demonstration Walk around the classroom using sentences that include be in the Present Simple.
Use your surroundings and the students for inspiration where possible, e.g.:
I’m Claire.
I’m a teacher.
These are my books.
I’m Claire and this is my student, Steve.
We’re from England.
I’m Claire and these are my students.
This is Steven and this is Kate.
Kate is a policewoman.
It’s cold today.
It’s a beautiful day.
It isn’t very warm today.
It’s three o’clock.
My sister is six years old.
Milan is in the north of Italy.
Explanation Write the forms of be in the Present Simple (as set out in the tinted area in the
book) on the board. Write that we use be:
• to say who we are (repeating I’m Claire. I’m a teacher.)
• to talk about the weather (repeating It’s cold today. It’s a beautiful day.)
• to talk about the time (continuing to repeat the sentences used while walking
round the class)
• to talk about places
• to talk about people’s ages.
When the students are familiar with the rules, write the following practice sentences
on the board and ask students what form of be should be used in the gaps.

ß I __________________ a student from Brazil.

ß My brother __________________ seventeen years old.
ß My parents __________________ (not) rich.
ß It __________________ three o’clock.
ß It __________________ (not) cold today.

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Unit 1 ‘Be’: Present Simple

Practice Exercise A (pairs)

Give half the students in the class a Student 1 section of the worksheet and the other
half a Student 2 section.
Each student should attempt to fill in the gaps on their sheet.
Then they should get their partner to test them and tell them whether they are right.
At the end of the exercise, go through the sheet with the whole class, to make sure
that they all have a correct set of answers.

Exercise B (whole class)

Ask students to do Exercise B in the book. While they are working, write the
following exercise on the board.
Each of these sentences contains a mistake with the verb be:
I isn’t Carl.
Kate not a policewoman.
My sister are three years old.
They not doctors.
It are four o’clock.
These isn’t my books.
Milan no is in the south of Italy.
We from Warsaw.
You is a student.
We are no German.
Get students to come to the front of the class and correct the sentences. You could
do this exercise as a team game and award points for each correct sentence.
NOTE: If students find this exercise too challenging, try underlining the mistakes in
each sentence.

Exercise C1 (whole class)

Now move on to using pronouns with be. Write the following sentences on the board:
1 My parents live in Scotland. ­­­­­__________________ teachers.
2 Paul ­­­­­__________________ from Germany. ­­­­­__________________ German.
3 My sister is a doctor. ­­­­­__________________ thirty years old.
4 ­­­­­__________________ six o’clock! ­­­­­__________________ are late.
5 Hurry up Mary! ­­­­­__________________ late for school.
6 My name’s Jill. ­­­­­__________________ from England.
Using your blu tack, stick your previously prepared words around the edge of the
board. Get students to come to the front of the class, pick one of the words, and
put it in one of the gaps.

Exercise C2 (whole class, then pairs)

This exercise extends the practice of pronouns with be provided in the book and
gives students an opportunity to use the grammar to talk about themselves and
their families.

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Unit 1 ‘Be’: Present Simple

MARCO ANNA
(a teacher, aged about 45) (a doctor, aged about 45)

GIOVANNI DONATELLA
(an artist, aged about 20) (a school student, aged about 14)

Draw this simple family tree and make up sentences about the people, e.g.:
Anna and Marco are Donatella’s parents. They’re Italian.
Anna is a doctor. She’s from Rome.
Marco isn’t from Rome. He’s from Milan.
Now write Donatella’s explanation on the board, e.g.:
My name’s Donatella. _____________ fourteen years old and _____________ a student.
This is my brother, Giovanni. _____________ an artist.
Anna is my mother. _____________ a doctor. Marco is my father. _____________ a teacher.
_____________ from Italy. _____________ from Spain.
Get students to come to the board and complete the gaps with the correct pronoun
and the correct negative or positive form of be.
Ask the students to draw and label their own family tree. When they have finished,
arrange them in pairs to describe their family to their partner.

Exercise D (pairs)
Ask the students to do Exercise D in the book; then extend the practice with this exercise.
Write name, nationality, job on the board.
Ask one or two students to talk about themselves using the Present Simple of be.
Write the names of some famous people around the edge of the board, for example:
• George Bush
• Maria Sharapova
• Claudia Schiffer
• Gerard Depardieu
• David Beckham
• Ulrika Johnsson
• Silvio Berlusconi
• Penelope Cruz
• Shakira
NOTE: If you want to add your own, make sure there’s a
mix of professions and nationalities.

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Unit 1 ‘Be’: Present Simple

Get the students to pretend that they are introducing their partner to their famous
friend (one of the famous people on the board). They need to give full sentences
to describe the famous person’s name, nationality, and job, e.g.:
This is Shakira.
She’s from Columbia.
She’s a singer.

Extra
If there is any time left at the end of the class, get students to write sentences in
their notebooks about each famous person on the board.
OR
Display the students’ family trees around the classroom and get the students to
walk around and read some of them, then ask them to tell you about another
student’s family.

from
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Unit 1 ‘Be’: Present Simple

Worksheet
Student 1 Questions

1 My father _________________ a teacher.

2 My mother _________________ (not) Brazilian.

3 She _________________ fr om America.

4 I _________________ twenty years old.

Answers for Student 2’s questions:

5 is
6 are not
7 are
8 is

"

Student 2 Questions

5 My little brother _________ two.

6 My older brothers _________ (not) students.

7 They _________ in the army.

8 It _________ often very hot in Brazil.

Answers for Student 1’s questions:

1 is
2 is not
3 is
4 am

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