“ To be or not to be… that is

the question.”

To Be

This is one of the most important verbs in
English. We use it to talk about age,
nationality, jobs, emotions, the weather,
time, etc …

Simple Present Tense

I

am

You

are

He

is

She

is

*It

is

We

are

You

are

+They

are

*

It is used for places, animals or things not for people. Except in the case of a baby when

the sex (male or female) is unknown or not specified.
+

They is used for people or things (plural form).

A:

about jobs (occupations)

Substitute using other jobs you know.

I am a/an

dentist

.

ex. Nurse, singer, dancer, painter

You are a

plumber

.

secretary, architect, journalist,

She is an

engineer .

receptionist, banker, farmer

He is a

doctor .

police officer, firefighter

We are

technicians

They are

teachers .

You are

politicians

.

Key Question :

What do you do ?

What does she do?

What do they do ?

1. I am a/an ________________ .

2. You are a/an

____________ .

3. He is a/ an ________________ .

4. She is a/ an ____________ .

5. We are _________________ .

6. They are

____________ .

** Practice asking question about professions.

THE ALPHABET

A B C

D E F

ei

bi

si

di

i

ef

G H I

J

K L

yi

eich

ai

yei

que

el

M N O

P

Q R

em

en

ou

pi

quiu ar

S

T U

V W X

es

ti

iu

vi dobol-iu ex

Y Z

uay

zi

The vowels:

A,E,I,O,U

sometimes Y

B-

top and bottom

lips together

V-

Bottom lip

between teeth

B :

about age

He is 5 years old .

or

He is 5.

or

He is five years old. or

He is five.

*Not He is 5 years. or

He is five years.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Key Question :

How old are you ? How old is she ?

How old are they ?

Substitute the age in the blank and practice with other students or your teacher.

1. I am ___________________ .

5. We are _____________ and ________________

2. He is

___________________ .

6. My brothers are ___________ and

__________ .

3. You are

___________________ .

7. My friend is ____________ .

4. She is

___________________ .

8. They are ______________ and ____________ .

9. How _______ are __________ ?

10. How old ______ Michael ?

How old are you ?

I am 12 years old.

How old is your baby ?

She is 6 months old.

Cultural note :

It is be considered impolite to ask women their ages.

C:

about nationality

He is from

Canada

. (country)

He is

Canadian

. (nationality)

They are from

Mexico

.

They are

Mexican

.

She is from France.

She is French

You are from Japan.

You are Japanese.

We are American.

We are from The United States.

He is from mars .

She is from The Philippines.

She is Filipino

He is a Martian.

I am from Greece.

I am Greek.

We are from Mexico!

We are Mexican

!

Key Question :

Where are you from ?

What is your nationality ?

Class Activity :

Substitute the following information and practice asking questions to each

Country

Germany

Spain

China

Thailand

The Netherlands

India

Nationality

German

Spanish Chinese Thai

Dutch

Indian

D :

with adjectives

I am happy.
She is sad.
We are sick.
They are cold.
You are sleepy.
It is hot.
The books are bigs. (incorrect)
The books are big. (correct)
*Adjectives are never plural in English;
ex. Mr. and Mrs. Presley are cleans.
(incorrect)
Mr. and Mrs. Presley are clean. (correct)

Key Questions :

How is she ?

Is he happy ?Are you mad ?

Using the following adjectives substitute them into sentences

.

expensive, dirty, clean, mad, hungry,
thirsty, beautiful, handsome, difficult
easy, open, closed, pretty, cheap.

1. I am

____________ .

5. The book is

__________.

2. They are ___________ .

6. David is

__________.

3. You are

___________ .

7. Sheila is

__________.

4. Mr. White is _________ ..

8. The car is

__________.

**Practice asking question using some of these adjective and answering
using YES or NO in sentences.

Yes and No Formation

I

am

not

You

are

not

She

is

not

He

is

not

It

is

not

We

are

not

You

are

not

They

are

not

Contractions

Subject & Verb

Verb & Negation

I am

= I’m

is not = isn’t

You are

= You’re

are not = aren’t

He is

= He’s

She is

= She’s

It is

= It’s

*Contractions are often used in English.

We are

= We’re

They are

= They’re

Ex.

It is not = It isn’t

You are not = You aren’t

I am not = I’m not

or It’s not

or You’re not.

am´t (does not exist)

Ex.

Are they angry ?
Yes, they are

or No, they aren’t.

I

am

not

You

are

not

She

is

not

He

is

not

It

is

not

We

are

not

You

are

not

They

are

not

Use the verb “to be” in these questions.

1.- _________________ I sleping?
2.- _________________ Sally working?
3.- _________________ Julie a teacher?
4.- _________________ they doctors?
5.- _________________ that a dog?
6.- _________________ she walking?
7.- _________________ that cat in the tree?
8.- _________________ this a book?

Change these sentences to the negative form.

1.- This is a new book. ______________________________________________________

2.- Bill is Mexican. _________________________________________________________

3.- We are busy today. _______________________________________________________

4.- This is a difficult exercise. _________________________________________________

5.- We are Mexicans. ________________________________________________________

6.- It is a small book. ________________________________________________________

7.- I am a teacher. __________________________________________________________

8.- Helen and Mary are sisters. ________________________________________________

9.- You are a good student. ___________________________________________________

10.- This is a pencil. ________________________________________________________

Complete the sentences with the forms of the verb “to be”.

1.- Mr. Jones ___________________ a man.

2.- They _____________________ doctors.

3.- _______________ you an English teacher?

4.- I _______________ a football player.

5.- He _________________ Mexican.

6.- She _________________ an American.

7.- You ______________ students.

Practice time

E :

about martial status

I am married.
You are single.
She is widowed.
They are divorced.
We are engaged.
He is separated.

***All of these words are adjectives even though they end in ED

not to be confused with regular past tense verbs. ( chapter 8)

Key Questions :

Are you married ?

Are you single ?

Are you divorced ?

Practice :

Is she married ?

Are they engaged ?

Is he separated ?

Yes, she is.

Yes, they are.

Yes, he is.

No, she isn’t.

No, they aren’t.

No, he isn’t.

Substitute into these sentences :

1. Are you ________________­ ?

4. Yes, I ______ .

2. Is _____ single ?

5. No, ______ isn’t .

3. ________ they divorced ?

6. ______, they are.

Cultural note :

It may be considered impolite or insensitive to ask someone directly if they are

divorced, separated .or widowed. Usually we ask if the person is married or single and they will offer
the answer.

Interview 6 students in the class and record the answers in the following
chart:

*If you do not have 6 students in your class, you can use famous people or friends.

Name :

Single

Married

Divorced

Engaged

Widowed

**Practice asking and answering questions using the verb to be with
professions, nationalities, countries, ages, martial status and adjectives

Question Formation

Am

I

Are

you

Is

she

Is

he

Is

it

Are

we

Are

you

Are

they

Ex.

Is he a doctor?

Are they from Mexico?

Are you Chinese ?

Yes, he is.

Yes, they are.

Yes, I am.

No, he isn’t.

No, they aren’t.

No, I’m not.

Is she pretty?

Is it small?

Are they slow?

Yes, she is.

Yes, it is.

Yes, they are.

No, she isn’t.

No, it isn’t.

No, they aren’t.

Some new vocabulary :

Turkey, Guatemala, Egypt, Russia, Portugal, Cuba, Indonesia, Ethiopia,
Turkish, Guatemalan, Egyptian, Russian, Portuguese, Cuban, Indonesian, Ethiopian,
lawyer, architect, waitress, lifeguard, singer, carpenter, sales representative, writer,
Comfortable, difficult, lazy, sexy, dry, wet, unhappy, angry, nervous, tall, young, old

F:

Introductions using names, ages and professions

Hello, my name is Karen.

Hi, I’m Ron.

I am 33 years old.

I’m 35 years old.

I am an English teacher.

I’m a travel agent.

Key Questions :

What’s your name ?

What’s his name ?

What’s her name ?

Conversation practice :

Practice and then use your own information

Silvia: Hi, my name is Silvia. What’s your name?

Michael : My name is Michael ?
Silvia : Where are you from ?
Michael: I’m from Canada. What about you ?
Silvia : I’m from Mexico. Nice to meet you.
Michael : Nice to meet you, too. What do you do ?
Silvia : I teach Spanish. What about you ?
Michael : Wow I teach English.

G :

using “TO BE” with weather

It is rainy.

It is hot.

It is dry. It is really hot.

.

Key Questions :

Is it rainy ? Is it sunny ?

Is it cloudy ?

Look at the following pictures and describe the weather.

.