Grammar - The verb 'to be'

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

The Present Simple

Grammar

The verb - to be

The Present Simple

To be

In the present tense, the verb 'to be' (zijn) is used in the following patterns: 

1. with a noun:

Donald Trump is the president of the US.

Miss Penning and Mrs Corrigan are English teachers.

2. with an adjective:

This soup is very tasty.

The children are good.

The Present Simple

The verb to be can be used in a shortened form?

This is used when we speak in English and nowadays, it is also common to see it in written English (although not in formal letters and texts). 

It is difficult.                   or           It's difficult.

She is on holiday.         or          She's on holiday.

He is a hard worker.     or           He's a hard worker.

I am tired.                       or           I'm tired.

We are students.          or           We're students.  *

They are funny.             or          They're funny.

You are my friend.       or           You're my friend.  *

The Present Simple

Be careful with some of the shortened forms: 

You're =  You are 

Your    =  That something belongs to you

We're    =   We are

Were     =   past tense of are

Where  =   what place (Where are you?)

Now you practice with the drag and drop exercise

1. I am studying English.

2. He are walking the dog.

3. We is in the classroom.

4. She is good at football.

5. They are my parents.

Correct

Incorrect

(not correct)

1

2

3

4

5

The Present Simple

Write five sentences using the verb to be 

Can you use the shortened form as well? 

Show them to your partner.

Great work!

Timmy

in H1X.

They

never on time.

That dog  

very fast.

I 

always early for school.

Those boys

very noisy.

are

is

is

are

am

The Present Simple

Questions

How do we make a question with the verb 'to be' ?

If the first verb in the sentence is am, is, or are, you switch it with the subject.

She is very beautiful.  becomes  Is she very beautiful?

'Is' switched places with the subject. 

She is my best friend.

she 

my best friend?

Do

Does

Is

Be

Am

Are

Did

They are at the club every Tuesday evening.

they

at the club every Tuesday evening?

Do

Does

Is

Be

Am

Are

Did

You are doing great!

Take a moment to relax with this short minions clip!

The Present Simple

Negations

Again, the verb 'to be' is special. 

If the first verb in the sentence is am, is or are, you can just add not. You don't need do or don't in that case.

I am an English teacher. 

Becomes 

I am not an English teacher.

The Present Simple

Negations

For the next exercise, turn the normal sentences using to be, into negative sentences. Pay attention to capital letters, and full stops, and the shortened form!

                                    Use short forms!

I am           = i'm not  

are not         = aren't      

she is not    = she isn't.       

They are not = They're not   /     They aren't

We are not    =   We're not     /      We aren't

I am a very happy person.

He is almost deaf.

They are at the pool every week.

We are not at school on Saturday.

Congratulations! 

You have finished this lesson.

What have you learnt in this lesson?

What have you found difficult in this lesson?

The Present Simple

The verb 'to be'