How to use the word is and are in a sentence

In what cases are. when to put the verb to be in English

Knowledge of English opens many doors. That is why it is actively studied in almost all countries of the world. Currently, over a billion people around the planet use this language on an ongoing basis.

This number includes those for whom English is their native language, as well as those who use it as a foreign language: for contacts with business partners, communication with foreign friends, various kinds of entertainment and, in fact, study.

In general, learning any of the foreign languages ​​increases mental activity, logical and abstract thinking, as well as the ability to navigate unexpected situations.

How to master English grammar

For many learners of the English language, its grammatical structure presents a certain difficulty.

In reality, there is nothing complicated there (especially if you compare, for example, with the Russian language!), It is enough to understand important regularities once and remember the basic forms well.

However, memorization comes in the process of practice: doing exercises, reading, writing letters or essays, oral communication. The best way to master English grammar is to do it naturally.

It often happens that a person knows the rule, but cannot apply it in his speech. Such difficulties are eliminated by practice — and the larger and more varied it is (writing, reading, speaking, listening), the faster and better the result.

Remember also that each person has his own, purely individual, pace of mastering new knowledge and the ability to apply them in the practice of his own speech. For example, if you are studying in a group where some students learn grammar rules faster and more correctly than you, you should not lose heart. you, too, will one day start speaking English confidently and without mistakes. The main thing is to keep training.

Verb forms «is» / «are»: use in speech

If you have recently started to study English, then you are familiar with the following situation: you want to say something, but the fear of making a mistake interferes, causes shyness. To avoid this, try to understand the rule and, most importantly, practice more in the exercises.

One of the frequent grammatical difficulties arises when the verb connectives «is» / «are» are confused. The use of data to be (to be) depends solely on the person of the pronoun in each case. We are talking about a pronoun that performs the function of a subject. For example:

I am a student. — I am a student (student).

If the subject is a noun or a proper noun, then you need to mentally replace it with the corresponding pronoun. Then the conjugation scheme will surely pop up in your memory, including the connecting verbs «is» / «are», the use of which is often difficult.

Kate (?) A student -> She is a student.

To be sure exactly which form of the verb to put, you need to firmly memorize the principle of conjugation.

to be (in the present)

Statement

Denial

Question

Cases such as the use of «is» in English usually refer to descriptive situations. When we want to characterize something that is singular (can be replaced with the pronoun it), or someone who acts as “he” or “she” — then, no doubt, we should use the form “is”. Examples:

It is great. — (It is perfectly.

He is old. — He is old.

Source: https://expanc.ru/v-kakih-sluchayah-stavitsya-are-kogda-stavitsya-glagol-to-be-v-angliiskom/

Verb to be: rule (am, is, are) in English, forms, conjugation, tables — SPEAK ENGLISH

01.07.2019

Home »English for Beginners» The verb to be — to be

It is with this verb that you need to start learning English grammar. Verbs in English do not change by person, but the verb to be is an exception.

With the help of this verb, we will learn how to make simple sentences that do not contain a verb in Russian, for example, «I am a student», «he is at home», «this is interesting», etc. In English, it is unacceptable to compose without a verb that performs an action, and to be serves as a linking verb.

For example, to say “I am a student”, we have to insert the necessary form of the linking verb to be and, as a result, the sentence will acquire the meaning “I am a student” — “I (am) a student”. 

Present tense forms of the verb to be

In the present tense, the verb to be has three forms: AM, IS, ARE:

• Remember: to be and AM, IS, ARE are not 4 different, but forms of the same verb:

(We hope our dragon will help you remember this)

Consider how the verb to be changes in the present tense

Affirmative form 

• We are friends — we are friends
• They are busy — they are busy
• The book is thick — the book is thick
• It is a cat
• She is clever — she is smart

                                              negative form 

To form a negative conjugation of a given verb, you need to put a negative particle «not» after one of the required forms of the verb (am, is or are). Here are some examples of a negative sentence:

• I am not hungry
• He is not busy
• The room is not big

                                           Interrogative form

To form an interrogative form, you need to put the appropriate form of the verb (am, is or are) at the beginning of the sentence:

• Are you Peter? — Are you Pete?
• This room? — Is this a room?
• Are you hungry? — Are you hungry?
• He is busy? — Is he busy?

• To understand how verbs live in English, let’s first recall at least one verb of the Russian language in its initial form, for example, the verb «to live». As you know, the verbs of the Russian language in the initial form end in «-т», and later, when conjugated, the ending changes. As far as English is concerned, the verb in its initial form is used together with the to particle, for example, we say to be — wouldthe, findtheXia, i.e. if the particle to precedes the verb, this means that the verb is in the initial form, and when the verb is used with persons, this particle is omitted. Let’s give an example: «To be or not to be» — there are two verbs in the sentence — and both are in the initial form, and they must be used together with the to particle, and, accordingly, we will translate into English as «to be or not to be». If we have before us the sentence “I (am) a student”, i.e. we have changed the verb to match the subject, then the to is dropped and the proper form of the verb is used, in this case am.
• Unlike the verb to be, the rest of the verbs in English are not conjugated, for example, the verbs “to live, sit, love” in the initial form in English are translated “to live, to sit, to love”, ie with particle to , and when conjugated — without to , for example, “I live, sit, love” into English will be translated as “I live, sit, love”, ie initial form of a verb in English without particle to not used, but when conjugating to goes down. The initial form in English is called Infinitive. 

More about the particle to see our video tutorial:

Verb conjugations tobe in present time

Now let’s learn how the verb to be changes (conjugates) in the present tense. As mentioned above, in Russian, sentences like «I am a student, she is a doctor, we are workers» are formed without a predicate verb. But to translate these sentences into English, you need to put the appropriate form to be after the subject — “I am a pupil, she is a doctor, we are workers”.

Note the translation of the following sentences in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms into English:

Verb conjugations tobe in the past and future tense

In the past tense, the verb to be distinguishes between two forms — was and were (was, was, were)

In the future tense, the verb to be conjugated as follows

Note: In modern English, the form shall is of little use to form the future tense of verbs (although its use is not a grammatical error), the form will is used for all persons. Therefore, sometimes there is a discrepancy in different textbooks.

To summarize, consider the following table:

Here are some commonly used verb expressions to be which you should learn and conjugate yourself using the conjugation table: 

• To be happy / unhappy — to be happy / unhappy
• To be glad — to be joyful
• To be hungry / to be full up– to be hungry / full
• To be fond of — to love, to be carried away by something
• To be busy — be busy
• To be late (for) — be late (for)
• To be in time for — to be on time
• To be present at — to be present at (for example, in a lesson)
• To be absent (from) — to be absent
• To be married — to be married
• To be single — to be single / not married
• To be lucky — to be lucky
• To be ready (for) — to be ready (for, for example, a lesson)
• To be afraid (of) — to be afraid
• To be interested (in) — to be interested in something
• To be ill / well — to be ill / to feel good
• To be angry (with) — angry, angry (at someone)

Let’s conjugate together the expression to be married in the affirmative, interrogative, and negative sentences. What did you do?

Conjugation / declension of the English verb to be (convenient conjugation table)

The verb is one of the main in the English language, since the ability to use the verb in speech helps to communicate at the initial stage of language learning without any particular difficulties! The verb “to be” can be translated as “to be” or “is”, “exists”.

Examples of using «to be»:

I am ready. — I’m ready.
Forbidden fruit is sweet. — The Forbidden fruit is sweet.
we will be I Spain next week. — We
will be in Spain next week.

Source: https://ekaterina-alexeeva.ru/drugoe/glagol-to-be-pravilo-am-is-are-v-anglijskom-yazyke-formy-spryazhenie-tablitsy.html

The use of am is are a rule table, in English

›Grammar›

Hello, friends. Many people make the mistake of not using auxiliary verbs AM, IS, ARE in the present tensewhen you need them. In our lesson, we will dwell in detail on am, is, are, we will analyze situations when these three words need to be inserted into a sentence.

At the end of the lesson, you can take a test and test yourself. As I said, AM, IS, ARE are needed in the present tense.

These three words are verb forms TO BE, which translates as «to be». AM, IS, ARE can be translated as «is», but almost always in Russian these verbs are omitted altogether in speech. Hence the difficulties arise.

Some theory

As you probably know, in English we are obliged to use both subject and predicate in a sentence. In other words, in any sentence there is always the author of the action (who?) — this is the subject.

And there is an action produced by it (what does it do?) — this is a predicate. This is very important for understanding the English grammar system in general.

But now we will focus on the present tense. In Russian, when an action is not specified, we understand that the situation takes place in the present tense.

For example: Coldly. Rain. I’m under an umbrella.

Each of these sentences has no verb, no explicit action. But reading them, we understand that all this is happening in the present.

Now let’s consider how an English-speaking person sees this situation: [This state is] cold. [This state is] rainy. I [am] under the umbrella.

“This state” — “it” is the subject. By the way, it is also called «formal subject». Because it is necessary exclusively for grammatical construction, and does not make any sense.

Note! In the third sentence from our example, the subject is — this is the word «I», the author of the action. As you might have guessed, the action that is present in each of the examples is the verb “is” — a variant of the verb “to be”, “to be in a state”.

Let’s remember the rule: Where there is no visible action in Russian, there is action in English.

Usually, this applies to the present time. In Russian, for the past and future tense we call action.

Example in the past tense: It was coldly. There was rain. I AM was under the umbrella. An example in the future tense: Will coldly. Will rain. I AM will under the umbrella.

Here the action is expressed by the verb “was / was / was” in the past and “will / will be” in the future. You just need to add a formal subject to translate such a sentence into English.

AM, IS, ARE

Verb «To be» in the present tense has 3 forms in English tense: am / is / are… Please note that to be itself is not translated in any tense, and depending on whether we are talking about the present, past or future, to be begins to change.

Just like the Russian word «to be» changes into «was», «is» or «will» depending on the time.

The subject is the following pronouns:

• I — I
• You, you — you
• He, she, it — He, she, it
• We are We
• They are They

Note! And the words that can be replaced with these pronouns. For example, children — they — they

The form of the predicate depends on the subject:

• I am
• You are
• He, she, it is
• We are
• They are

Thus, am can only be used with I, in no other case. Are we put if in the role of the subject you, we, they and the words that can be replaced by these pronouns (people, eggs, «you and I», etc.) Is appears only after he, she, it and the words they replace (Kate, a boy, an apple, a cow, etc.)

Study the table and examples carefully:

Note! Am, is, are very often are shrinking in speech and writing. The first letter is replaced by an apostrophe.

Negative particle not

If we want to make a negation, then we need to put a negative particle «not» immediately after am, is, are. Also, not can be abbreviated for ease of speech.

3 variants of denial are used at the same time:

• You are not — You aren’t — You’re not

But for I am there are only 2 options:

• I am not — I’m not. Acronym I amn’t there.

Note!

Source: http://learneng.ru/grammatika/am-is-are-pravilo-tablitsa.html

Negatives and questions with the verb to be — lesson 9 — english from scratch

Negatives and questions with the verb to be — lesson 9 — english from scratch

It is worth noting that in affirmative sentences, the word order is direct. That is, the construction is carried out in the following order:

1. subject (noun or pronoun)
2. + predicate (verb to be in the appropriate form)
3. + minor members of the proposal.

If in Russian the verb is not used in every sentence, then in English it is a must, otherwise the sentence will be just a set of words.

In colloquial speech, such sentences use short forms of the verb to be, for example:

I am — I’mwe are — we’reyou are — you’rethey are — they’rehe is — he’sshe is — she’s

it is — it’s

Negative sentences

In order to deny something, there is also a certain word order. The direct word order is taken, as in the statement, and just after the predicate (the verb to be), the negation not is put. For example:

I am not Russian — I am not Russian.

Negation is placed only after the linking verb, otherwise the meaning of the sentence will be lost.

The negative form of the verb to be is also shortened, making English speech more melodic. Let’s look at examples:

He isn’t married — He is not married.
She isn’t at home — She is not at home.
We aren’t ready — We’re not ready.
They aren’t American — They aren’t American.

The negation no can also be used, but this will have a slightly different meaning, for example:

There are no pictures on the wall — There are no pictures on the wall.

It also appears in expressions like:

no problem — no problem;
no comments — no comments.

General questions

General questions in English have a different structure. Let’s put a question to the proposal:

I am right — I am right (s).

To do this, you need to put the verb form at the beginning:

Am I right? — I’m right?

Consider other interrogative sentences with the verb to be:

Are you happy? — You are happy)?
Is it true? — This is true?
Is he married? — He is married?
Are they Russian? — They are Russians?
Are we from Moscow? — We are from Moscow?

The answers to these questions are simple: yes or no. For example:

Are you busy? — Are you busy?
Yes, I am — Yes, I’m busy.

Special Issues

There are also special questions, which in English are formed using interrogative words. They are placed at the beginning of the sentence, and they are already followed by the verb (to be) and the predicate. Consider proposals with each of them:

Where? [weə] — where, where

In the where question are you from? — where are you from ?, first there is an interrogative word, but the preposition is always at the end. In other suggestions:

Where are you going? — Where are you going?
Where is he? — Where is he?
Where are they? — Where are they?

Who? [hu:] — who

Who is it? «Who is this? Who are you?» — Who are you? — Who is he?

Who am I? — Who am I?

What? [wɒt] — what, what

What is your name? — What is your name?
What is it? — What is it?

How? [həu] — how, how

How are you? — How are you?
How is she? — How is she?

It is part of complex interrogative phrases:

how much many — how much; how long — how long;

how old — how old.

For example, in sentences:

How much is it? — How much does it cost? — How long are those cables?

How old is she? — How old is she?

Why? [wai] — why

Why are you here? — Why are you here.

When? [wen] — when

When is that party? — When that party.
When are you going to come? — When are you going to come.

It is very important to be able to freely construct sentences of different types in English. You need to bring your skills to automatism, then it will not be scary to speak, and speech will acquire a more fluent character.

Write in the comments about your difficulties in studying interrogative and negative sentences.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/start/english-from-scratch/9-voprosy-i-otritsaniya

Are in English when given. The verb to be in English: meaning, types, rules of use

A person who learns a foreign language for the first time cannot be envied. The student thinks in his native language, unconsciously tries to transfer the categories, norms and rules of his own language to a foreign one. Therefore, when faced with a concept or phenomenon that is absent in native speech, even elementary things seem difficult to perceive.

Often the verbs am, is, are of the English language become a stumbling block. It is necessary to allocate time and understand this issue.

Three-headed dragon To be

The verb to be has no analogue in Russian. The fact is that the verb is more an indicator of a person and number, rather than an independent meaning. To be retained separate singular and plural forms for the first and third person in the present tense.

Other verbs have retained only the ending -s, which is a sign of the 3rd person singular, for example, She speaks… The same verb in conjunction with the pronouns of the 1st and 2nd persons will differ from the initial form to speak only by the absence of the to particle: «I speak» and «You speak». The verbs am, is, are are forms of to be. You can draw the student’s attention to this by depicting the verb to be in the form of a dragon, and call his head Am, Is and Are.

Translation problems

The translation sounds like «is» or «to be». The most common mistake young learners make is trying to translate phrases like “I am Kristian” as “I am Christian”. This is a delicate moment for beginners to learn a language. It is worth correcting such reservations immediately.

The interaction of native and foreign languages ​​is very important for the learning process, therefore the translation must always sound competently and in accordance with the norms of the language. In general, everyone should learn by heart the verbs am, is, are.

When do they say am and is, and when do they say are?

Verbs are used in the present tense. For the past, there are the forms was and were, in sentences with a future tense they use the form will be and very rarely — shall be. You can remember the rules for using the forms of the verb to be by studying the table below.

As you can see from the table, the forms am, is, was are used to denote the singular, and are and were are used to denote the plural. In modern English, shall and will are considered insufficient verbs. Both verbs are used only in the form of the present tense — shall / will, and the past — should / would.

Source: https://msutt.ru/are-v-angliiskom-yazyke-kogda-stavitsya-glagol-to-be-v-angliiskom-yazyke-znachenie/

This rebellious verb to be How to make him a child? Interesting and useful exercises for children

Hello my dear.

Today I am in a hurry to help you in the fight against a frequent visitor of the English sentence: the verb to be. Fear not, he is not as scary as he seems. Therefore, we arm ourselves with knowledge and practice ahead, because you have a minimum of theory and a maximum of practice ahead of you.

Ready?

Then I officially start the tutorial titled: verb to be — exercises for children.

Few rules

The verb to be in translation means «to be». And it is used in almost EVERY sentence of the English language. How? — you ask. — And the sentences «I’m beautiful», «I’m a schoolboy», «Are you at home?», «I’m in the classroom»? The answer is simple: in English this verb is helped by 3 little friends who, in Russian, simply remain invisible. These are verbs am, is, are.

The use of the verbs am, is, are can be remembered by the example of your family. If we talk about ourselves as beloved, then we use the form am… If a sister, brother, or even a cat lives with you, then you can talk about each of them is… But you need to talk about parents together are .

See:

By the way, I also have for you funny videowhich we recorded with daughter — there we talk about what you can tell about yourself in English, using the given verb… Interesting? Look, show your guys and remember:

Exercises

Let’s practice verb forms. If your child went to grade 1, then the most important thing for him now is to remember which form is used with which pronoun.

Exercise 1:
Insert the correct form of the verb to be: am, is, are.

1. I _____ a girl.
2. He ____ my brother.
3. She____ my sister.
4. I____ from London.
5. He____ 17 years old.
6. She ___ a student.
7. They____ our parents.
8. We____ a family.
9. It ____ our dog.
10. You____ our friend.

Once in grade 2, his vocabulary will be much larger and he can already put verb forms without the presence of explicit pronouns.

Exercise 2:

Source: https://lizasenglish.ru/anglijskij-dlya-detej/to-be-uprazhneniya.html

English grammar for beginners, part 1

: 29.08.2016

We present you the first article in the series «English Grammar for Beginners». In this series of materials, we decided to outline all the rules in short and simple words, so that those who begin from scratch or those who do not remember the basics of English well can figure out grammar on their own, understand it and apply it in practice.

Be sure to check out the following articles in this series:

Also consider English classes at Inglex Online School. It is efficient and convenient.

Personal pronouns in English

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. The pronoun does not name an object or person, but only denotes it. There are several features of English pronouns:

• I (i) in English is always written with a capital letter.
• He (he) and she (she) are used to refer to males and females, respectively. They are also used when you are talking about your pets and you need to indicate their gender.
• It (it, it) is used to refer to inanimate objects as well as animals.
• We (we) denotes the speaker with a group of people.
• You (you, you, you) denotes the appeal «you», the appeal to a group of people «you» and the polite appeal to one person «you».
• They are used to denote animate and inanimate objects in the plural.

Personal pronouns have three main forms:

Nominative (Who ?, What?) Object case (To ?, Whom ?, By whom?) Possessive case (Whose?)

I — I	me — me, me	my — my
he — he	him — him, him	his — his
she — she	her — her, her	her — her
it — it (it)	it — him / her, him / her	its — his / her
we — we	us — us, us	our — our
you — you, you	you — you, you, you, you	your — yours, yours
they — they	them — them, them	their — their

1. Nominative: A pronoun denotes an object or person who performs an action. In this case, the pronoun acts as a subject.

   I am a manager. — Я manager.
   It (radio) is working. — It (radio) works.
   They are relatives. — They relatives.
   They (shoes) are dirty. — They (shoes) dirty.

2. Object case: the action is directed to the pronoun. Here the pronoun acts as a complement and answers the questions «To whom?», «Whom?», «By whom?», And for inanimate objects — «What?».

   Jim is writing a letter to me… — Jim writes a letter (to whom?) me.
   She is cooking for Him… — She cooks for (who?) it.
   I am looking at it (picture). — I’m looking at (what?) it (picture).

3. Possessive case: the pronoun shows the belonging of the object and answers the question «Whose?»

   Nick is my friend. — Nick (whose?) my friend.
   It’s your cup. — This (whose?) yours mug.
   He is washing here dishes now. — He washes (whose?) her dishes now.

We advise you to watch this video to better understand the forms of pronouns:

Try the English Personal Pronoun Test, and then move on to the next section.

English personal pronoun test

If you want to know more, read our article Personal and Possessive Pronouns in English.

Plural in English

In English, as in Russian, all words are divided into countable and uncountable. This is important to understand when forming the plural of a word.

Countable nouns denote items that can be counted, for example: table (table), book (book), apple (apple). Uncountable nouns are abstract concepts, liquids, products, etc., that is, something that cannot be counted.

For example: knowledge, water, meat, flour. These words have no plural or singular.

Countable nouns can be used in singular and plural forms. The singular noun denotes one thing, this is the form of the word that is indicated in the dictionary: apple — apple. The plural noun denotes several things: apples — apples.

How the plural forms of nouns:

Usually, the plural of nouns is formed by appending the ending -s: book — books (book — books). However, there are several peculiarities of spelling:

• If the word ends with -o, -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, then add the ending -es: hero — heroes (hero — heroes), bus — buses (bus — buses).Exceptions

Source: https://englex.ru/english-grammar-for-beginners-part-1/

Is or are is put. The verbs am, is, are and how to use them in English

A person who learns a foreign language for the first time cannot be envied. The student thinks in his native language, unconsciously tries to transfer the categories, norms and rules of his own language to a foreign one. Therefore, when faced with a concept or phenomenon that is absent in native speech, even elementary things seem difficult to perceive.

Often the verbs am, is, are of the English language become a stumbling block. It is necessary to allocate time and understand this issue.

To be exercises: exercises with answers to the verb am is are (to be in the Present simple)

1. Exercise 1. Insert the verb to be in Present Simple
2. Exercise 2. Form a question with the verbs am, is, are
3. Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks using to be in the required form
4. Exercise 4. Form negative sentences with am, is, are
5. Exercise 5. Write the correct form of the verb to be in the Present simple
6. Exercise 6.

   Choose the correct option to be from the proposed

7. Exercise 7. Expand the parentheses by writing the verb to be in correct conjugation
8. Exercise 8. Insert the missing words am, is, are, I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, they’re, am I, are you, is he, is she, is it, are we, are they
9. Exercise 9. Make negative sentences out of affirmative
10. Exercise 10.

    Complete sentences using I’m not, you’re not, he’s not, she’s not, it’s not, they’re not

11. Exercise 11. Form the abbreviated form of the pronoun with the verb to be in the present simple tense
12. Exercise 12. End the dialogue using only the verb to be in the correct conjugation and, if necessary, pronouns
13. Exercise 13.

    Arrange the words in the correct order by adding the verbs am / is / are

14. Exercise 14. Make sentences from words plus the verb to be in the correct form
15. Exercise 15.

    Translate sentences with the verb to be in simple present tense into English

1. I ___ Andrew
2. He____ happy
3. We ___ friends
4. I ___ a student
5. They ___ on a business trip
6. It ___ broken

View answers.

Exercise 2. Form a question with the verbs am, is, are

1. (she) a teacher
2. (dogs) angry
3. (shop) open
4. (it) free
5. (he) in London
6. (you) hungry

View answers.

Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks using to be in the required form

1. Her car ___ fast
2. I___ a boy
3. My apple___ red
4. It ___ good idea
5. This ___ a pen
6. You___ free

View answers.

Exercise 4. Form negative sentences with am, is, are

1. I am an engineer
2. She is a doctor
3. It is true
4. This is my hand
5. I am sad
6. He is from Moscow

View answers.

Exercise 5. Write the correct form of the verb to be in the Present simple

1. Hello. What ___ your name?
2. Hi. My name is ___ Irina. And what ___ your name?
3. I___ Max.
4. How ___ you, Max.
5. thanks. I___ fine.

View answers.

Exercise 6. Choose the correct option to be from the proposed

1. Ira (am / is / are) beautiful
2. The cost (am / is / are) good
3. You (am / is / are) my best friend
4. How (am / is / are) you?
5. My English (am / is / are) very well
6. I (am / is / are) Russian

View answers.

Exercise 7. Expand the parentheses by writing the verb to be in correct conjugation

1. She (be) in bed
2. I(be)27
3. Anna (be)rich
4. He (be)ill
5. Varvara (be) old woman
6. You (be) lucky

View answers.

Exercise 8. Insert the missing words am, is, are, I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, they’re, am I, are you, is he, is she, is it, are we, are they

1. Sorry, ___ late
2. How ___?
3. The weather ___ bad
4. These trousers ___ comfortable
5. This ___ Mark
6. ___ it dog?

View answers.

Exercise 9. Make negative sentences out of affirmative

1. I’m busy
2. He is young
3. Marina is very beautiful
4. summer is hot
5. The house is very expensive
6. You are tired

View answers.

Exercise 10: Complete sentences using I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, we’re, they’re, I’m not, you’re not, he’s not, she’s not, it’s not, they ‘ re not

1. Are you free? Yes, ___
2. Is this Riana? Yes, ___
3. Is it ball? No, ___
4. Am I fat? No, ___
5. Are you blonde? Yes, ___
6. Am I pretty? Yes, ___

View answers.

Exercise 11. Form the abbreviated form of the pronoun with the verb to be in the present simple tense

1. She is
2. I am
3. You are
4. he is not
5. we are not
6. The are

View answers.

Exercise 12. End the dialogue using only the verb to be in the correct conjugation and, if necessary, pronouns

1. How long ___ this road? ___ very long.
2. ___ are you happy? No, ___ not.
3. Where ___ Sara? ___ at school.
4. How old ___ Tom. ___ twenty.
5. ___ you sure? Yes, ___.
6. What ___ your name? ___ Dima.

View answers.

Exercise 13. Arrange the words in the correct order by adding the verbs am / is / are

1. warm / it / today
2. legs / my / cold
3. very / expensive / diamonds
4. Kazan / Anna / from
5. developer / Marina
6. apple / big

View answers.

Exercise 14. Make sentences from words plus the verb to be in the correct form

1. windy, today, it
2. Russia, country, the biggest
3. in, Moscow, Russia
4. your parents rich
5. interesting, book
6. at, school, my, children

View answers.

Exercise 15. Translate sentences with the verb to be in the simple present tense into English

1. She is a nurse
2. I am doctor
3. Maria teacher
4. I 21
5. Irina is hungry
6. Maxim is tall

View answers.

Exercise 1

Having problems? Then read the rules.

Back to exercise.

Exercise 2

1. Is she
2. Are dogs
3. Is shop
4. Is it
5. Is he
6. Are you

Back to exercise.

Exercise 4

1. I am not an engineer
2. She is not a doctor
3. It is not true
4. This is not my hand
5. I am not sad
6. He is not from Moscow

Back to exercise.

Exercise 8

1. I am
2. are you
3. is
4. are
5. is
6. is

Back to exercise.

Exercise 9

1. I am not busy
2. He isn’t young
3. Marina isn’t very beautiful
4. Summer isn’t hot
5. The house isn’t very expensive
6. You aren’t tired

Back to exercise.

Exercise 10

1. I am
2. She is
3. it is not
4. you are not
5. I am
6. You are

Back to exercise.

Exercise 11

1. She’s
2. I’m
3. You’re
4. He isn’t or He’s not
5. We aren’t or we’re not
6. They’re

Back to exercise.

Exercise 12

1. Is, It’s
2. Are, I’m
3. Is, She’s
4. Is, He’s
5. Are, I’m
6. Is, I’m

Back to exercise.

Exercise 13

1. It is warm today
2. My legs are cold
3. Diamonds are very expensive
4. Anna is from Kazan
5. Marina is developer
6. Apple is big

Back to exercise.

Exercise 14

1. It is windy today
2. Russia is the biggest country
3. Moscow is in Russia
4. Your parents are rich
5. Book is interesting
6. My children are at school

Back to exercise.

Exercise 15

1. She is a nurse
2. I am a doctor
3. Maria is a teacher
4. I’m 21
5. Irina is hungry
6. Maksim is tall

Back to exercise.

If you have any difficulties, then read the article am / is / are verbs.

Read more about Present simple on our website:

Source: https://infoeng.ru/exercises/am-is-are-exercises/

Verbs to be and to do in English: features of use

One of the most popular language confusion is the use of verbs to be и to do… This refers to the substitution of one verb for another, which occurs as a result of a misunderstanding of the functions and meanings of these words.

We have already covered the verb to be in detail, so now we will focus on comparing the use of verbs in situations in which confusion occurs most often.

Strong and weak verb

There are two broad categories of verbs in English — strong and weak.
Strong verbs include modal verbs and their equivalents, have got, auxiliary verbs (do / does / did) and to be… Strong verbs independently form negative constructs and questions:

Must he go to the dentist? — I must go to the dentist./I mustn’t eat apples.

In the case of weak verbs, we are not able to construct a question or negation without auxiliary ones, avoiding an error:

I live to Paris.

Live you in Paris? — error/
It is correct to say: Do you live in Paris?

He livesNote inParis. — error/
It is correct to say: He doesn’t live inParis.

So, we use the auxiliary do or two of its other forms (does / did) in order to correctly form questions and denials.

A mistake is born when students (by this word we mean all foreign language learners, young and old) begin to use auxiliary verbs for the forms to be:

He is Liza’s brother.

Does he is Liza’s brother? — error
He doesn’t is Liza’s brother. — error

Undoubtedly verb forms to be do not look like their original shape. We believe this is what can be confusing.
Remember: am, is, are, was, were are strong verbs and never use auxiliary do:

Is he Liza’s brother? — right
He is not Liza’s brither. — right

Rђ RІRѕS, do against. By itself how semantic this verb is weak and has a meaning делать… Accordingly, he needs the help of an auxiliary one that matches him in spelling and pronunciation doWhich is not translated into Russian and performs a purely grammatical function:

I do exercise every day.
Do I do exercise every day? — right
I don’t do exercise every day. — right

Do I exercise every day? — error
I do not exercise every day. — error / This sentence is meaningless and will be translated “I don’t exercise every day”. I would like to immediately ask “do not that? exercises»

Auxiliary

The second serious problem sometimes becomes choice of auxiliary verb.

Most of the courses are structured in such a way that acquaintance with English grammar and the language in general begins with the verb to be — to be, to be, to be somewhere.

Students are so used to designs with to bethat for them it becomes completely logical to use them as an auxiliary verb… It actually loses its meaning and sentences of this kind become grammatically equal:

She is inParis.
She lives inParis.

Let’s say that contextually it is possible to translate both of them as “She lives in Paris”. The following happens:

Is she in Paris? — right
Is she live in Paris? — ERROR

To benever will not be used as an auxiliary verb

Source: http://begin-english.ru/article/glagoly-to-be-i-to-do-v-angliyskom-yazyke-osobennosti-ispolzovaniya/

Am is are. The verb to be in English: meaning, types, rules of use

• Useis with objects in the singular and are with plural objects.
• After collective nouns, it is usually used isbut one can useare if you need to select individual objects that belong to the group.
• After phrases like anumberofusually a plural verb is used.

In order to decide what to use is or are , see what number the noun is in, singular or plural. If the noun is singular, use is.

If it is plural or in a sentence with more than one noun, use are .

The cat is eating all of his food. — The cat eats everything that was given to her.

The cats are eating all of their food. —Cats eat whatever they’ve been given.

The cat and the dog are eating as fast as they can.— The cat and the dog eat as fast as they can.

These are the most basic grammatical rules of use. is и are .

Is vs. Are with collective nouns

A collective noun refers to a group of people or things that are treated as a unit in speech. Word committee (Committee) is a collective noun. A committee means many people, but the word itself is unique in form. In American English, collective nouns are used with is… In British English, collective nouns can be used with is or are .

The committee is considering the budget right now.— At the moment, the commission is considering a financial issue.

Theaudienceisgettingantsy. — Those sitting in the audience become restless.

The couple is moving to California. — This couple is moving to California.

But even in American English, the collective noun can be used with are when it is necessary to focus on individual members of the group.

The couple are keeping secrets from each other. — This couple keeps secrets from each other.

Is vs. Are with uncountable nouns

Real nouns (also called uncountable nouns) are similar to collective nouns. They refer to things or objects that cannot really be counted. Water and sandare uncountable nouns. Uncountable nouns are used with is in both British and American English.

The sand is too hot to walk on!— The sand is too hot to walk on!

Water is our most precious resource. — Driving is the most valuable resource.

Pudding is very easy to make.“The pudding is very easy to make.

Is round. Are with phrases a Number of / a Pair of / a Group of

Collective phrases like anumberof or apairof make you wonder what to use, is or are .

Which verb should be used when we talk about phrases like anumberofpeople? One side, number is a singular noun that implies the use of is. But people this is the plural that the use of are .

It is generally best to use are with the phrase anumberof… Perhaps you accidentally run into a person who disagrees with this, but the choice is yours.

A number of people are concerned about the lack of progress. — Many are worried about the lack of progress.

A number of people are concerned about the lack of progress.

Other collective phrases like groupof can be used with is when the focus is on the group:

That group of protesters is sure to be distracting. — This group of demonstrators will surely distract attention.

This series of books is phenomenal. “This series of books is phenomenal.

But can also be used are when focusing on individual individuals.

A bunch of my friends are going to different schools next fall. — A bunch of my friends are going to go to different schools next fall.

A handful of new books are published each week. — A small number of new books are published every week.

When we talk about pairs, we usually mean two things as a unit, so it is common to use is.

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The construction there is / there are is used to report the location of objects and persons. Remember a simple rule: if the Russian sentence begins with the circumstance of the place (the first word of the Russian sentence answers the question «where?»), then we start the English sentence with there is / there are.

For example: «There is a mouse in the box» — There is a mouse in the box. In this case, the very circumstance of the place (in the box — in the box) must be put at the end of the sentence. English sentences with the construction there is / there are are translated from the end (while There is there are not translated).

For example: There is a bench in the garden — There is a bench in the garden.

If the sentence begins with a subject («who?» Or «what?») This construction is not used, we translate it as it is: the car is on the street — the car is in the street.

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Let’s compare the two sentences «vase on the table» and «vase on the table». The first begins with the circumstance of the place, and the second with the subject, respectively, to translate the first sentence we use There is a. — “there is a vase on the table”, and we translate the second sentence without this construction — “the vase is on the table”. If the subject (the subject referred to in the sentence) is singular, then there is is used, and if plural, then there are.

• Please note that (is, are) in such sentences can be translated as «lies», «stands», «hanging», «growing», «is»: There are toys in the box — In the box lie toys, There is a big tree in front of my house — In front of my house is growing a big tree.
• When listing items, there is used yeah,if the first item listed is in the singular (There is a copy book, three pencils and a ruler on the table) and there are if the first item listed is plural (There are three pencils, a copy book and a ruler on the table).

Word order in affirmative, interrogative, and negative there is / there are

Prepositions of place are service words that connect the members of a sentence and are closely related to the use of the construction there is / there are, so we consider them in this post. First, let’s remember the prepositions of place and direction in English.

• On — on: there is an apple on the plate — there is an apple on the plate
• In — inside: there are pens in the bag — there are pens in the bag
• Above / over — over: there is a picture above the fireplace — a picture hangs over the fireplace
• At — at: at the wall — at the wall
• Near — near, near, nearby: near my house — near my house
• Under — under: under the table — under the table
• Below — below, under: below the window — under the window
• Behind — behind: behind the tree — behind the tree
• To — indicates movement towards the subject: to school — to school, to work — to work, to a friend — to a friend
• Into — inside: into the room — into the room
• From — indicates movement from the subject: from school — from school, from work — from work, take the cup from that boy — take the cup from that boy, take the book from the table — take the book from the table

Source: https://warfields.ru/detektor-lzhi/stavitsya-am-is-are-glagol-to-be-v-angliiskom-yazyke-znachenie-vidy-pravila-upotrebleniya/

When is the verb to be in English? When to put «are» and when «is»

A person who learns a foreign language for the first time cannot be envied. The student thinks in his native language, unconsciously tries to transfer the categories, norms and rules of his own language to a foreign one. Therefore, when faced with a concept or phenomenon that is absent in native speech, even elementary things seem difficult to perceive.

Often the verbs am, is, are of the English language become a stumbling block. It is necessary to allocate time and understand this issue.

Perhaps you’ve had this experience: you’re talking with a friend about your family, and they ask something general. But when you reply with a quick description, are you referring to one family, or are you talking about several individuals?

The need for subject-verb agreement will help determine the verb form you use, so is it “My family is” or “are”?

Both “My family is” and “My family are” are correct in British English, while “My family is” is most common in American English. This is because “family” is a collective noun, and American English generally treats collective nouns as singular, while British English treats them as plural.

Let’s take a look into collective nouns with some specific examples from different dialects of English around the world and then dive into subject-verb agreement.

Verbs and Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are a grey area when it comes to conjugating verbs because native speakers using different English dialects conjugate collective nouns differently (source).

In some dialects, collective nouns generally act as third-person singular (like “he/she/it”), while in other versions of English, a collective noun acts as third-person plural (like “they”). 

The third-person singular option is the most popular in American English, while British, Australian, and Indian English all favor using collective nouns as third-person plural (source). Let’s look at what that means with a definition and some examples. 

What Are Collective Nouns?

Collective nouns are nouns we use to refer to a whole group of people or things with just one word. For instance, some popular collective nouns include “family,” “government,” “committee,” and “staff.” All of these words describe a group of people. 

Using collective nouns can be difficult because it’s hard to determine if the noun is singular or plural. Take “government,” for example; you know that it refers to one government, but the government is actually a group of many people. So, should you use a singular or plural verb with “government”?

The answer relies on the preferences of the dialect of English that you’re speaking.

“Family” Is a Collective Noun

You can use the word “family” as both a singular and a plural subject in British English and sometimes in American English because “family” is a collective noun (source).

You should also be careful about consistency when you use the collective noun “family.” This means that if you use “family is” in one sentence, you should continue to use “family is” throughout the whole composition or conversation. The same goes for using “family are” consistently in your writing and speaking.

Remember, “family” is also a countable noun. This means that you have to pay attention to how many families you are mentioning. If there are many families in the context, you should use the plural form of the verb. 

For example, you can say, “My family is friendly,” or you can say, “My family are friendly.” British English will favor using the latter if you’re referring to the individual members of your family, but American English generally shies away from this.

However, if you say, “The families in my neighborhood are friendly,” you must use “are” in either dialect because you are referring to many families. In this example, the subject is definitely plural and must take the plural form of the verb to have correct subject-verb agreement.

Notional Agreement in American English

While notional agreement is more common in British English than American English, there are situations where American English might use a plural verb with the collective noun “family.”

One instance would be where the principle of proximity comes into play. This is when we have two nouns, one singular and one plural, and the verb must agree with the nearest noun.

• A family of rowdies are ruining our peaceful evening.
• That family of rowdies is ruining our peaceful evening.

American English will also use the plural “are” when “family” functions as an adjective describing the plural noun “members.” In this way, the sentence emphasizes the individuals that make up the family.

• My family members are regulars at the local restaurant.

More Examples With Collective Nouns

If you’re in the UK, you’ll probably hear, “The government are working on a new project downtown.” But if you’re in the US, you’re much more likely to hear, “The government is working on a new project downtown.” 

The same is true with other verbs and helping verbs, too. In the UK, they’ll say, “The committee have made a decision about the new school district.” However, individuals in the US would say, “The committee has made a decision.” 

In this example, the same general rule applies: collective nouns usually act as plural in British English, while they are generally singular in American English.

Many collective nouns are also countable, so you have to be careful when you’re talking about many groups of people. For example, if you say, “The committees have made a joint decision,” you must use the plural form “have.” This is because your subject is absolutely plural in this example. 

Essentially, subject-verb agreement means that the verb in a sentence can change based on the subject of the sentence. This is most clear when you’re using the verb “to be” or when you’re using verbs in the simple present tense. 

Subject-verb agreement also impacts some helping verbs like “to have” in the perfect tenses (source).

Verbs Match the Subject

The verb that you use in a sentence should match its subject. In English, you conjugate verbs based on the noun’s number, which means that you change the verb according to whether the noun is singular or plural (source).

The most common example is in the simple present tense: for a regular verb, when the subject is third-person singular (like he/she/it), you should add -s at the end of the verb. You’ve probably practiced this conjugation a thousand times, or you recognize when it’s incorrect.

Of course, this means that you need to know whether the noun is singular or plural before you choose the form of the verb. Here are a few rules to remember when you want to determine if a noun is singular or plural:

First, countable nouns can be singular (he/she/it) OR plural (they): if the countable noun ends with -s, then it is usually plural.

Next, noncount nouns always act like a singular noun; you should conjugate them like “he/she/it.”

Finally, as we’ve discussed, collective nouns like “family” can be singular OR plural in British English, while it’s almost always singular in American English.

For more on the difference between British and American English, read our article on “mom” vs. “mum.”

The essential principle to remember is that the verb changes according to the number of the noun. So, figuring out if the noun is singular or plural is the first step to getting the subject-verb agreement correct every time!

What About “You”?

“You” is a tricky word in English because it can refer to either one person or many people. Even though the word “you” doesn’t change in spelling or pronunciation, its number — that is, whether it’s singular or plural — changes. 

The only way to understand if the pronoun “you” is singular or plural is to look at the context.

This explanation might still leave you asking whether it’s “How many of you is” or “are?” In short, it will always be “How many of you are” because with “how many,” the “you” is always plural. Plus, we always conjugate “you” with the “are” form of the verb “to be.”

Whether “you” is singular or plural doesn’t change the verb that it takes. For example, you always say “you are” and never “you is.” So, whether you’re talking to a whole group of people or just one friend, you should always say “you are.”

This is also true if you’re using “to be” as a helping verb, like in the present continuous tense. 

For instance, you should say, “You are reading an interesting article about subject-verb agreement right now.” Here, “are” is the correct helping verb because it is the form of “to be” that comes after “you” when you talk about the present time. 

Verbs and Noncount Nouns

When it comes to subject-verb agreement, knowing the difference between countable and noncount nouns is important because this determines whether your subject is singular or plural (source). Let’s look specifically at noncount nouns since they have some extra rules for conjugating verbs.

Noncount nouns always act as a singular subject, like “he/she/it.” That means that if you’re using a noncount noun with the simple present tense, you should use “is” or the version of the verb with the “-s” at the end. Here are some examples with some common noncount nouns:

• Water covers more than 60% of the earth’s surface.
• Bread isn’t a popular food in many countries in East Asia.
• Does this information surprise you?

From these examples, you can see that the noncount noun takes the singular version of the verb in the simple present tense. The verb “to be” also changes in the past tense, and noncount nouns act like “he/she/it” in the past tense as well. 

This is also true for helping verbs that change according to number. This means that noncount nouns should take “has” (not “have”) when you’re using the present perfect tense “is” in the present continuous tense and “was” in the past continuous tense.

Which Is Correct: “Is” or “Are”?

If you’re having trouble choosing between “is” and “are,” ask yourself these questions:

First, “Is the subject a countable noun, or is a noncount noun?  Then, if the subject is a countable noun, you need to determine the number of the subject: is it singular or plural?

If the subject is a singular countable now, it will use “is.” If the subject is a plural countable noun, it will use “are.” If the subject is a noncount noun, you’ll use “is.”

Next, ask yourself, “Is the subject a collective noun?” Then determine if the collective noun is singular (like “family”) or plural (like “families”). 

If the subject is a singular collective noun, you can use “is” or “are” in British English, but you should stick to “is” for American English. If the subject is a plural collective noun, you must use “are” because this subject is definitely plural.

With these handy guidelines, you can get the subject-verb agreement correct every time!

“How Many Is” or “How Many Are?”

“How many” is a question that we always use with the plural form of a countable noun. This means that “How many” usually comes with a noun that ends with -s. Check out these examples for a better look at how it works:

• How many minutes are left until the lunch break?
• Do you know how many times he has visited this museum?
• I’m not sure how many tomatoes are in the fridge.

Since “how many” always comes with a plural countable noun, you should always use the plural form of the verb in those cases. That means that the correct form of the question is “How many are.” 

If you’re using “how many” in a noun clause, you should use “how many” with the plural form of a countable noun and then the plural form of the verb. So, the formula looks like this: “How many” + (plural countable noun) + “are.” 

“Many” vs. “Much”

One word that you might frequently confuse with “many” is the word “much.” These words have similar meanings, and you will often see them with the question word “how.” The grammar for these words is different, though.

The word “many” always comes with a plural countable noun, but the word “much” comes with a noncount noun. Check out these examples:

“MUCH” + NONCOUNT NOUN	“MANY” + COUNTABLE NOUN
How much water did you drink yesterday?	How many liters of water did you drink yesterday?
How much salt should we put in the soup?	How many tablespoons of salt should we put in the soup?
Do you know how much time is remaining for the exam?	Do you know how many minutes are remaining for the exam?

This article was written for strategiesforparents.com.

From these examples, you can see that while “many” and “much” have very similar meanings, their usage is different. Using “many” and “much” depends on the kind of noun that comes next. 

Final Thoughts

The word “family” is a collective noun, which means that you can use it as either a singular noun or a plural noun. Usually, one will sound more accurate based on the dialect with which you’re most familiar. However, American English generally views collective nouns as singular.

Understanding collective nouns is important for subject-verb agreement because the form of the noun affects the verb form. Here, we explored different rules that inform countable nouns, noncount nouns, and collective nouns.

Remember, the noun’s number is the most crucial feature for subject-verb agreement in English!