VERB TO BE

VERB TO BE

We use the  "verb to be" a lot in English, so it's really important to understand it well in its different forms. The verb to be will allow you to create simple sentences to get communication.

[El verbo TO BE (ser o estar) es usado con mucha frecuencia en el idioma inglés, por ello, es recomendable entender e identificar muy bien sus diferentes formas de conjugación. Podría decirse que el verbo TO BE es la base del idioma inglés. ]

Content

The "verb to be"  is used to say something about a person, thing or state, to show a permanent or temporary quality, job or occupation, and nationality. 

(El verbo TO BE es usado para decir nombres, edad, estado marital, nacionalidad, lugar de origen, personalidad, apariencia, entre otros). 

Look at these examples:

NAME: 

• I´m Lizbeth  (yo soy Lizbeth)

• Sarah is 34 years old. (Sarah tiene 34 años de edad)

• My siblings are Rossy and Gustavo. (Mis hermanos son Rossy y Rodrigo)

AGE: 

• I´m 42 years old. (Tengo 42 años de edad)

• The egyptians pyramids are 10, 000 years old. ( las piramides de Egipto tienen más de 10, 000 años de edad) 

MARITAL STATUS: 

• I´m single. (Soy soltera)

• My older brother is married.  (Mi hermano mayor esta casado)

NATIONALITY: 

• I´m Mexican. (Soy mexicana)

• They are American. (Ellos son Americanos)

BIRTH PLACE:

• I´m from Iguala, Guerrero. (Soy de Iguala, Guerrero)

• This whisky is from Scotland. (Este whisky es de Escocia)

OCCUPATION:

• I´m a teacher. (Soy maestra)

• Jacky and John are nurses. (Jacky y John son enfermeros)

PERSONALITY

• I am kind but strict. (Soy amable pero estricta)

• My dog is really brave. (Mi perro es realmente valiente)

MORE EXAMPLES

• My classroom is not enormous. (Mi salón no es enorme)
• We are happy. (Nosotros somos felices) 
• It is cold today. (Esta frío hoy)
• Stephen is not married. (Stephen no es casado)
• Are you an engineer? (¿Eres ingeniero?)
• They are not Russian. (Ellos no son Rusos)

The "verb to be" is structured in simple present, depending  on the nouns, as follows:

( El verbo TO BE, se estructura dependiendo del sujeto)

I             I am Susan --- I’m Susan              
              I am a young mother --- I'm a young mother

YOU      You are Ann --- You’re Ann             
              You are a teacher --- You’re a teacher.

HE         He is Patrick --- He’s Patrick             
               He is a student --- He's a student.

SHE       She is Mary Ann --- She’s Mary Ann             
               She is a model --- She’s a model

IT           It is a lap top --- It’s a laptop             
               It is a dog --- It’s a dog.

WE         We are friends --- We’re friends.             
               We are twins --- We’re twins

YOU       You are soccer players --- You’re soccer players             
               You are students --- You’re students.

THEY     They are friends --- They’re friends

               They are teachers --- They’re teachers

Affirmative, negative and interrogative forms. 

Full and short structures

The verb to be, has a complete structure and contraction, and can be used in an affirmative, negative and interrogative form. Then you can review the information in the following table. In this chart, check the use of contractions and questions.

(El verbo TO BE se conjuga en presente simple en tres formas, afirmativa, negativa e interrogativa, y estas a su vez pueden ser en forma larga o forma corta- con contracción-. Analiza la siguiente tabla). 

Affirmative			Negative			Interrogative
FULL	SHORT		FULL	SHORT
I am	I’m		I am not	I’m not		Am I...?
You are	You’re		You are not	You aren´t		Are you...?
He is	He’s		He is not	He  isn´t		Is he...?
She is	She´s		She is not	She isn´t		Is she...?
It is	It´s		It is not	It isn´t		Is it...?
We are	We’re		We are not	We aren´t		Are we...?
You are	You’re		You are not	You aren´t		Are you...?
They are	They’re		They are not	They aren´t		Are they...?