Глагол to be

Спряжение глагола to be в настоящем неопределенном времени:

Лицо	Число
	единственное	множественное
1 2 3	am are is	are are are

Спряжение глагола to be в прошедшем неопределенном времени:

Лицо	Число
	единственное	множественное
1 2 3	was were was	were were were

I am at the university now. We are students. She was at home at 6 o’clock. You were busy yesterday.

В разговорной речи допускаются сокращения: I’m, he’s, she’s, it’s, we’re, you’re, they’re.

Отрицательная форма настоящего и прошедшего времени образуется при помощи отрицания not, которое ставится после глагола в личной форме: I am not a pupil. They are not fond of reading. He was not present yesterday. They were not in Moscow last week.

Используются следующие сокращения: I’m not, he isn’t, she isn’t, it isn’t, you aren’t, we aren’t, they aren’t.

Отрицательная форма повелительного наклонения образуется при помощи do not (don’t): Don’t be lazy. Don’t be late.

В вопросительной структуре настоящего и прошедшего времени глагол в личной форме ставится перед подлежащим.

Общие вопросы: Are you free at the moment? - Yes, I am. / No, I’m not. Was Mary ill yesterday? – Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t.

Альтернативные вопросы: Is Mike at home or at work now? – He is at work now. Were they polite or rude with you? – They were not rude.

Специальные вопросы: Who is absent today? – Helen is. Where are the Browns? Why isn’t Nick at school? What films are you fond of? What is Dick like?

Разделительные вопросы: I am right, aren’t I? – Yes, you are. / No, you aren’t. I am not a driver, am I? – No, you aren’t. / Yes, you are. Ann is very nice, isn’t she? – Yes, she is. / No, she isn’t. Tom isn’t a good swimmer, is he? – No, he isn’t. (He isn’t really a good swimmer.) / Yes, he is. (He is a very good swimmer.)

Будущее время выражается с помощью вспомогательного глагола will (’ll) (shall) и инфинитива be. Отрицательная форма образуется при помощи отрицания not, которое ставится после вспомогательного глагола: will not be (won’t be); shall not be (shan’t be). Вопросительная форма образуется при помощи вспомогательного глагола, который ставится перед подлежащим.

It will be rainy tomorrow. It will not be sunny tomorrow. Will it be rainy tomorrow? – Yes, it will. / No, it won’t.

Для выражения долженствования или необходимости совершить действие согласно предварительно намеченному плану употребляется глагол be в личных формах с инфинитивом смыслового глагола to V: We are to meet at 5 o’clock. What are you to do for today?

Grammar Practice

Ex.1. Write short forms of the verb to be.

1. We are; 2. it is not; 3. she is; 4. I am; 5. I am not; 6. they are not; 7. you are; 8. he is not; 9. it is; 10. they are.

Ex.2. Put in am, is or are.

1. The text … rather interesting. 2. I … not busy on Friday. 3. The films … worth seeing. 4. It … not cold today. 5. My friends and I … fond of playing tennis. 6. This … our library. 7. Your advice … always helpful. 8. Ann … at home but her parents … at work. 9. The news … striking. 10. The child … naughty. 11. Human relations … never static. They change from day to day because they … highly complex and also because people … very changeable. 12. The police … here and they are doing their best. 13. Clothes … part of our image. 14. The furniture in the office … the latest design. 15. The homework … rather difficult. 16. The headphones of my walkman … powerful. 17. Your advice … very timely. 18. Dice … used in many board games. 19. The surroundings … unfamiliar to me. 20. Her luggage … on the scales. 21. The wages … much higher now.

Ex.3. Complete the sentences.

1. Somebody … at your house. 2. You … imaginative like me. 3. Teachers … like weather, one minute they … good, one minute they … bad. 4. She … absolutely mistaken. 5. My group mates … regular cinema-goers. 6. Grandma’s spectacles … on the table. 7. It … a difficult test. 8. A lot of people … keen on club music. 9. The flat … quite comfortable. 10. Mike … a slow worker. 11. This … a silly thing to do. 12. You … a quick thinker, Sally. 13. Students, you … nice people to deal with. 14. Mr Frank Simon … 5 years older than his wife. 15. Karen … 10 years younger than her husband. 16. Paul’s father … intelligent and witty. 17. Ben’s brothers-in-law … doctors. 18. Michael … always busy with his job in a disco club. 19. Paul’s family … happy. 20. Her sisters … both fit.

Ex.4. Make these sentences negative.

1. I … married yet. 2. The Volga … in Africa. 3. They … lawyers. 4. It … cosy in the room. 5. The Thompsons … French. 6. Fred … good at Maths. 7. It … a short way to the station. 8. These postcards … cheap. 9. You … an engineer. 10. Mr Grey … a hard person to speak to. 11. I … thirsty. 12. Mrs Olive Simon … generous. 13. Pamela … a History student. 14. Liz’s Spanish and Russian … fluent. 15. Rachel … so cheerful and sociable as her younger sister. 16. Patrick’s and Liz’s hair … the same colour. 17. They … lively and inventive. 18. You … crazy about cartoons. 19. His knowledge of Italian … very limited. 20. These trousers … fashionable. 21. Politics … a popular topic now. 22. This staff … very efficient.

Ex.5. Supply negative forms of the verb to be.

1. You … cold, are you? 2. I’m early, … I? 3. You’re French, … you? 4. She’s ready, … she? 5. We’re late again, … we? 6. They … German, are they? 7. He … angry, is he? 8. I … late, am I? 9. You are tired, … you? 10. I am a bit sceptic, … I?

Ex.6. Change these sentences into general, alternative and disjunctive questions.

1. Pat and Frank are first-year students. 2. Her name is Kate. 3. It is rather warm inside. 4. The cake is tasty. 5. I am 18. 6. My hobbies are sports and modern music. 7. His father is a driver. 8. They are from England. 9. You are wrong.

Ex.7. Ask questions about the information in italics.

Model: His mother is 50. – How old is his mother?

1. Yes, Linda is a third-year student. 2. I’m from a small town in the south of Russia. 3. Tom and Susan are sociable and intelligent. 4. My sister is fond of classical music. 5. David is a film director. 6. Today Tony is at home because it’s Sunday. 7. His home telephone number is 639-8275. 8. It’s 4 o’clock and you are at work. 9. Her books are on the shelf. 10. Post boxes in England are red. 11. Mike is fond of historical books. 12. No, John isn’t their son. 13. Her clothes are very trendy. 14. The goods are from Norway. 15. Henry is at home because the weather is nasty.

Ex. 8. Put the words in the correct order.

1. dress / is / what / her / colour? 2. like / parents / what / your / are? 3. friends / and / his / where / Tom / are? 4. of / what / is / she / kind / of / fond / books? 5. the / this / who / photo / girl / is / in? 6. now / son / at / their / school / is. 7. not / at / am / English / I / good / very. 8. aunt / old / uncle / how / Paul’s / are / and? 9. house / isn’t / on / their / outskirts / is / the /it? 10. Terry / six / he / tall / isn’t / foot / is /? 11. those / or / managers / students / are / sociologists? 12. is / on / Rachel / languages / or / Liz / keen? 13. Russia / for / ballet / is / its / famous.

Ex.9. Put in was or were.

1. He … 20 last year. 2. I … at the concert yesterday. 3. It … much colder yesterday than today. 4. You … at the top of our class. 5. Robert and Nelly … present at the meeting. 6. They … in the garden a minute ago. 7. We … at home at 6 p.m. yesterday. 8. David … in Berlin last month. 9. Billiards … popular here long ago. 10. Her knowledge … poorer last year.

Ex.10. Make the sentences negative.

1. The children … interested in the film yesterday. 2. The boss … away on business last week. 3. We … late for the lecture. 4. It … the first time I baked the cake. 5. I … at Helen’s yesterday. 6. The Woods … in the country last Sunday. 7. The film … very interesting. 8. Mary … pleased with our work. 9. The children … fond of playing games.

Ex.11. Change these sentences into general, alternative and disjunctive questions.

1. They … in the museum last Saturday. 2. I … busy last night. 3. The boys … in the swimming-pool. 4. George … in the gymnasium yesterday. 5. You … at University yesterday. 6. They … late for the English class yesterday. 7. The shop … open at 7 p.m. last Sunday. 8. He … a good actor. 9. The weather … awful yesterday. 10. The goods … from Holland. 11. Ben’s mother-in-law … interested in classical music. 12. Some students … late for the lecture yesterday.

Ex.12. Ask questions about the information in italics.

1. Jane was at the movies yesterday. 2. Betty was at work on Monday. 3. She was interested in the exhibition. 4. Susan’s relatives were at the seaside this summer. 5. We were disappointed with his words. 6. Roger was absent because of his illness. 7. The weather was nice last week. 8. They were in Turkey on holiday. 9. He was 10 last year. 10. Her surname was Smith before marriage. 11. She was a secretary in 1999. 12. The stamps were expensive, 2 dollars each.

Ex.13. Make these sentences negative and interrogative.

1. My daughter will be at home at 6. 2. The dress will be nice. 3. Her brother will be an architect. 4. You will be interested in this information. 5. It will be hot tomorrow. 6. The discussion will be hard. 7. He will be 20 next year. 8. Her hair will be red. 9. Our country will be much more powerful. 10. It will be sunny and warm tomorrow.

Ex.14. Translate into English.

1. Кто эта девушка? – Это моя двоюродная сестра Анна. Она из небольшого сибирского города. 2. Сколько лет Джону? – Он не молод, ему около сорока. 3. Чем вы занимаетесь? Вы студенты или служащие компании? – Мы – будущие менеджеры компании, а пока мы – студенты университета. 4. Ты интересуешься спортом? – Да, я увлекаюсь настольным теннисом. 5. Виктор без ума от компьютерных игр, не так ли? – Ты прав, он очень сильно увлечен ими. 6. Джон американец? – Нет, он не американец, он канадец. 7. Его английский не очень хорош, верно? – Да, его трудно понять из-за его произношения. 8. Который из них твой брат? – Мой брат за столом у окна. 9. Почему Кейт такая счастливая сегодня? – Сегодня ее день рождения. 10. Эти фотографии такие забавные! 11. Какие твои родители? – Они очень гостеприимные и дружелюбные. 12. Как дела у Джейн? – Все отлично. Она просто умница! 13. Где Том и Дик? – Я уверен, что они снова опаздывают на урок. 14. Бренда замужем? – Да, ее муж – преподаватель немецкого языка. 15. Мы рады вас приветствовать в своем доме. 16. Какой музыкой ты увлекаешься? – Мне нравится рок. 17. Почему нет Алисы на занятиях? – Она больна сегодня. 18. Москва славится своим Большим театром. 19. Тигр – хищное животное. Он очень опасен для людей. 20. Розы – мои любимые цветы. Они великолепны. 21. Они должны принести сочинение сегодня. 22. Какой текст вы должны подготовить на пересказ? 23. Я должен встретиться с сокурсником в 7 вечера сегодня.