Tenses & Verb To Be

Grammar

Tenses & Verb to be

TENSES

Simple Present

We use the simple present tense when an action is happening right now, or when it happens regularly. Depending on the person, the simple present tense is formed by using the root form or by adding s or es to the end.

• I feel great!
• Pauline loves pie.
• I’m sorry to hear that you’re sick.

The other is to talk about habitual actions or occurrences.

• Pauline practices the piano every day.
• Ms. Jackson travels during the summer.
• Hamsters run all night.

Simple Present negative form

In negative sentences, we add the auxiliary verb "do" followed by the particle "not" between the subject and the main verb. However, for "he," "she," and "it," we use the form "does" followed by the particle "not."

**Note that in the third person singular of the negative form, no -s is added to the end of the verb since it has already been added with the form "does" in the auxiliary. The same occurs in the case of interrogatives, as we will see below. **It is more common to use the contracted forms "don't" and "doesn't" than "do not" and "does not." Is not - isn't I am not - I 'm not are not - aren't

Simple Present Questions Verb to be

YES / NO Questions, start with am / is / are + the subject + complement. For example:

• Are you coming?
• Is he late?
• Are they happy together?
• Is it cold outside/inside?
• Am I the only one here?

Negative form NotAre not, aren'tI Am not, I'm notIs not, isn't

Response: Yes, I am / No, I am not ('m not) Yes, you are - Yes, you're readyYes, she is / No, she is notYes, they are / No, they are not Yes, It is / No, It is notYes, I am / No, I am not Yes, you are / No, I am notYes, he is / No, he is not (isn't) Yes, we are / No, we are not

Fill in the missing words:

• Are you ready to go?
• Is she the owner of this house?
• Are they italians?
• Is it a cheese sandwich?
• Am I the only one who knows the thruth?
• Are you mad at me?
• Is he the prince?
• Are we on time for the party?

In interrogative sentences, the auxiliary verb "do" or "does" is placed at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the subject, the main verb, and in some cases, an additional complement.

Just like the verbs "to be" and "have got," interrogative sentences in the present simple also have their own short answers.

Just like the verbs "to be" and "have got," interrogative sentences in the present simple also have their own short answers.

Simple Past

The simple past tense (also called the past simple or preterite) is used to describe an action or series of actions that occurred in the past. The past simple of regular verbs is typically formed by adding “-ed” to the end of the infinitive (e.g., “talk” becomes “talked”). Irregular verbs don’t follow a specific pattern: some take the same form as the infinitive (e.g., “put”), while others change completely (e.g., “go” becomes “went”). Examples:

• The concert ended at midnight.
• Ariana rented a car and drove to the coast.
• We visited a museum, walked the Champs-Élysées, and dined at a fancy restaurant.
• I saw the sunrise this morning.

Forming the simple past:The simple past of regular verbs is usually formed by adding “-ed” to the end of the verb (e.g., “guess” becomes “guessed”). However, this can vary depending on the verb’s ending.Original ending Simple past ending

• Example:
• -e -add “d” love; loved

Short verbs, where the last three letters follow a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern -double the last letter and add “-ed” stop; stopped

• plan; planned

Long verbs with a stressed syllable at the end, where the last three letters follow a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern -double the last letter and add “-ed” prefer; preferred

• admit; admitted
• Consonant + y -ied (replacing the “y”) try; tried

**Note: Verbs that end in a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern where the final letter is “w,” “x,” or “y” usually don’t have their final consonant doubled (e.g., “mix” becomes “mixed”). Verbs that end in a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern where the final syllable is not stressed also don’t have their final letter doubled (e.g., “enter” becomes “entered”).

Verb to be

am is is is are are are are

I He She It You We They You

Present

I He She It You We They

was was was.was were were were

Past

Verb to be

We use the verb be to talk about: Who we are: I‘m Steven, and this is Isabella. And this is my daughter, Alicia. Age: I‘m 24 years old, and my father is 50. Job: I‘m a teacher, and my wife is a doctor. Nationality: Alex is from Ireland, and Sonia is from Spain. Feelings: I‘m scared. She is very tired. Colour: Our dog is black. His eyes are blue. Prices: It‘s seven pounds. This T-shirt is twenty dollars. The weather: It‘s sunny today. It is very cold this morning. The time: What time is it? It‘s ten past four. Descriptions in general: He is very short and thin. The cars are old and cheap.

WH QUESTIONS

Wh-questions begin with what, when, where, who, whom, which, whose, why and how. We use them to ask for information. The answer cannot be yes or no: How much How many A: When do you finish college? How much does it cost? B: Next year. How many years do you have in the company? How old are you? A: Who is your favourite actor? B: George Clooney for sure! Forming wh-questions with an auxiliary verb: We usually form wh-questions with wh- + an auxiliary verb (be, do or have) + subject + main verb or with wh- + a modal verb + subject + main verb: Be: Who is she? Who are your parents? Do: Where do they live? Have: What have they decided?

Without an auxiliary verb Warning: When what, who, which or whose is the subject or part of the subject, we do not use the auxiliary. We use the word order subject + verb: What fell off the wall? Which horse won? Who bought this? Whose phone rang? Compare Who owns this bag? Who is the subject of the sentence and this bag is the object. We use no auxiliary verb. Who do you love most? Who is the object of the sentence and you is the subject. We use the auxiliary verb do.

Responding to wh-questions Wh-questions ask for information and we do not expect a yes-no answer to a wh-question. We expect an answer which gives information: A: Where’s the coffee machine? (We expect an answer about the location of the coffee machine.) B: It’s in the room next to the reception. A: How old is your dog? (We expect an answer about the age of the dog.) B: She’s about five. I’m not very sure. Adding emphasis to wh-questions We can add emphasis to wh-questions in speaking by stressing the auxiliary verb do. We usually do this when we have not already received the information that we expected from an earlier question, or to show strong interest. When the wh-word is the object of the sentence, the do auxiliary is stressed to make it more emphatic: A: How was your weekend in Edinburgh? B: I didn’t go to Edinburgh. A: Really. Where did you go? B: We decided to go to Glasgow instead. When the wh-word is the subject of the sentence, we can add the auxiliary do to make it emphatic. We stress do: A: Ronald Price lives in that house, doesn’t he? B: No. He moved out. A: So who does live there? (non-emphatic question: So who lives there?) B: Actually, his son is living there now. See also: Intonation and wh-questions Negative wh-questions When we ask negative wh-questions, we use the auxiliary verb do when there is no other auxiliary or modal verb, even when the wh-word is the subject of the clause: Affirmative with no auxiliary Negative with auxiliary do Who wants an ice cream? Who doesn’t want an ice cream? Which door opened? Which door didn’t open? Adding a wh-word at the end of a statement to make a question Spoken English: In speaking, we can sometimes turn wh-questions into statement questions: What’s today’s date? or Today’s date is what? We do this especially when we are checking information that we have already been given or when we want to quickly check a particular detail. These are less formal than full wh-questions: A: So we’re all going to be there at eight? B: Right, I’m travelling with Larry. A: You’re travelling with who? (more formal: Who are you travelling with?) B: With Larry. We’re actually going on our bikes. A: Is your sister here too or just your mother? B: Just my mother. A: And she’s here until when? (more formal: And when is she here until? or even more formal: Until when is she here?) See also: Questions: statement questions (you’re over 18?) Questions: echo and checking questions Intonation and wh-questions The intonation of wh-questions is normally falling. The falling intonation is on the most important syllable: Where are the keys to the back do↘or? Why are the lights re↘d? When we ask wh-questions to check or clarify information that has already been given, we may use rising or fall-rising intonation: Wh↗at did you say the time was? (I know you’ve told me before but I’ve forgotten.) Wh↘o p↗aid for the meal? See also: Adding emphasis to wh-questions Prepositions and particles with wh-questions We can use wh-words and phrases after prepositions in more formal questions: Where will the money come from? From where will the money come? (formal) Spoken English: In informal styles, especially in speaking, the preposition may be separated and placed at the end of the question clause: What will I talk to her about? Who should we send the invitation to? (informal) Whom should we send the invitation to? (formal) To whom should we send the invitation? (more formal) For what reason did she leave him? (formal: preposition + wh-phrase) When we make questions shorter, we usually put the preposition and its complement together: A: We’re all meeting up tonight. B: At what time? Not: What time at?

Responding to wh-questions Wh-questions ask for information and we do not expect a yes-no answer to a wh-question. We expect an answer which gives information: A: Where’s the coffee machine? (We expect an answer about the location of the coffee machine.) B: It’s in the room next to the reception. A: How old is your dog? (We expect an answer about the age of the dog.) B: She’s about five. I’m not very sure.

A: Really. Where did you go? B: We decided to go to Glasgow instead. When the wh-word is the subject of the sentence, we can add the auxiliary do to make it emphatic. We stress do: A: Ronald Price lives in that house, doesn’t he? B: No. He moved out. A: So who does live there? (non-emphatic question: So who lives there?) B: Actually, his son is living there now.

Negative wh-questions When we ask negative wh-questions, we use the auxiliary verb do when there is no other auxiliary or modal verb, even when the wh-word is the subject of the clause: Affirmative with no auxiliary Negative with auxiliary do Who wants an ice cream? Who doesn’t want an ice cream? Which door opened? Which door didn’t open? Adding a wh-word at the end of a statement to make a question Spoken English: In speaking, we can sometimes turn wh-questions into statement questions: What’s today’s date? or Today’s date is what? We do this especially when we are checking information that we have already been given or when we want to quickly check a particular detail. These are less formal than full wh-questions: A: So we’re all going to be there at eight? B: Right, I’m travelling with Larry. A: You’re travelling with who? (more formal: Who are you travelling with?) B: With Larry. We’re actually going on our bikes. A: Is your sister here too or just your mother? B: Just my mother. A: And she’s here until when? (more formal: And when is she here until? or even more formal: Until when is she here?) See also: Questions: statement questions (you’re over 18?) Questions: echo and checking questions Intonation and wh-questions The intonation of wh-questions is normally falling. The falling intonation is on the most important syllable: Where are the keys to the back do↘or? Why are the lights re↘d? When we ask wh-questions to check or clarify information that has already been given, we may use rising or fall-rising intonation: Wh↗at did you say the time was? (I know you’ve told me before but I’ve forgotten.) Wh↘o p↗aid for the meal? See also: Adding emphasis to wh-questions Prepositions and particles with wh-questions We can use wh-words and phrases after prepositions in more formal questions: Where will the money come from? From where will the money come? (formal) Spoken English: In informal styles, especially in speaking, the preposition may be separated and placed at the end of the question clause: What will I talk to her about? Who should we send the invitation to? (informal) Whom should we send the invitation to? (formal) To whom should we send the invitation? (more formal) For what reason did she leave him? (formal: preposition + wh-phrase) When we make questions shorter, we usually put the preposition and its complement together: A: We’re all meeting up tonight. B: At what time? Not: What time at?

We do this especially when we are checking information that we have already been given or when we want to quickly check a particular detail. These are less formal than full wh-questions: A: So we’re all going to be there at eight? B: Right, I’m travelling with Larry. A: You’re travelling with who? (more formal: Who are you travelling with?) B: With Larry. We’re actually going on our bikes. A: Is your sister here too or just your mother? B: Just my mother. A: And she’s here until when? (more formal: And when is she here until? or even more formal: Until when is she here?)