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1.1: BE Verb in the Simple Present

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    Learning Goals

    At the end of this chapter you should be able to:

    Recognize and use the BE verb

    • in the affirmative and negative
    • with contractions
    • with yes/no questions and short answers
    • with information questions

    and use parts of speech to construct simple sentences

    Prepare

    Activity 1.1: Prereading

    Directions: Ask your partner the following questions. Write down the answers so you can report back to the class

    1. What's your name?
    2. How old are you?
    3. Where are you from?
    4. What language(s) do you speak?
    5. What do you miss about your country?
    6. Where do you live now (city, town, or rural area)?
    7. Do you live in an apartment, house, mobile home, or something else?
    8. Please describe where you live. What do you see when you look out the window? Is there a yard, trees, plants, a sidewalk, a street, buildings, or something else?

    Now introduce your partner to your group or the whole class. Use the information you learned about your partner. Use the BE verb and other verbs.

    Directions: Read this story out loud with a partner. One person reads a paragraph, then the other person reads the next paragraph. When you are finished, read the story again. This time, read the paragraphs that you did not read.

    Ana & Pedro

    I am Ana from Guatemala. I am 20 years old. My brother, Pedro is here too. Pedro is 19 years old. We both study English at SanJac. We are Spanish speakers. Pedro and I have black hair and black eyes. We are not tall, and we are not thin. We are average in height and weight. We live with our aunt and uncle in an apartment near a park. Our apartment is on the ground floor. There is a patio outside our back door. Next to the patio is the park. In the park, there are paths for walking and a playground for kids. We often enjoy going there. We like to go outside on sunny days. However, there are not many trees! On hot days, there is not much shade.

    We like Texas, but we are homesick for Guatemala. We are not really “sick”. We just miss our country and its culture. Our mom is in Guatemala. She is a great “pupusa” cook. Pupusas are thick corn tortillas filled with beans and meat. We are homesick for her and her cooking. We are also tired of the cold! We prefer a warmer climate. However, we like the green trees and blue skies of Texas. The people are so nice, too! Texans are friendly and helpful people.

    Activity 1.2: Comprehension

    Directions: Ask and answer the following questions with your partner. Do you or your partner have anything in common with Ana and Pedro? Be prepared to discuss what you learn about Ana and Pedro with the class.

    1. Who are Ana and Pedro?
    2. Where are they from?
    3. Where do they live now?
    4. Who do Ana and Pedro live with?
    5. Describe Ana and Pedro’s living situation. What is near their apartment?
    6. What do they miss in their country?
    7. What do they like about Texas?
    8. What don’t they like about Texas?

    Explore

    Activity 1.3: Noticing

    Part 1 Directions: Go back to the story about Ana and Pedro. Find all the BE verbs. There are three forms in the present tense: am, is, andare.

    Every sentence in English must have a subject AND a verb. A subject is:

    • the person, place, or thing doing the action of the verb, or
    • the person, place, or thing being described by the verb.

    The subject and verb always “go with,” “match,” or “agree with” each other.

    Part 2 Directions: Write the form of the BE verb that comes after each subject.

    1. What form of the BE verb agrees with (comes after) I?
    2. What form of the BE verb agrees with (comes after) he/she/it?
    3. What form of the BE verb agrees with (comes after) you/we/they?
    Activity 1.4: Try It Out!

    Directions: Now that you have read the story about Ana and Pedro, write the correct form of the BE verb on the lines. You will write about yourself in numbers *5 and *8.

    1. My name _____________Ana.
    2. Ana _____________a student.
    3. Pedro _____________from Guatemala.
    4. Ana _____________20 years old.
    5. I __________________________years old. *
    6. It _____________a sunny day.
    7. Ana and Pedro _____________Spanish speakers.
    8. I _____________a _____________speaker. *
    9. They _____________in their apartment.
    10. We _____________in our classroom.

    *Talk about yourself here.

    Discover

    The BE verb describes, characterizes, defines, and shows time, place, or location. The words after the BE verb give more information about the words before the BE verb (except in “there” sentences).

    Uses of the BE Verb

    Look at the table for the uses of the BE verb. As you read across, you will find out when to use the BE verb, which parts of speech are important, and example sentences.

    BE Verb Uses Words After BE Verb Example Sentences
    1.to describe people and things (including age) Adjective: a describing word

    good, bad, new, old, young, little, big, tired, married

    		 I am happy.
    Ana is 20 years old.
    She is young.
    The dogs are playful.
    You are smart.
    2.to characterize or define the subject Noun: person, place, thing, or idea I am a student.
    Pedro is a man.
    Ana and Pedro are Guatemalans.
    3.to show time, dates, or place Preposition + noun = Prepositional Phrase Our school is in Texas City.
    Christmas is on December 25th.
    Our class is at 9:00 am.
    4.to show location Location words: here, there, near, far, inside, outside, upstairs, downstairs Ana’s apartment is near a park.
    Pedro is upstairs studying.
    5.to show place of origin Use the preposition “from” Ana and Pedro are from Guatemala.
    I am from Houston.
    Where are you from?
    6.in “there” sentences The subject comes after the BE verb.
    is → singular subjects
    are → plural subjects.    		 There is a dog in the park.
    There are trees near our apartment.
    Activity 1.5: Writing

    Directions: The table above explains the ways the BE verb is used. Write one sentence that uses each type of sentence. Use the example sentences to help you.

    1

    2.

    3.

    4.

    5.

    6.

    Now that you have written some sentences with the BE verb, think about what the BE verb does in the sentence. It links or connects the subject of the sentence to the rest of the sentence. The BE verb helps the writer say more about the subject.

    Note

    A subject is the person, place, or thing doing the action or being described by the verb.

    • Nouns characterize or define the subject.
    • Adjectives describe the subject.
    • Prepositions (place-words) show time or location.
    Examples

    I am a student. → I = student

    She is a young woman. → she = young woman

    They are funny. → they = funny

    She is at school. → she = location/at school

    Class is at 9:00 am. → class = show time/9:00 am

    Forms of the BE Verb

    How do we form a BE verb sentence? In the Explore section above, you matched the subject pronouns to the BE forms: am, is, and are. Subject pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, you, and they.

    Affirmative Statements with the BE Verb

    Subject BE Verb Noun, Adjective, or
    Prepositional Phrase
    I am a student.
    He
    She
    It    		 is inside the house.
    at work.
    a cat.
    You
    We
    They    		 are beautiful.
    in class.
    smart.

    As you can see, there are three forms of the BE verb.

    • am agrees with the subject I
    • is agrees with the subjects he, she, it
    • are agrees with the subjects you, we, they
    Activity 1.7: Fill-in-the-Blank

    Directions: Complete the sentences with the correct form of the BE verb.

    1. He _____________from China.
    2. I _____________a cashier.
    3. She _____________late for class.
    4. They _____________hungry.
    5. You _____________busy.
    6. It _____________dark now.
    7. We _____________students.
    8. Ms. Smith_____________a teacher.
    Activity 1.8: Writing

    Directions: Change the singular to plural or the plural to singular. Use the correct verb form with your new sentence. Use the information above to guide you.

    Examples

    She is a teacher. → They are teachers.

    We are hungry. → He is hungry.

    They are from Venezuela. → She is from Venezuela.

    1. I am from Houston, Texas.

    We ___________________________________

    2. I am from Guatemala.

    You ___________________________________

    3. I am 20 years old.

    They ___________________________________

    4. Pedro is here, too.

    They ___________________________________

    5. The garden path is in the sun.

    The garden ___________________________________

    6. Pedro is a student at SanJac.

    We ___________________________________

    7. We are not tall.

    I ___________________________________

    8. All of the houses are beautiful.

    Our patio ___________________________________

    Affirmative Contractions

    Here are the BE verb forms with their contractions. Contractions shorten and combine two words. This is very common in English. Notice that SINGULAR pronouns (except the subject I) use is, while PLURAL pronouns use are.

    Full Forms Contractions Example Sentences
    I am → I’m I’m a student.
    He is →
    She is →
    It is →     		He’s
    She’s
    It’s    		 He’s inside the house.
    She’s at work.
    It’s a cat.
    You are →
    We are →
    They are →    		 You’re
    We’re
    They’re    		 You’re beautiful.
    We’re in class.
    They’re smart.
    Activity 1.10: Writing

    Directions: Change the full forms to contractions.

    Example

    I am Ana. → I’m Ana.

    1. It is really nice in the park.
    2. He is a student.
    3. I am from Guatemala.
    4. We are homesick for Guatemala.
    5. We are hungry for Mom’s pupusas.
    6. She is a great cook.
    7. We are tired of the cold!

    This page titled 1.1: BE Verb in the Simple Present is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Susan Caisse, Kristee Emens-Hesslink, & Jennifer Rueda (OpenOregon) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.