When placed i am. Use cases was - were

Choosing the form of the verb to be (am, is or are) in english language depends from person and number the noun or pronoun after which it is used.

Examples of

1. My brother is a hairdresser - My brother is a hairdresser. (My brother is a noun in 3rd person, singular)
2. I am from Moscow - I am from Moscow. (I - pronoun in 1st person, singular)
3. You are very tall - You are very tall. (You is a pronoun in the 2nd person, singular)
4. Maggy and Ryan are my neighbors - Maggie and Ryan are my neighbors. (Maggy and Ryan - plural, 3rd person)
5. Lucy is 21 years old - Lucy is 21 years old. (Lucy is a proper noun, corresponds to the pronoun in the 3rd person, singular)
6. Your pen is on the table - Your pen is on the table. (Your pen - 3rd person singular noun)

1. The use of am / is / are in Present Simple as a linking verb

Am / is / are is used in Present Simple as linking verb. It connects the subject with the following noun or adjective and is part of the compound predicate. In such sentences, the linking verb is usually not translated into Russian.

2. Using am / is / are in Present Continuous as an auxiliary verb

Am / is / are is used as auxiliary verb with the formation of Present Continuous Tense. All uses of Present Continuous

* Present Participle \u003d infinitive without to with ending -ing

3. Using am / is / are in the passive voice

When the subject is a person (or object) being acted upon by another person (object), the verb is used in the form passive voice.

Since this article is about the use of only am / is / are forms of the verb to be, then we will touch upon only those cases of the formation of the passive voice in which this form is required, namely Present Simple Passive and Present Continuous Passive.

Education Present Simple Passive (Present Simple in passive voice)

Present Continuous Passive education (Present Continuous in passive voice)

Am / is / are is used to form sentences in Present Continuous Passive.

“To be or not to be” is a question that is relevant not only for Shakespeare's characters, but also for those who are working to improve their level of English proficiency. to be has a very wide scope in the English language, is both a semantic verb, and part of numerous set expressions, and an auxiliary, and even a modal verb. But first things first!

Meaning of the verb to be

The original and basic meaning of this verb is “to be, to be, to be”. Quite often, a predicate is added to it - the nominal part of a compound predicate - in the form of an adjective, noun or some kind of phrase with a preposition, for example:

As you can see from the example of the sentences in the table, the verb to be in the present tense is often simply not translated into Russian. Hence its colloquial name, adopted among students of the English language - "verb-link" - that is, a verb, rather necessary for the connection of the semantic parts of the sentence.

In addition, there are a large number of fixed expressions with the verb to be, giving it special meaning. .

Forms of the verb to be

Whatever role the verb to be plays in a sentence, it is extremely important to know its form formation, because its forms (as well as the forms of its Russian analogue “to be”) are often completely different from the original form (infinitive) - to be. So, for example, the basis for English learners is knowledge of the forms of the verb to be (the Present Simple Tense):

Here are possible reductions, in which the verb is combined with a pronoun, and an apostrophe appears in place of the "escaped" letter:

It is also important to firmly learn past simple tense forms (the Past Simple Tense) of this verb:

Obligatory memorization is also subject three main forms verb to be, because it belongs to the group of irregular verbs:

All tense forms of the verb to be can be represented in the following table:

* The verb to be is rarely used in group tenses Continuous , because its lexical meaning - "to be" - usually implies some constant characteristic, for example to be lazy - to be lazy, which means that it is more typical for it to be used in group times Simple ... However, in cases where the unusual situation or behavior of a person is implied, such use is the norm, for example:

Use in Continuous it is also permissible if we are talking about a repetitive and pretty boring process. In this case, this temporary form is mainly responsible for the expressiveness and expressiveness of the sentence (in other cases, regularly repeated actions that do not cause irritation are the scope of Simple):

Consider examples of sentences with the verb to be in various tense forms:

Applications of the verb to be

This verb finds its application in English in the following cases:

• as semantic verb with the meaning "to be":

• as auxiliary verb for the following grammatical constructions:
• times of the group Continuous and Perfect Continuous:

• as component part There is/ are (is / is):

• as component part common design to begoing to (to collect / intend):

• as modal verb with the to particle and with the meaning of obligation by virtue of some plan or agreement:

• as a base element phrasal verbs:

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 must 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:

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(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 corresponding 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 in the Russian language in its initial form, for example, the verb "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 - would be, find bexia, 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 faces, 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" we have changed the verb to match the subject, 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 particletonot used, but when conjugatingtogoes down. The initial form in English is called Infinitive -Infinitive.

More about the particle tosee 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 for the formation of the future tense of verbs (although its use is not a grammatical error), for all persons the form is used will... Therefore, sometimes there is a discrepancy in different textbooks.

To summarize, consider the following table:

I bring to your attention a few 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 / married
• To be single - to be single / not married
• To be lucky - to be lucky
• To be ready (for) - 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 affirmative, interrogative, and negative sentences. What did you do?

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 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.

A bit of 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 it produces (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 no action is indicated, we understand that the situation takes place in the present tense.

For example: Cold. 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 look at 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 concerns the present. In Russian, for the past and future tense we call action.

Example in the past tense: It was cold. Was rain. I AM was under the umbrella. An example in the future tense: Will be cold. Will be rain. I AM i will under the umbrella.

Here 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.

Verb "To be" in the present tense has 3 forms in English: am / is / are... Please note that to be itself is not translated in any time, 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 be" 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:

• 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 simultaneously:

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

But for I am there are only 2 options:

• I am not - I’m not. I amn’t acronym does not exist.

• Use is with objects in the singular and are with plural objects.
• After collective nouns, it is usually used isbut one can use are if you need to select individual objects that belong to the group.
• After phrases like a number of… usually 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 more than one noun in a sentence, 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 are 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 for use. is and 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 (the 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.

The audience is getting antsy. - Those 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 group members.

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 vs. Are with phrases a Number of / a Pair of / a Group of

Collective phrases like a number of or a pair of make you wonder what to use, is or are... Which verb should be used when we are talking about phrases like a number of people? 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 a number of... 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 is concerned about the lack of progress.

Other collective phrases like group of 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 book series is phenomenal.

But can also be used arewhen 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.

A good pair of shoes is a luxury in some parts of the world. - A good pair of shoes is considered a luxury for people in some parts of the world.

Wrong: A good pair of shoes are a luxury in some parts of the world.

There Is vs. There are

When we choose between there is and there are, you need to pay attention to what follows these constructions.

In the sentence above, the word cat is in the singular, so the construction is used there is.

There are many opportunities to learn at this company.

In the sentence above, the word opportunities plural, therefore there are... (And don't let the word many confuse you - focus on the noun.)