1. THE VERB TO BE (1)

1. THE VERB TO BE (1)

Form

Affirmative
I	am	happy
you we they	are
he she it	is

Short form

In spoken and informal English, it is natural to use short forms of the verb to be.

I You We They He She It

am are are are is is is

= = = = = = =

I’m You’re We’re They’re He’s She’s It’s

 We can also use short forms with names.

John is tall = John’s tall.

London is a very big city = London’s very big city.

Use

We use the verb to be to talk about

ages	I’m 16 and my brother is six.
occupations	She’s a student and her parents are teacher.
prices	This watch is £30.
the time	It’s nine o’clock
feelings and states	I’m hungry.
nationality	They’re Argentinian.
colours	His eyes are blue.

Exercises THE VERB TO BE (1)

1	Complete the spaces with is, are, or am. a Cars ___are____ expensive. b John ____ a student. c I ____ the best in the class. d My sister ____ a teacher. e The train ____ late again. f You ____ in class 3B. g That computer ____ very slow. h It ____ cold today. i We ____ interested in shopping. j I ____ tired. k Stephanie and Luke ____ from Canada.
2	Rewrite these sentences using the short form. a She is funny __She’s funny__ b They are clever. ________________ c We are cold. ________________ d I am an astronaut. ________________ e He is tall. ________________ f You are friendly. ________________ g They are kind. ________________ h She is a good teacher. ________________ i They are bad dogs. ________________ j You are nice students. ________________ k Sally is 15 years old. ________________
3	Use the prompts to write a sentence. Use short forms. a He/ angry ____He’s angry ____ b They/ happy _________________ c It/ hot now _________________ d You/ intelligent _________________ e We/ unhappy today _________________ f I/ a doctor _________________ g You/ good students _________________ h She/ from Mexico _________________ i My eyes/ green _________________ j We/ Australian _________________ k Michael/ young _________________

Answer key