to be

here, there
like + -ing
Personal pronouns
Possessive 's
Present Simple
this / that / these
was / were

Be
Use:
Use be with:
Names
Your age

Hello, Im John.
How old are you?
Im 17.
London is in England.

Places

The Pyramids are in Egypt.

The bank is one kilometre from here.

Adjectives

This hotel is nice.

Im hungry.
Im a student.

Jobs and family

My parents are doctors.

This is my sister.
Ann and Tom are my children.

Other Nouns
adjective + noun

Jess is a dog.
Hamlet is a play.
Thats a nice dress.
Shes a good actor.

Form:
Positive sentences
am / m

cold / hungry

a student / a teacher

You / We / They

are / re

He / She / It

is / s

at home / in the kitchen

Negative Sentences
am not / m not

cold / hungry

a student / a teacher

You / We / They

are not / arent / re not

He / She / It

is not / isnt / s not

Questions
I

cold / hungry?

at home / in the kitchen

Am

a student / a teacher?

Are

you / we / they

Is

he / she / it

at home / in the kitchen?

Short answers
I am.
Yes,

No,

Im not.

you are.

you arent / youre not.

he / she / it is.

he isnt / hes not.

we are.

we arent / were not.

they are.

they arent / theyre not.

Contractions
The verb be has a full form and a contracted form.
I am = Im
He is = Hes
We normally use the contracted form (m / s / re) in speaking and informal writing.
We write the words in full in formal writing.
You can only use one contraction at a time:
eg: He isnt
Hes not
but NOT Hesnt
You can contract be after pronouns (I, you, she etc) and names.
You can contract is after question words.
What is your name? => Whats your name?
But do not contract are after question words.
Where are you from? => Wherere you from?
Do not contract short answers:
Yes, I am NOT Yes, Im
Common mistakes
1. In English, every sentence must have a verb. Some students write sentences with no verb.
I very hungry. => Im very hungry
My brother in his bedroom. => My brother is in his bedroom.
2. Some students write questions incorrectly.
She is your sister? => Is she your sister?
1. Which word completes the sentence?
You ____ very hungry!
are

Correct

is
am

Incorrect

2. In which sentence can you write is?

____ your parents here?

____ you a doctor?
This ____ my mother.

Correct

3. Which question is NOT correct?

You are a manager?

Correct

Where is your house?

How old are you?
4. Which sentence is correct?
He not my dad, hes my husband!
Im no a student, Im a teacher.
Marias not in the kitchen.

Correct

5. Which is the correct answer to this question?

Are you hungry?
No, I not.
Yes, Im.
No, Im not.

Correct

6.
it cold outside?

7.
Where

8.

you?

Sorry, but we

free on Friday. We're busy

9.
That

my sister, its my mum!

Hello, I

Paul. Nice to meet you.

Here, There
Use:
Here:

Use here when you find something.

Wheres my bag?

Its here! Here it is!

Here means that something is near you.

Is your dad here?

Yes, he is.

There:

Use there to talk about what exists.

Theres a cafe, a bank, a shop and a park in the town.

Use there to talk about how many things there are.

There are three people in my family.
There are ten students in the class.

And use there to talk about where things are.

There is a bathroom opposite the bedroom.
Theres a cash machine near the cafe.

Use there, or over there, to talk about something that is not near you.
Wheres my bag?

Its over there, near the door.

Form:
1)

Use here and there with be.

Here is your bag. Your bags are here.

There is a nice restaurant in town. There are some good shops in town.
2)

You can contract is after here and there. You cannot contract are.
=>

Here is Joe!

=>Theres a great caf near here.

There is a great caf near here.

=>

Here are your bags!

There are three kids in my family.
3)

Heres Joe!

=>

Herere your bags.

Therere three kids in my family.

Make questions by inverting here / there and be:

Is there a nice restaurant in town?
Are there any good shops in town?
How many shops are there in the town?

Common mistakes
1. Some students do not use there to talk about things that exist.
A restaurant is in my town.
Ten students are in my class.

=>
=>

There is a restaurant in my town.

There are ten students in my class.

2. Some students forget to invert there and be in questions.

How many students there are in your class?=>
How many students are there in your class?
1. Which question is correct?
John he is here today?
Is John here today?

Correct

John is here today?

2. Which reply is NOT correct?
Wheres my jacket?
Its over there.
Its here.
Here is it.

Correct

3. Which word goes in the space?

____ is a good book shop near my house.
Here
This
There

Correct

4. Which question is correct?

How many rooms there are in your house?

How many rooms are in your house?
How many rooms are there in your house?

Correct

5. Which word goes in the space?

Your keys ___ here!
You do not need a word.
is
are

Correct

6. Which sentence is wrong?

Therere some nice shops near my house.
Theres a nice caf near my house.
Heres my favourite bar.
7. Which sentence is correct?
Heres your coat.

Correct

Therere your shoes.

Herere your bags.
8. Complete the question.
____ a bank near the hotel?
Here is
There is
Is there

Correct

9. Complete the question.

Is ____ a supermarket near ____?

Correct

there / here

Correct

here / there
here / here
10. Complete the sentence.
____ a cash machine over ____.
Theres / there.

Correct

There are / here.

Heres / there

Verbs of Preference + gerunds

Use:
We can use several different words and phrases in English to talk about things we like and dislike.

like

dont mind

dislike

love

hate

enjoy

cant stand

Form:
After these words you can use a noun or a verb in the ing form.
I like water.

I like swimming.

I love sports.

I love running.

We enjoy good food.

We enjoy eating out.

I dont mind housework.

I dislike buses.
I hate housework
I cant stand planes.

I dont mind cooking.

I dislike waiting.
I hate cleaning.
I cant stand flying.

Spelling rules
Remember the spelling rules when you make the ing form.

If a verb ends in e, delete the e before you add ing.

=>

have

swim

I love having breakfast in bed.

If a verb ends one vowel and one consonant, double the consonant.
=>

I dont like swimming.

Exceptions: words that end in w or y.

row

=>

I love rowing.

sew

=>

I dont like rowing.

=>

play

I like playing football.

Other exceptions:
=>

iron
=>

open

My mum hates ironing.

I dont mind opening the window for you.

Personal pronouns
Use:
Personal pronouns go before a noun.
They tell you who owns something.
This is my coat.
Is this your bag?
Form:
1)

Possessive adjectives are shown in the table below.

my

This is my brother.

you

your

is this your chair?

he

his

His sister works here.

she

her

Janet and her brother are here.

it

its

My dog is brown, but its tail is white.

we

our

My husband and I live in London, but our children live in Paris.

they

their

My cousins live in Scotland with their parents.

Common mistakes
The pronoun is connected to the person who owns the object, NOT the object.
My sister and her husband live in Paris.

NOT

My sister and his husband live in Paris.

Possessive s
Use:
Possessive adjectives after a name and before a noun.
They tell you who owns something.
This is Johns coat.
Is this Tinas bag?
Dont use s after things.
I clean the gardens pond every week. =>
Whats the books name?

I clean the pond in the gardenevery week.

=>

Whats the name of the book?

You can usually use s after organisations and groups of people.

Its the governments decision. OR
Tom is the companys new director.
You can use s after time expressions.
What time is tomorrows meeting?

Its the decision of the government.

OR

Tom is the new director of the company.

You can sometimes use s after countries and cities.

Indias population is rising.
But you cannot do this if it refers to a person.
I met Londons mayor last week.
Englands Queen is well-known. =>

=>

I met the mayor of London last week.

The Queen of England is well-known.

Form:

To make the possessive form, add s to the end of the name.

Is that Jacks bag?

With two names, only add s to the second name.

Thats Jane and Harrys house.

NOT

Thats Janes and Harrys house.

If something belongs to two or more people, put the apostrophe() after the plural s. Do not write a second s.

My parents house is really big. NOT

My parentss house is really big.

However, if the plural noun is irregular, write the apostrophe () before the S.
The childrens party was great. NOT

The childrens party was great.

Present Simple
Use:
Sentences in the present simple tense are true all the time.

I come from Japan.

I live in Paris.

I like animals.

I have three sisters.

Form:
1) Form the present simple this way:
Positive
like
I
you

animals

he
she

likes

it
we

like

they
Negative
dont
I
you

like

animals

he
doesnt

she
it
we

dont

they
Questions
I
Do

you
like

he
Does

animals?

she
it

Do

we
they

Short answers
I

do

you
Yes,

you
No,

he
she

does

it
we

do

Spelling Rules for 3rd person (he / she / it)

If a verb ends in consonant + y, change y to i and add es.

I study English. He studies English.

he
she

doesnt

it

they

dont

If a verb ends in tch, ss, x, sh or z, add es.

we
they

dont

She watches television.

Susan misses her family.
He fixes the television.
My dad washes the car on Sundays.

Some verbs have irregular spellings:

I go

I do

he / she / it goes
he / she / it does

I have

he / she / it has

Common mistakes
1)

Some students forget to add s for he/she/it.

My mother like chocolate.

2)

My mother likes chocolate.

Some students make the negative form incorrectly.

Tom no work here.

Tom doesnt work here.

Tom isnt work here.

Tom dont work here.
3)

Some students forget to use Do and Does to make questions.

You like this song?

Is your father work here?

Do you like this song?

Does your father work here?