When to write is and when are is a rule. How to master English grammar. When we do not put the particle to before infinitive verbs

• Use is with singular objects and are with objects in plural.
• Usually used after collective nouns is, but can be used are if you need to select individual objects that belong to a group.
• After phrases like a number of… Usually a plural verb is used.

To decide what to use is or are, look at what number the noun is in, singular or plural. If the noun is singular, use is. If it is plural or there is more than one noun in a sentence, use are.

The cat is eating all of his food.– The cat eats everything that is given to her.

The cats are eating all of their food. – Cats eat whatever is given to them.

The cat and the dog are eating as fast as they can.– The cat and dog eat as fast as they can.

These are the most basic grammatical rules of usage. 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 (Committee) is a collective noun. A committee implies 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.- IN this moment The commission is considering the financial issue.

The audience is getting antsy. – Those sitting in the audience become restless.

The couple is moving to California. This couple is moving to California.

But even in American English, a collective noun can be used with are when it is necessary to focus attention 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 actually be counted. Water and sand are 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.– Water is the most valuable resource.

Pudding is very easy to make.- The pudding is very easy to prepare.

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 think about what to use, is or are. Which verb should we use when we talk about phrases like a number of people? On the one side, number is a singular noun which implies the use is. But people it is a plural and suggests the use are. Generally it is better to use are with the phrase a number of. Perhaps you will accidentally encounter someone who will not agree with this, but the choice is yours.

A number of people are concerned about the lack of progress.“Many people are worried about the lack of progress.

A number of people are concerned about the lack of progress.

Other collective phrases like group of can be used with is when the emphasis is on the group:

That group of protesters is sure to be distracting.“This group of demonstrators is sure to create a distraction.”

This series of books is phenomenal.– This series of books is simply phenomenal.

But can also be used are when the focus is on individuals.

A bunch of my friends are going to different schools next fall. – A bunch of my friends are going to go to various 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 items 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.

You won’t envy a person learning a foreign language for the first time. The student thinks in his own way native language, unconsciously tries to transfer the categories, norms and rules of his language into a foreign language. Therefore, when encountering a concept or phenomenon that is absent in native speech, even elementary things seem difficult to perceive.

Often the stumbling block is the verbs am, is, are in English. It is necessary to take time and understand this issue.

Three-headed dragon To be

The verb to be has no analogue in Russian. The fact is that the verb is more of an indicator of person and number than an independent meaning. To be retains separate singular and plural forms for the first and third person in the present tense.

Other verbs retained only the ending -s, which is a sign of the 3rd person singular, for example, She speaks s. The same verb in conjunction with a 1st and 2nd person pronoun will differ from the initial form to speak only in the absence of the particle to: “I speak” and “You speak”. The verbs am, is, are are forms of to be. You can focus the student’s attention on this by depicting the verb to be in the form of a dragon, and calling its heads Am, Is and Are.

Translation problems

The translation sounds like “is” or “to be.” The most common mistake young students make is trying to translate phrases like “I am Kristian” as “I am Christian.” This is a delicate moment for beginners learning a language. Such reservations should be corrected immediately.

The interaction of native and foreign languages ​​is very important for the learning process, so the translation should always sound competent and in accordance with the norms of the language. In general, everyone should memorize the verbs am, is, are.

When do they say am and is, and when do they say are?

Verbs are used in the present tense. For the past, there are the forms was and were; in sentences with the future tense, the form will be and very rarely, shall be, are used. You can remember the rules for using forms of the verb to be by studying the table presented below.

As can be seen from the table, the forms am, is, was are used to denote the singular, and are and were - the plural. In modern English shall and will are considered insufficient verbs. Both verbs are used only in the form of the present tense - shall/will, and the past tense - should/would.

Shall in the present English language used only in the British version. In shall has retained its modal meaning and is used only in cases where they want to talk about the inevitability of an event. In British English shall is used with the pronouns I and we, and will is used with the pronouns she, he, it. Carefully study the following table, which shows the uses of the verb shall.

Common abbreviations for spoken and written speech

When used in negative sentences, the particle not is added to all forms of the verb to be. The full spelling is rarely used; the abbreviated form of writing the negation is more common:

• I am = I"m, I am not = I"m not;
• he is = he"s, he is not = he"s not or he isn't;
• she is = she"s, she is not = she"s not or she isn't;
• it is = it"s, it is not = it"s not or it isn't;
• we are = we"re, we are not = we"re not or we aren't;
• you are = you"re, you are not = you"re not or you aren't;
• they are = they"re, they are not = they"re not or they aren't;
• I (he, she, it) was not = I (he, she, it) wasn"t;
• we (you, they) were not = we (you, they) weren't.

In common parlance and for writing, the following abbreviations of the forms will and shall are used:

• will/shall = "ll;
• will not = won't;
• shall not = shant"t;
• would/should = "d;
• would not = wouldn't;
• shouldn't = shouldn't.

As you can see, the shortened form for shall in the present and past tenses coincides with will, and in speech the difference between the use of forms has practically disappeared.

"To be or not to be" - that is the question

What does Shakespeare's famous line have to do with it?

To consolidate the rules for using the verbs am, is, are and others in practice, it is worth practicing composing affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences.

Interrogative sentences are the most effective in terms of practicing speech skills. It is necessary to train the use of the verb to be not only in the present, but also in the past and future tenses.

Another way to practice your language skills is to memorize short rhymes and poems. Studying poems on foreign language It will not only expand your knowledge of grammar, but also increase your vocabulary.

Variants of using the verb to be and its forms in speech

In speech, the verb to be can be used both as the main semantic predicate and as a connecting or auxiliary part of a compound predicate.

Here are examples of the most common ways to use a verb in speech:

1. The verb to be acts as the main predicate in order to emphasize membership in a particular group. For example, Sara is a florist (Sara is a florist) or Alan is my brother (Alan is my brother). In other words, the verb to be does not express an action, but states the state of an object and its belonging.
2. To be plays the role of the main word in a compound predicate along with adjectives. For example, Jilian is a beautiful young lady (Jilian is a beautiful young girl) or The TV-show is interesting (This TV show is interesting).
3. The verb is the main predicate in statements indicating a place or geographical location. For example, She is at dinner (She is at dinner) or His flat is in the center (His apartment is located in the center).
4. To be acts as a predicate in comparative constructions. For example, The light is faster than the sound.
5. The verb to be can play an auxiliary role in continuous tenses. For example, Present Continuous: They are sitting on the ground (They are now sitting on the ground); Past Continuous: We were watching the TV-show when she telephoned (When she called, we were watching the TV show); Future Continuous: Jilly will be singing tonight.
6. The verb is used to express passive tenses. In such sentences, to be is conjugated in the required tense. The semantic verb is always used in the form of the past participle - Past Participle. Form of all sentences with passive voice one: Passive Subject + To Be + Past Participle. For example, Past Perfect: The breakfast had been eaten before she arrived (Breakfast was eaten before she arrived) or Past Simple: His car was bought in 1995 (His car was bought in 1995).

The verb to be plays a huge role in the English language. Proper use verb forms are necessary for beautiful and correct speech.

In the final part of the series of articles “Teaching a child the basics of reading in English,” I already turned to a possible method of explaining to kids what a linking verb is. In this article I can only refer to the chapter “A little more than the basics” of this small manual for parents.

If the child is accustomed to one of the forms of this verb, it’s time to move on to other forms and the ability to choose them.

One of the bad ways

Traditional difficulty, to which, according to my observations, many parents and novice teachers doom themselves and their children, is the study all three present tense verb forms in connection with pronouns, in other words, it is often explained to the child which pronouns this or that verb form is suitable for:
I am
you - are
he, she, it - is
we - are
you - are
they - are

However, this path is similar to the requirement to learn the text of a physical formula in order to understand physical law. Of course, it’s great if the child knows the words themselves and their translation, but we expect from him not only the reproduction of this list, but the ability to operate with it. The illusion arises that we are equipping the child with a scheme that will help him use verb forms correctly. When we require a child to learn the correspondence between verbs and pronouns, we assume that the child will systematize this knowledge so that it can be easily applied when constructing sentences. But is a child able to understand that this is not just a list, but a formula, is he able to understand the laws of English grammar on his own?

In this case, the child faces quite serious tasks:

1. Learn pronouns (the words themselves and their translation);
2. Learn verb forms;
3. Learn the correspondence between verbs and pronouns;
4. Understand on your own that the form “is” is suitable for singular pronouns, except (for some reason) “I”; the form “are” is suitable for plural pronouns, including (for some reason) for those cases when in Russian we say “you”;
5. Understand on your own that, it turns out, when constructing sentences, you don’t need to focus on the pronoun at all - it may not be there at all! Subjects in sentences are needed correlate with pronouns, and only then choose a verb.

As you understand, only older children can do this. In order to clearly and systematically imagine this information, the child must complete many exercises, make mistakes many times, shrug his shoulders many times, feel uncertainty many times, and only a few times feel confirmation of his vague guesses.

It is clear to an adult that “he” means any person or any male animal in the singular, that “they” and “we” from the point of view of English grammar (as applied to the present time) are one and the same; that there are no differences between “you” and “you”, but for a child these are complex tasks for abstract thinking, which is still very fragile for him. It is not at all obvious to him that in some cases the “number” is important, and everything else is unimportant (“we are, they are”); and in other cases, both person and number (“we are, I am”) are important... Therefore, pronouns are bad helpers when studying present tense verb forms. They can only be attracted very carefully.

Additionally, learning a whole list of forms at once is extremely difficult for children. It's hard for them to even learn English colors: They remember the words and names of colors easily, but they can confuse what these words mean for a very long time. What do you want from grammatical forms that are not yet completely “overlapping” with Russian!

Meanwhile, the child needs not only to understand, but also to remember the forms.

It is much easier for a child to perceive and remember information if he needs to learn simple facts or simple oppositions, that is, pairs: not to remember the complex condition of using a number of forms at once, but to understand the logic of using two opposed forms (“is-are”, “I am - you are "); V complex system these facts and oppositions can be united gradually. Of course, after the child becomes familiar with all forms and pronouns, you need to show them as a whole, in the form of a table or diagram, so that they exist in the form closed system rules, and not as scattered and torn facts.

In addition, the child must be protected from explaining the unknown through the unknown. A child will easily master anything new if it follows the obvious.

In the case of forms of the verb “to be,” it is productive to divide information into “portions” and help the child understand the logic of using the forms. The idea itself, in parallel with mastering verb forms, to learn pronouns is quite logical, however, the sequence of classes can be arranged in such a way that the information arrives “in portions” and the facts do not interfere with each other to “fit in” with ease.

Pronouns with this method are also learned painlessly: when they “arrive” not all at once, but one at a time or in pairs, they do not mix with each other and are remembered faster.

Is/are

The first opposition that arises is the opposition between the plural and singular of the third person, that is, the forms “is” and “are”.

The baby is already familiar with the “is” form. Now we can contrast it with the “are” form. Of course, for this it is necessary that the child is aware of the plural of the noun (the same article to which I already referred describes the technique that I usually use when explaining what it is).

So that the differences between the forms of the verb do not look like a convention for the child, you can first draw a parallel with the Russian language (as when explaining what “is” is) and show the need to use different forms. The dialogue could be, for example, like this:
- Say that the cat will be black.
- The cat will be black.
- Now tell me that the cats will be black.
- The cats will be black.
- Can you say “Cats will be black”?
- No.
- You see, when there is one cat, we say “will,” and when there are many cats, we say differently, “will.” And the British change words when they talk about something that exists now or has already happened. When they say that one cat is black, they say “is”: “A cat is black.” And when they talk about several cats, they say a completely different word.
- (Which?)
- Are. Cats are black. You can’t say “Cats is black”, it’s the same as saying “Cats are black”.

Then you can move on to examples and exercises. Before asking a child to construct sentences, I usually show him a lot of pictures and ask him each time to say which word, “is” or “are”, “fits” each of them (there are two kittens in the photo, the child says “are” , there is one rooster in the photo, the child says “is”). He remembers words, gets used to the principle of their use, and practices choosing one of them. This exercise is good because it sets a minimum of tasks for the baby and concentrates him only on choosing a verb: he does not need to remember other English words, nor read in English, nor compose sentences, he just looks at the pictures and says one word out of two.

If he copes with this task easily, you can move on to the exercise, the principle of which is the same - choose the right word from two - but the “singularity” or “multiplicity” of objects must no longer be determined by the pictures, but by the form of the words. You say English words (first those that he knows well, and then those that he does not know), and the child says “is” or “are” after each word:
- An elephant…
- Is.
- Crocodiles...
- Are.
- A site...
- Is.

Words unfamiliar to the child are needed so that he gradually develops the skill of “separating” the grammatical and ordinary meaning of a word (read more about these meanings in the article “Reading long English sentences (method of “grasping” grammatical structure)" If the baby says that he doesn’t know such a word, you can always answer him:
- Why do you need to know this word? In my opinion, it is already clear that “a site” is one thing. Look, there is an article, but there is no “s” at the end...

Usually children immediately agree with this. Moreover, working with unfamiliar words is often more interesting for them than working with familiar words.

After the forms of the noun and the form of the verb have been “combined”, you can move on to sentence construction exercises: substituting words in sentences, reading sentences and short texts, translating sentences from Russian into English and from English into Russian, etc.

These should be elementary sentences and elementary tasks; the child must certainly understand well what he is doing.

I am

If a child can freely navigate the “is”/”are” space, he is ready to perceive a new form of the verb. Most likely, the pronoun “I” is already familiar to him (read more about this in the second part of the series of articles “Teaching a child the basics of reading in English”), and you can tell him that there is another form specifically for the word “I” - "am".

It would seem that the information is minimal, but it is necessary that “I” and “am” “become friends” from the child’s memory, so that these two words “point” to each other.

Since it is most convenient for a child to remember and practice using oppositions, at the same time I teach him short answer forms: “Yes, I am” and “No, I am not” and ask him to answer affirmatively or negatively to my questions. Since the child’s vocabulary is minimal, and dynamically and reliably working out these answers requires a large number of varied questions that do not tire the child, I take radical measures, namely, I ask these questions in Russian. Only in this case can this exercise be turned into an unobtrusive and slightly crazy game, somewhat reminiscent of the well-known game of “edible-inedible”. Let me remind you that this game consists of the driver throwing a ball to the player and at the same time saying a noun. If this word means something edible, the player “eats,” that is, catches the ball; if it is inedible, the player does not “eat,” that is, does not catch it. The player’s task is to react quickly and not “eat” the inedible. Similar tasks when playing “Yes I am/No, I’m not”. You (the driver) ask the child a question about him, and his task is to quickly respond:
-You are a boy?
-Yes, I am.
- You're good?
- Yes, I am.
-Are you a black man?
- …

I repeat, with adult eyes this game is a little crazy, but with children's eyes it is quite worthy of attention. If desired, you can also add a ball for the tempo and rhythm of the game. Your child can “drive” instead of you: then he will get used to hearing and understanding English speech. Try tricking him with incorrect answers to see if he hears you.

By the way, this game can be cleverly used for psychological and pedagogical purposes by asking, among others, questions like: “Are you happy?”, “Are you healthy?”, “Are you lonely?” Both the answers and the child’s reaction itself will be informative. However, do not overdo it with the number of such questions, the child may see through you and become withdrawn or shy.

Be careful not to ask questions containing semantic verbs (“Do you live on Earth?”), and explain this to the child when he “drives.” The skill of distinguishing between sentences with and without semantic verbs will be very useful: ahead is the ability to choose between an auxiliary verb and a linking verb. Make a small “approach” to this.

Avoid questions like “Do you have it?” Translated into English, this question contains the semantic verb “have”.

You are

Using the same scheme, you can study the “pair” “you are”. Since we are following the path of meaningful language learning, it is logical to explain to the child why the verb “are” is used next to the pronoun “you”.

First, ask your child which verb - “am”, “is” or “are” - he would use next to the word “they”, with the word “he”, with the word “you”. English pronouns need not be named, since these questions are necessary for the child to grasp the logic of the grammatical law. Of course, before this you need to make sure that the child remembers how the forms “is” and “are” are used: play a little game with him that you have already played and “refresh” the information and skill.

After making sure that the child understands the logic (“he” is one, which means “is”, “they” is many, which means “are”), be sure to tell him that he understands everything correctly. Then ask him what word he would use next to the word “you.” Of course, he will answer “wrong.” Then he again needs to be told that he is great and understands everything correctly, but here’s the problem: the British don’t say “you”. They only say "you". Even when we say "you". They always say only “you”.
- And if “you” is “you,” then which word is needed: “is” or “are”?

It may seem that this information is redundant and it’s easier to just “work out” that “are” is used next to “you”, but this can confuse the logic of the grammatical law, which the child has just begun to comprehend, meanwhile, in comprehending the supporting and basic everything should be as complete as possible clear and transparent.

The "fix" game can be similar to the previous game. Ask your baby questions about yourself, not forgetting about the “psychological” ones: you will learn a lot of new things for yourself, and your baby will get used to the pronoun “you”.

Pronouns it/they

You can follow exactly the same path - a short answer to a question asked in Russian - when studying the pronouns “it” / “they”. The word “it” is already familiar to the child, introduce him to the word “they”.

During the game, you can look at the pictures and ask questions. When you ask questions, do not include pronouns; the child must choose them himself:
- Are these bears green?
- No, they are not.

Pronouns he, she - it

When learning about the pronouns “he” and “she,” contrast them with the already familiar pronoun “it.” For some reason, children are often taught that “it” is the same as “it”.

Explain to your child that this word is used when we do not know and cannot know “he or she.” Children perceive with ease and interest the information that English nouns have no gender. Ask your child why we say that a “car” is “white” and a “tractor” is “white”. How do we know if the car is a he or a she? Why is it that for us any unfamiliar cat is a “she”, and any unfamiliar parrot is a “he”? Tell him that only the word tells us this. In fact, the car is neither she nor he, but the cat can be both “she” and “he”. We simply obey the word and say “she” about any cat, although we have no idea whether it is “he” or “she”. But the language doesn’t tell the English anything. Therefore, in English, we can only say “he” or “she” about those about whom we know it: about people, about animals we know. And about everything else we say “it”. You can also tell us that the British like to say “she” about transport.

After that, move on to a game you already know well. The child's task will be to learn to choose between three pronouns and to get used to associating these pronouns with the verb “is”.

Look at the pictures and discuss them. Don’t forget about the most general questions about family and the world order: some may amuse you, and some may alarm you. For example, during one of these games, a girl answered the question “Is Kolya a good driver?” answered lightheartedly in Russian: “When you’re not very drunk, then yes.”

As in the previous case, try not to include pronouns in the question: the child’s task is not to translate pronouns, but to be able to choose the right pronoun independently:
- Is Natasha beautiful?
- Yes, she is.

The exercise for choosing one of the three pronouns may be preceded by an exercise for choosing between “he” and “she”, but this is usually not required.

We

The pronoun “we” and the corresponding verb “are” can be productively studied in opposition to the already familiar pair “I am”. You can play the same game, alternating questions about “we”, about “you” and about “you”. According to my observations, there are no difficulties in choosing the right verb or the right pair of pronoun and verb.

Generalization

After such “portioned” grammar lessons, you must definitely move on to generalizing lessons.

First, talk to your child about when to say “is,” when to say “am,” and when to say “are.” The basis for understanding the logic of grammatical law should not be words-pronouns, but concepts. For example, it can be formulated as follows: ““Am” - when I point to myself alone, “is” - when I point to someone alone, “are” - for many.” In principle, with this generalization one can begin the entire cycle of lessons devoted to forms of the verb “to be”, but such an explanation is still not enough, and “portioned” lessons are still necessary.

Then play the game “Russian question - English short answer”, but the answers must already contain all pronouns and, accordingly, all forms of the verb. Of course, you can move on to reading, translation, and constructing sentences.

I usually don’t rush the kids’ memory and allow them to use a table with pronouns and forms written in a line: “am”, “is”, “are”. I consider it not the dynamic memorization of pronouns that is important, but the ability to choose the form of the verb. With enough practice, pronouns will be remembered on their own.

Take care of the future

So, the purpose of this series of classes should be to get acquainted child with logic choice verb forms and with English pronouns. However not worth it ensure that at this stage the pronouns and forms of the verb “to be” hard connected in the child’s memory (if “I”, then necessarily “am”, if “she”, then necessarily “is”). No need to force him "to harden" pairs of pronouns and verbs. Let me remind you that what lies ahead is the study of the auxiliary verb and the study of the past and future tense. Figuratively speaking, you need to leave a “gap” between the pronoun and the verb, which will allow you to “separate” the pronoun from the verb and replace the verb with another. Therefore, if the child remembers the forms of the verb themselves, understands the principle of choosing the form of the verb, easily “understands” when one or another form is needed, does not get confused in them and easily selects the desired form at least with the help of a “cheat sheet”, the task can be considered completed and move on to the next stage - the study of logic English question. To take a break from new “grammatical” information, several lessons can be devoted to reading and constructing sentences and learning new words.

When it comes to learning any language and breaking down language barriers, polyglots always highlight knowledge of verbs. And it’s true: knowing verbs and knowing how to use them in various forms, you just need to “string” other words on them and you will already have whole sentences. Given this situation, it is not surprising that most The standard vocabulary of a native speaker of Russian, English, Chinese, and another arbitrarily chosen language is precisely this part of speech. But wait, this doesn’t mean that you should immediately start chaotically memorizing any verbs that catch your eye. If this makes any sense, it will be very small. Instead, it is better to analyze in detail those English verbs, which are often and actively used in speech. This is exactly what we will do by studying the verb to be in English.

The verb to be, which is equivalent to the Russian “to be”, “to appear”, “to be”, is one of the most universal and most commonly used verbs in the English language. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that, unlike other representatives of this part, the verb to be is conjugated, changing in persons and numbers.

In addition, to be can be used as a semantic verb or assisted by another verb, acting as an auxiliary. But let's talk about everything in order.

The verb to be refers to irregular verbs, so it has 3 forms. These forms are formed independently, without being explained by rules, so they simply need to be memorized:

The verb to be in the Past Simple or simple past tense in the number of its forms is reduced to two. Their use again depends on the person and number:

This, however, was not always the case. Previously, the future tense form shall be was used for first person pronouns (I / we). Nowadays you can find it very rarely, so just knowing about its existence is enough. In all cases, use the form will.

Please note that other verbs in English are not conjugated. The fact is that there are no conjugations in this language at all, which greatly simplifies English grammar. The verb to be is an exception to the rule.

The forms of this verb in Simple tenses were presented above. All tense forms of the verb to be can be expressed in the following table:

The verb to be may not be used in all tenses. So, in the Perfect Continuous the verb to be is not used. It may also be noted that tenses continuous It is not very common to be friends with the verb to be. Use of verb in long-term forms only possible in certain situations.

Verb to be in English: sentence forms

Affirmative form

The affirmative form of a sentence with the verb to be is built standard scheme: the subject comes first, followed by the verb to be in the required form as a predicate. Study the table:

Negative form

Negative forms of sentences with this verb are formed by adding the negative particle not after to be. No auxiliary verbs are required to use the form:

In both affirmative and negative sentences, the verb to be can be shortened:

There are no shortened forms for the past tense in the statement.

I am not, unlike other verbs, is shortened as I’m not. I amn't is used only in Scotland and Ireland.

Interrogative form

The English question form depends on the type of question:

• IN general issue or in alternative questions, the verb be in the required conjugation is placed before the subject. Tables for clarity :

The answer uses only the verb to be:

The answer uses an affirmative sentence:

If you want to use the future form of the verb, then will must be brought forward, while be will remain in its original place:

• In special questions, an English question word is added to the form above:

The answer is used in the affirmative form:

In your answer it is enough to use the verb to be:

• As part of a nominal predicate, which consists of a linking verb (to be) and a nominal part, expressed by nouns or adjectives. In this case, the verb is translated into Russian as “is”.

Although " There is” can be used, its presence will seem inappropriate, and the proposal will turn out somehow ugly. Judge for yourself:

The Russian language does not need this verb, so it is not usually used. The English language will not allow this, because English sentences is that they are strictly ordered. In simple terms, if you, for example, are composing a complete affirmative sentence, then it must consistently use a subject and a verb, nothing else. In some way, a similar role to be can be associated with the obsolete “is”, which previously performed exactly the same function in the Russian language.

The verb to be in a nominal predicate can also be used to mean “be” in imperative sentences:

1. As an auxiliary verb in Continuous and Perfect Continuous. In this case, the auxiliary verb to be is used with semantic verbs. The verb to be itself is usually not translated in such sentences. Study the examples in the table:

The verb to be can also be used to use the passive voice:

1. Besides the functions mentioned, the verb to be is also used as component in designs:

• to be going to (getting ready);

• there is / are / (there is / exists);

1. The verb can also be used as modal verb in the meaning of “should”, “agreed”, “agreed” when talking about obligations, orders, schedules and plans, the inevitability of events. In this case, to verb the to particle is added:

1. And also when using the verb to be in English in the following constructions:

1. Frequent uses of the verb are also associated with idioms. Here are some of them:

As you can see, the verb to be is very popular and varied, so it can be used in any situation with almost any tense. Once you understand the conjugations of this verb and its role in a sentence, you should not have any difficulty using it. Devote some time English exercises on this topic to reinforce the material, make up your own examples and most importantly - practice the language with native speakers. Because you won't find as much benefit in any exercise as you can get from people who use the language on a daily basis and can help you with any language barriers.

Those who study English constantly come across the verbs am, is, are in the text. What kind of constructions these are, their meaning, translation into Russian and the construction of sentences - you will learn all this in the article.

I am...

We are used to saying simply “My name is Ivan”, “I am a truck driver”, “I am 34 years old”. The English language does not have the plasticity of Russian. It cannot transfer parts of speech from one part of a sentence to another or skip words. Auxiliary verbs are used to connect the subject and predicate. The verb to be, the meaning of which is “to be, to be, to appear,” has its own form for each tense in the English language. The verbs am, is, are are auxiliary verbs for the present continuous tense Present Progressive. This tense denotes an action that is happening at the present moment. The form of the verb to be (am, is, are) is also used to introduce yourself, name your city, age and profession using a linking verb in Present Simple- simple present tense. Let's construct sentences with the verb am: I am from Russia. I'm from Russia. I am 26 years old. I am 26 years old.

Use in speech

How to choose the right form? The form of the verb to be (am, is, are) depends on the number and person of the subject.

Important: the pronoun it denotes inanimate objects, as well as animals and plants. This is my rose. It's wonderful. This is my rose. She is beautiful.

The table above refers to the case when the verbs am, is are used as a connective between the subject and the predicate. Scheme of an affirmative sentence in general view looks like that:

1. Subject.
2. Linking verb.
3. Predicate.
4. Addition or circumstance, if any.

At the same time, the verbs am, is, are are not translated into Russian. The particle to, which appears in the text, is also not translated. It simply refers to the verb.

Construction of an interrogative sentence

In Russian, the same word order can be in both declarative and negative and affirmative sentence. For example: "You love me." “Do you love me?”, “Do you love me!” All that distinguishes them is the intonation during pronunciation.

In English interrogative sentence is built differently. Let's take an example of a declarative sentence and transform it into an interrogative:

I am from Moscow. I am from Moscow. To make the interrogative sentence sound more logical, let's change the pronoun I to you. Are you from Moscow? Now the sentence sounds like this: Are you from Moscow? The auxiliary verb comes first, followed by the subject and predicate, without changes. Let's build a few more interrogative sentences:

1. Am I wrong? - I made a mistake?
2. Are you busy? Are you busy?
3. Where is my cup? Where's my cup?
4. How old is she? How old is she?
5. Is it raining today? Today the rain?

Construction of a negative sentence

A negative sentence is constructed in the same way as a narrative one, but after the verbs am, is, are, the negation not is placed.

Forms of denial

1. He is not in school. He's not at school.
2. You are not French. You're not French.
3. I am not a doctor. I'm not a doctor.

Present Progressive tense

Present progressive is used in English to denote an action taking place at a given moment in time. In Russian, prefixes, suffixes, modified roots and word endings are used for the same purpose.

Present progressive is used in the following cases:

1. To express an action that is happening right now.
2. To refer to a period of time in a broad sense: last week, today, this month. The action has already begun, but events are still happening in this period of time. It"s raining all day. It rains all day.
3. The action will take place in the near future and is already known for sure. Certificates or tickets are available. I'm going to London next week. Next week I'm going to London.
4. In those cases when you have to express boring constancy. You are always losing money. You always lose money.

How is this time formed? Here we use the already known form of the verb to be (am, is, are) with the addition of the ending ing to the verb. Required form The auxiliary verb is chosen in the same way as a declarative sentence in the Present Simple.

Declarative sentences

1. I am cooking now. I'm cooking.
2. You are drawing beautiful picture. You paint a beautiful picture.
3. She is reading a magazine now. She is reading a magazine.
4. They are studying at school now. They are at school now.
5. We are going to his work. We go to his work.
6. I am cooking very special supper with my boyfriend. My boyfriend and I are cooking a very special dinner.

Interrogative sentences

Interrogative sentences in the Present Progressive are constructed as follows:

The auxiliary verb to be in the chosen form comes first. If there is a question word in a sentence, it comes first, followed by to be. Then comes the subject, expressed by a pronoun or noun, after which the verb ending in ing is used.

1. What am I doing here? What am I doing here?
2. Are you working now? Do you work?
3. Is she going home? Is she going home?
4. Are they reading newspaper while children are playing with toys in the garden. Do they read the newspaper while the children play with toys in the garden?

Negative sentences

Negative sentences in the Present Progressive are constructed according to the following scheme:

The negative particle not is added to the existing form of the verb to be. For brevity and euphony, the form of the verb to be is shortened with an apostrophe:

• I"m not at home now. I'm not at home now.
• We aren't in the room. We are coming to Ann. We are not in the room. We are going to Anna.
• He isn't listening to my favorite musical team. He doesn't listen to my favorite musical group.

Exercises with the verbs am, is, are will help reinforce the material.