The verb to be

The first verbs that we go to try are two that can be used as an auxiliary, so they are
the most important. In this case will be the verb to be that we go to study.
This verb means to be both be like to be. Its meaning depends on the context of the
sentence, and what we want to express at all times.
To continue, and as is custom, you are provided a table where consult the conjugation
in both English and Spanish of this verb we are studying.

1.- Presente
1.1-AFFIRMATIVE FORM:
I

AM

HE

WE
YOU

SHE

IS

ARE

THEY

IT

LONG FORM

SHORT FORM

I AM

IM

YOU ARE

YOURE

HE IS

HES

SHE IS

SHES

IT IS

ITS

WE ARE

WERE

YOU ARE

YOURE

THEY ARE

THEYRE

As the table reflects, the verb has three forms: (am, is and are the form "am" only is
USING para 1st person in singular, is only to the 3rd person in singular, and (are) to
Remaining characters.
English is very often join two words into one. Thus a more compact language is achieved.
The junction to words is known as contraction, and to use these contractions apostrophe.
This is only a apostrophe or comma at the top.

The personal pronoun subject does not vary. What if you change is the verb form, losing
the first syllable and replaced by an apostrophe. Here are some sentences using
contractions:

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE:

Subject
Or

Complement
+

Verb to be

(Noun, adject, adberb)

Pronoun

EXAMPLE:
1. My name is James.
2. Mary is the secretary.
3. John and Lucy are at school.
4. I am a student.
5. The boys are in the garden.
6. He is a lawyer.
7. Susie is a housewife.
8. She is a student.
9. They are my friends.
10. You are a student.
11. I am English.
12. I am in England.
13. It's windy.

1.2.- NEGATIVE FORM:

Para formar una oracin negativa basta con aadir la palabra "not"
despus del auxiliar del verbo "to be" como se puede ver en el siguiente

cuadro (ntese la variada forma de hacer contracciones en el caso de los

negativos):

AM NOT

WE

HE
NOT

YOU

SHE

IS NOT

ARE

THEY

IT

LONG FORM

SHORT FORM

I AM NOT

IM NOT

YOU ARE NOT

YOU ARENT

HE IS NOT

HE ISNT

SHE IS NOT

SHE ISNT

IT IS NOT

IT ISNT

WE ARE NOT

WE ARENT

YOU ARE NOT

YOU ARENT

THEY ARE NOT

THEY ARENT

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE:
Subject
Or

Complement
+

Pronoun

Verb to be

NOT

EXAMPLE:
1. We arent friends.
2. Mary and Mark arent doctors.
3. Peter isnt a football player.
4. Blue isnt her favourite colour.
5. Catherine isnt from Italy.
6. The dogs arent white.

(Noun, adject, adberb)

7. They arent English teachers.

8. A cat isnt a dangerous animal.
9. The computer ISNT new.
10. The chairs ARENT old.
11. I AM NOT a doctor.
12. Susan ISNT a good singer.
13. You ARENT a carpenter.
14. Those cats ARENT mine.

1.3 SIMPLE QUESTION:

Subject and verb change their position in AFFIRMATIVE and question.
AFFIRMATIVE

You are from Germany.

QUESTION

Are you from Germany?

We always use the short answer, not only "Yes" or "No".

NOTE:
If the answer is "Yes", we always use the long form.
Example: Yes, I am.
If the answer is "No", we either use the long or the contracted form (short form).
Example: No, I am not - No, I'm not.

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE:

Subject
Verb to be+

Or

Complement

(Noun, adject, adVerb)

Pronoun

examples with the verb "to be" de ser:

Are you a student?
Is he chinese?

Are they from USA?

Ejemplos con el verbo "to be" de estar:
Are you at the store?
Is she in the school?
Are they at the bank?

Are you ready?

Yes, i am
No, i am not ready
Is she from Germany?
Yes, she
No, she not germany
Are Tom and Cate here?
Yes, they are
No, they are not here

NOTE:
If our answer is "Yes", we use the long form.
For example: Yes, I am. (wrong: Yes, I'm)
If our answer is "No", we can use the long or the short form.
Example: No, I am not / No, I'm not.

1.4 QUESTION WORD

Son el tipo bsico de preguntas que se usan para indagar en diversos asuntos y de
las cuales regularmente se agrega:

QUESTION WORD
COMPLEMENT

PAST OF VERB TO BE

Al utilizar palabras "QW" podemos hacer preguntas ms especficas, yasea de

lugar, tiempo o motivo, entre otras.
EXAMPLE
- What is your name?
- My name is John
- Where are you from?
- I'm from Brazil
- How old are you?
- I'm 24 years old
- How are you?
- I am fine
- Where is he from?
- He is from Spain
- How old is she?
- She is 19 years old.

- Why are you here?

- Im here to study
- When are they coming?
- They are coming tomorrow.

2.-Past:
De la misma forma que el verbo "to be" tiene auxiliares para estructurar oraciones
(am, is, are) el tiempo pasado tambin los presenta pero en este tiempo se utilizan
solamente dos: "was" y "were".
De esta forma las oraciones afirmativas del pasado del verbo "to be" quedaran
estructuradas bajo la siguiente gramtica:

2.1.- AFFIRMATIVE:
I
HE

WE

SHE

WAS

IT

YOU
THEY

LONG FORM

SHORT FORM

I WAS

I WAS

YOU WERE

YOU WERE

HE WAS

HE WAS

SHE WAS

SHE WAS

IT WAS

IT WAS

WE WERE

WE WERE

YOU WERE

YOU WERE

THEY WERE

THEY WERE

WERE

Notese que el auxiliar en pasado "was" se usa nicamente con aquellos

pronombres singulares, es decir, que hacen referencia a una sola persona, en
cambio el auxiliar "were" es usado con pronombres en plural (You es tomado
de esta forma porque adems de "T o Usted" tambin refiere a "Ustedes").

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE:

Subject
Or

Complement
+

was/were

(Noun, adject, adberb)

Pronoun

Ejemplos de oraciones afirmativas de pasado "to be" :

I was a student of this school
She was a model
They were good kids
Ejemplos "estar":
He was at the beach this morning
We were married
You were wrong

2.2.- NEGATIVE
En el caso de oraciones negativas se sigue la misma gramtica aadiendo
nicamente "not".
I
HE

WE

SHE
WERE NOT
IT

WAS NOT

YOU
THEY

LONG FORM

SHORT FORM

I WAS NOT

I WASNT

YOU WERE NOT

YOU WERENT

HE WAS NOT

HE WASNT

SHE WAS NOT

SHE WASNT

IT WAS NOT

IT WASNT

WE WERE NOT

WE WERENT

YOU WERE NOT

YOU WERENT

THEY WERE NOT

THEY WERENT

Usualmente para expresar oraciones negativas al hablar / escribir se

emplean las contracciones indicadas "wasn't" y "weren't".

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE:
Subject
Or
Pronoun

Complement
+

WAS/WERE

NOT

Ejemplos de oraciones negativas de pasado "to be"

I was not student of this school.
She wasn't a model
They weren't good kids
Ejemplos "estar":
He wasn't at the beach this morning
We weren't married
You were not wrong

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE:

(Noun, adject, adVerb)

Pronoun / Name + to be auxiliar + "-ing" verb + complement

Ejemplos:
1.- I am studying english
(Estoy estudiando ingles)
2.- She is checking her email
(Ella est revisando su correo electrnico)
3.- They are eating pizza
(Ellos estn comiendo pizza)
4.- John is swimming now
(Juan est nadando ahora)
5.- Sansa and Arya are planning to travel soon
(Sansa y Arya estn planeando viajar pronto)

2.3.-SIMPLE PAST QUESTION:

En el caso especfico de preguntas se sigue la gramtica vista antes. Para
preguntas de "Si" o "No", utilizamos el auxiliar del pasado al principio "was" o
"were" dependiendo de quin se hable.
Subject
+

Past Verb to be
?

Or

Pronoun

Complement
+

(Noun, adject, adVerb)

Example:

Preguntas con respuesta "Si" o "No":

- Were you a football player at the school?
- Yes, I was.
- Was she a model?
- No, she wasn't.
- Were they your friends?
- No, they weren't.
- Was Richard your boyfriend?
- Yes, he was.
- Were we on a test?
- Yes, you were.

2.4.-QUESTION Word:
Para preguntas especficas se pone al principio la palabra "Wh-" seguido del
auxiliar en pasado y luego el complemento:

QUESTION WORD
COMPLEMENT

PAST OF VERB TO BE

EXAMPLE:

Where were you?

- I was at the bank.
- Where were Fernando and his girlfriend this morning?
- They were home.
- Who was that person?
- He was my father.
- What was that?
- That was a thunder.
- When was Mary at the store?

- She was at the store in the afternoon.

3.-COUNTRIES AND NATIONALITIES

3.1.- EXPRESAR PROCEDENCIA
En ingls para expresar nuestra nacionalidad o indicar de dnde somos
podemos usar las siguientes estructuras:

Sujeto + verbo to be + from + country

Example:
I am from Spain (yo soy de Espaa)
You are from Mexico (t eres de Mxico)
They are from Canada (ellos son de Canad)

Una variante de esta estructura sera utilizando el verbo to come (venir).

Example:
I come from Spain (Yo vengo de Espaa o yo soy de Espaa)
You come from Mexico (T vienes de Mxico o t eres de Mxico)
They come from Canada (Ellos vienen de Canad o ellos son de Canad)
Sujeto + verbo to be + nationality
Ejemplo:
I am Spanish (yo soy espaol) (yo soy espaola)
You are Mexican (t eres mexicano) (t eres mexicana)
They are Canadian (ellos son canadienses) (ellas son canadienses)

3.2.- PASES Y NACIONALIDADES

Las nacionalidades en ingls, al igual que en espaol, vienen expresadas
por adjetivos y se pueden clasificar en 6 grupos, las que acaban en ish, -an,
-ian, -ese, -ean y otras que son irregulares.

-ISH
United Kingdom- Reino Unido / British- Britnico/a
Denmark- Dinamarca / Danish - Dans/a
England - Inglaterra / English* - Ingls/a
Finland - Finlandia / Finnish - Finlands/a
Ireland- Irlanda / Irish - Irlands/a
Poland- Polonia / Polish - Polaco/a
Scotland - Escocia / Scottish* - Escocs/a
Spain - Espaa / Spanish - Espaol/a
Sweden - Suecia / Swedish - Sueco/a
Turkey - Turqua / Turkish - Turco/a

-EAN
Chile - Chile / Chilean - Chileno/a
North Korea - Corea del norte / North Korean - Norcoreano/a
Singapore - Singapur / Singaporean - Singapurense

-ESE
China - China / Chinese - Chino/a
Japan - Japn / Japanese - Japons/a
Portugal - Portugal / Portuguese - Portugus/a
Vietnam - Vietnam / Vietnamese - Vietnamita

-AN

The United States - Estados Unidos / American - Estadounidense

Costa Rica - Costa Rica / Costa Rican - Costarricense, costarriqueo/a
Cuba - Cuba / Cuban - Cubano/a
Dominican Republic - Repblica Dominicana / Dominican - Dominicano/a
Germany - Alemania / German - Alemn/a
Guatemala - Guatemala / Guatemalan - Guatemalteco/a
Honduras - Honduras / Honduran - Hondureo/a
Mexico -Mxico / Mexican - Mexicano/a
Morocco - Marruecos / Moroccan - Marroqu
Nicaragua - Nicaragua / Nicaraguan - Nicaragense
Puerto Rico - Puerto Rico / Puerto Rican - Puertorriqueo/a
Paraguay -Paraguay / Paraguayan - Paraguayo/a
South Africa -Sudfrica / South African - Sudafricano/a
Uruguay - Uruguay / Uruguayan -Uruguayo/a
Venezuela - Venezuela / Venezuelan - Venezolano/a

-IAN
Argentina - Argentina / Argentinian -Argentino/a
Australia - Australia / Australian -Australiano/a
Austria - Austria / Austrian -Austraco/a
Belgium - Blgica / Belgian - Belga
Bolivia - Bolivia / Bolivian - Boliviano/a
Brazil - Brasil / Brazilian - Brasileo/a
Bulgaria -Bulgaria / Bulgarian - Blgaro/a
Canada _Canad / Canadian - Canadiense
Colombia - Colombia / Colombian - Colombiano/a
Ecuador - Ecuador / Ecuadorian - Ecuatoriano/a
Hungary - Hungra / Hungarian - Hngaro/a
India - India / Indian - Indio/a, hind
Italy - Italia / Italian - Italiano/a
Norway - Noruega / Norwegian - Noruego/a

Peru - Per / Peruvian - Peruano/a

Romania - Rumana / Romanian - Rumano/a
Russia - Rusia / Russian - Ruso/a
Ukraine - Ucrana / Ukrainian - Ucraniano/a

OTROS
Czech Republic - Repblica Checa / Czech - Checo/a
The Netherlands - Los pases bajos / Dutch - Neerlands/a
France - Francia / French - Francs/a
Greece - Grecia / Greek - Griego/a
Iceland - Islandia / Icelandic - Islands/a
Israel - Israel / Israeli - Israel
New Zealand - Nueva Zelanda / New Zealander - Neozelands/a
Switzerland - Suiza / Swiss - Suizo/a
Wales - Gales / Welsh* - Gals/a

* Escocia, Inglaterra y Gales, junto con Irlanda del Norte, no se consideran

pases sino naciones que forman parte del Reino Unido. Escocia, Inglaterra y
Gales se encuentran en la isla de Gran Bretaa (Great Britain) e Irlanda del
Norte en Irlanda.

3.3. -NACIONALIDAD = IDIOMA

Por lo general, el adjetivo que indica la nacionalidad se usa tambin para

hacer referencia al idioma.

Ejemplo:
I am Spanish
I speak Spanish

(nacionalidad) He is French
(idioma) He speaks French

Algunos ejemplos en los que el adjetivo de la nacionalidad no coincide con

el del idioma son:
She is Israeli
She speaks Hebrew

You are Indian

You speak Hindi

They are Saudi Arabian

They speak Arabic

3.4.- MAYSCULAS
Los continentes, pases, nacionalidades e idiomas en ingls se escriben con
mayscula. Hay llevar especial cuidado con las nacionalidades y los idiomas
ya que en espaol no se escriben con mayscula .

Ejemplo:
Yo soy espaol/a - I am Spanish
Ellos/as son mexicanos/as - They are Mexican
Nosotros/as hablamos espaol - We speak Spanish

4.- possesive adjectives

Los adjetivos posesivos en ingls son: my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their.
Hacen referencia a quien posee y no a lo posedo. En general preceden a
sustantivos. Aqu encontrars ejemplos traducidos al espaol.

4.1.-My
I am a teacher. I like my job.
Soy profesor. Me gusta mi trabajo.
I live with my girlfriend in New York.
Vivo con mi novia en Nueva York.
On Sundays I play tennis with my friends.
Los domingos juego al tenis con mis amigos.

4.2.-Your
What is your name?
Cul es tu nombre?
Do you like your job?
Te gusta tu trabajo?
You work here, and your wife works here too.
T trabajas aqu y tu esposa trabaja aqu tambin.
Can you give me your opinion about this?
Puedes darme tu opinin acerca de sto?

4.3.- His
Bill washes his car every day.
Bill lava su auto todos los das.
Jack lives here, with his parents.
Jack vive aqu, con sus padres.
He is painting his house.
El est pintando su casa.
He wants to sell his car.
El quiere vender su auto.

4.4.-Her
Mary went to her English class yesterday.
Mary fue a su clase de ingls ayer.
She is sad because her teachers are very strict.
Ella est triste porque sus maestros son muy estrictos.
Sarah is married. Her husband works with me.
Sarah est casada. Su esposo trabaja conmigo.
Diana still lives with her parents.
Diana todava vive con sus padres.

4.5.-Its
This car has a hole in its roof.
Este auto tiene un agujero en su techo.
We are studying Japan and its culture.
Estamos estudiando al Japn y su cultura.
New York is famous for its exciting nightlife.
Nueva York es famosa por su excitante vida nocturna.
The government announced its goals for this year.
El gobierno anunci sus metas para este ao.

4.5.-Our
The Earth is our planet.
La Tierra es nuestro planeta.
We cook our own meals.
Cocinamos nuestras propias comidas.
We don't want to spend all our money.
No queremos gastar todo nuestro dinero.
We live with our parents.
Vivimos con nuestros padres.

4.6.-your (plural)
You all love your country.
Todos ustedes aman a su pas.

You all have to make your own decisions.

Ustedes tienen que tomar sus propias decisiones.
I want to thank you all for your help.
Quiero agradecerles a todos ustedes por su ayuda.
You are my parents and I am your son.
Ustedes son mis padres y yo soy su hijo.

4.7.-their
Our neighbors are painting their house.
Nuestros vecinos estn pintando su casa.
Grandparents usually love their grandchildren.
Los abuelos generalmente aman a sus nietos.
I saw Sally and John with their children.
V a Sally y John con sus hijos.
Most Americans love their cars.
La mayora de los norteamericanos aman a sus autos

5.-ADJECTIVES DEMONSTRATIVE
Los adjetivos demostrativos en ingls, son aquellas palabras que se usan
para determinar la localizacin y la cercana de las cosas. Estos son:

Adjective Demostrative
SINGULAR

PLURAL

THIS

THESE

THAT

THOSE

Segn una proximidad cercana de las cosas podemos usar this o these,
ejemplo:
This computer
These books

Segn una proximidad lejana podemos usar that o those, ejemplo:

That dog
Those roses

Como se puede notar, el uso de estos adjetivos es muy fcil de aplicar,

solo hay que tomar en cuenta la cercana y la cantidad de las cosas. Para
comprender ms estas palabras, presentamos algunos ejemplos de los
adjetivos demostrativos en ingles:
Paul, this is Helen / Paul, sta es Helen
Hello, Helen. Pleased to meet you / Hola Elena. Encantado de conocerte.
Hello / Hola
- This tambin se emplea coloquialmente para empezar un relato o para indicar el
tamao de algo:
1. This is the story of Ma Baker
2. This is an expensive restaurant

3.

A man this fat This restaurant is expensive

4.

That was a wonderful film

PRACTICA 1:

Debes escribir la forma correcta del verbo TO BE (am / are / is) en cada una
de las frases.

1. He________ a boy.

2. I _________ a teacher.

3. You _________a student.

4. We _________ Spanish.

5. They _________ birds.

6. It _________an elephant.

7. She _________ a girl.

8. You_________ good pupils.

PRACTICA 2
I. Llena el blanco con la conjugacin correcta del verbo to be en ingls,
usando el presente o pretrito(PASADO) VER TO BE.

Ejemplo: I ___ excited to see my friend. -> I am excited to see my friend.

Dinner ___ on the table.

It ___ seven in the morning.
I ___ very tired today.
My mother ___ calling me yesterday.
Where ___ you from?
When we ____ in Spain two weeks ago, we ate tapas.
Jos ___ happy to see his wife when she arrived last week.
We ___ in the office today.
They ___ happy to see you.
Parents ___ proud of their children.
I ___ hoping that you would remember my birthday.
Ana ___ upset that Carlos never came back to see her.
The children ___ having fun playing in the backyard.
After the party last night, they ___ very tired.
We ___ all great friends!

II. Escoge la mejor contestacin con la conjugacin correcta del verbo to be

en ingls.

Anne ____ happy to be home. [is/are]

We ____ excited to see the play tonight. [was/are]
Yesterday ___ my birthday. [is/was]
How old ___ you? [am/are]
___ it raining outside? [Am/Is]
When ___ the wedding going to be? [was/is]
___ you going to work out tonight? [Are/Am]
Who ___ the actor from that movie? [is/are]
How come we ___ not invited to last nights dinner? [were/was]
They ___ leaving for the movies right now. [were/are]

Questions With the Verb "To Be"

1. you tall ? No,

2. the dog black? Yes,
3. I strong? Yes,
4. the food good? No,
5. they dogs? No,
6. the doctor in his office? Yes,
7. the children in school? No,
8. the water cold? No,
9. it hot outside? Yes,
10. the floor clean? Yes,
11. your teacher English? No,
12. Peter American? Yes,

Write questions as in the example.

you / a good singer

1. David Bisbal / your favourite pop star ?

2. we / from England ?
3. you / twelve?
4. your friends / good students?
5. Messi / your favourite footballer ?
6. she / a good teacher?
7. Martha / a tennis player?
8. the dogs / under the table?
9. the cat / in the garden?
10. he / happy?

--> Are you a good singer?