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Lesson 1: Learning to talk about

yourself.c

I = the word used to talk about myself. I

am Mr. G. I am a man. I am fuzzy. I am
smiling. c

am = a form of the verb "to be" used only

with I.c c

(Note: In spoken English, "I" and "am" are

often joined to form a "contraction" that
looks like this in writing - "I'm" - and
rhymes with words like "time" and "lime".)c

I am + adjective. An adjective tells who I

am, what kind of person I am, what I look
like, how I feel.c

c
c

I am I am
I am tall.c I am sleepy.c I am tired.c I am dirty.c I am pretty.c
awake.c hungry.c
I am I am
I am short.c I am fat.c I am thin.c I am happy.c I am smart.c
English.c afraid.c
I am I am I am
I am rich.c I am sick.c I am single.c I am quiet.c
French.c young.c healthy.c
I am
I am sad.c I am old.c I am angry.c I am poor.c I am clean.c I am noisy.c
Italian.c
I am
I am American.c I am unemployed.c I am confused.c I am Iraqi. c
married.c

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I am + -ing verb. This sentence tells what I am doing at this moment. "I am writing this
lesson now."c

I am eating.c I am sleeping.c I am working.c I am crying.c I am walking.c

I am shopping.c I am driving.c I am babysitting.c I am watching tv.c I am writing.c

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I am + article + noun. Articles are little words that point out Nouns. They tell us that
there will be a Noun ahead in the sentence. Articles are A, AN, THE. Nouns are words
that name a person, a place, a thing, an idea, a feeling or an action. Any word we use to
name something is a Noun.c

THE is used to point out a definite noun, the only one of its kind, a special one.c

Example: "I am the driver" In this group, I am the only one who can drive or who is
responsible for driving. c

Example: If I say "I am the doctor.", I mean that I am the only doctor here on this case or
in this situation.c

I am the teacher.c I am the boss.c I am the janitor.c I am the cook.c I am the driver.c
I am the I am the I am the
I am the doctor.c I am the owner.c
supervisor.c mailman.c president.c

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A and AN are used with singular nouns. A and AN mean the same thing, but they are
used in different situations. AN is used before words that begin with a Vowel sound (a, e, i,
o, u) . A is used before words that begin with a consonant sound (all the other letters). This
is to make it easier to pronounce the Article and the Noun together. A and AN refer to one
of a group of similar things - not a special one or a particular one, just one of them.c

Example: "I am a driver." There are other drivers; I am just one of them.c

Example: If I say "I am a doctor.", I mean that I am not the only doctor; I am just one of
them, a member of the medical profession.c

I am a salesman.c I am a boxer.c I am a gambler.c I am a mother.c I am a Muslim.c

I am an organ- I am an I am an ice
I am an angel.c I am an elephant.c
player.c undertaker.c skater.c

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A, AN and THE must come before the noun they point out, but there can be other
describing words between them and the Noun. Remember, use A before words beginning
with a consonant (a boy, a dog) and AN before words beginning with a vowel (an ugly boy,
an old dog).c

I am the only doctor.c I am the school I am the main man.c I am the boy's father.c
 janitor.c
I am a good doctor.c I am a careful janitor.c I am a tall man.c I am a young father.c
I am an honest
I am an awful doctor.c I am an old man.c I am an angry father.c
janitor.c

With these models, you can say just about anything you want about yourself. c

I am + Adjective. c I am + Article + Noun.c I am + -ing Verb.c

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Exercise A: Use words from the box below to complete the following sentences.c

good, carpenter, happy, mechanic, dirty, eating, singer, driver, single, married, horse,
pizza, diving, funny, doctor, unemployed, tall, old, sick, honest, teacher, woman,
battleship, choking, proud, cook, running, decentc
1. I am ____________________________. c 4. I am _____________________________.c
2. I am ____________________________.c 5. I am _____________________________.c
3. I am ____________________________.c 6. I am _____________________________.c


c cUse words from the box above to complete the following sentences.c

1. I am a ____________________________.c
2. I am the
_____________________________.c
3. I am a ______________________________.c
4. I am an
______________________________.c
5. I am an
_________________________________.c
6. I am the
_________________________________.c
7. I am a
___________________________________.c
8. I am the
_________________________________.c

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Answers to Lesson 1 Exercises: c

Exercise A: Any of the following would be correct.c

1. I am good. I am diving. I am honest.c 4. I am eating. I am tall. I am running.c

2. I am happy. I am funny. I am choking.c 5. I am single. I am old. I am decent.c
3. I am dirty. I am unemployed. I am proud.c 6. I am married. I am sick. c

Exercise B: Your answers may vary. These are some possibilities.c

1. I am a mechanic.c 5. I am an old woman.c

2. I am the carpenter.c 6. I am the doctor.c
3. I am a singer.c 7. I am a driver.c
4. I am an unemployed teacher.c 8. I am the cook.c