Top Grammar Plus - Elementary Sample Unit by Helbling Mexico & Central America

CEF A1-A2

Lucy Becker · Carol Frain David A. Hill · Karen Thomas

CEF A1-A2

Three levels of grammar reference PLUS interactive exercises online at Helbling e-zone! TOP GRAMMAR PLUS is a series of comprehensive and easy-to-use grammar books for learners of English at all levels, from beginner to advanced. TOP GRAMMAR PLUS is ideal for use in class or for individual study. TOP GRAMMAR PLUS has regular exam practice pages which prepare students for Key (KET), Preliminary (PET), First (FCE) and Trinity. TOP GRAMMAR PLUS has a special lexical focus for each section and regular review pages. PLUS Extra online grammar and dictation exercises PLUS a Teacher’s book with tests TOP GRAMMAR PLUS is in three volumes: Elementary CEF A1-A2 Pre-intermediate CEF A2-B1 Intermediate to Advanced CEF B1-B2+

Elementary • Key, Preliminary and Trinity exam preparation • Lexical focus with extensive grammar practice and revision ISBN 978-3-85272-628-1

783852 726281

• Extra online practice at www.helbling-ezone.com

www.helblinglanguages.com

unit

Be | A

I am, I’m not, Are you... ?

In the present simple, the verb be has three forms: am, is, are. Affirmative Full form

Short form

I am

I’m

You are

You’re

He / She / It is

He’s / She’s / It’s

We / You / They are

We’re / You’re / They’re

In spoken language and in informal written language, the form most used is the short form. You can use it when the subject is a pronoun, a singular noun or a proper noun.

I’m sorry I’m late. Simon’s away from school today. He’s ill.

Negative Full form

Short form

I am not

I’m not

You are not

You aren’t

He / She / It is not

He / She / It isn’t

We / You / They are not

We / You / They aren’t

Full negative form: Subject (noun or pronoun) + am / is / are + not

We are not ready yet!

The more common short form is shown in the box. To give particular emphasis to the negation, you can use the forms You’re not, He’s not, She’s not, It’s not, We’re not, You’re not, They’re not.

Interrogative

Negative questions

Am I… ?

Am I not…? / Aren’t I…?

Are you… ?

Aren’t you… ?

Is he / she / it… ?

Isn’t he / she / it… ?

Are we / you / they… ?

Aren’t we / you / they… ?

Questions are formed by swapping the positions of the subject and the verb:

Am / Is / Are + subject (noun or pronoun)

Is your brother at college? Are the students nice?

Short answers are formed with: Yes, / No, + subject pronoun + verb be (affirmative or negative) The short form is never used in short affirmative answers.

‘Aren’t you tired?’ ‘Yes, I am.’ (not: Yes, I’m.) ‘Are your parents at work?’ ‘No, they aren’t.’

Wh- questions are formed with: Question word + am / is / are + subject (noun or pronoun)

What’s your name? When’s your birthday? Where are you from? (also possible: Where’re …) Which is your car? (not possible: Which’s …)

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TOP GRAMMAR PLUS Elementary © Helbling Languages

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1 Complete the sentences with am, is or are and then rewrite the sentences using the negative form.

is Conrad’s girlfriend. 1 Jessica ............

Jessica isn’t Conrad’s girlfriend. .............................................................................

2 My parents ............ at home now.

.............................................................................

3 I .............. Sammy’s cousin.

.............................................................................

4 Our friends ............ in London this week.

.............................................................................

5 Terry’s grandfather ............ ninety-nine.

.............................................................................

6 My mum ............ a great cook!

.............................................................................

unit 1 | Be

Lexis: Family and friends | See Word Bank

Conrad’s girlfriend → ‘s indicates possession

2 Use the words to write questions with am, is, are. Then complete the short answers. 1 your / son / a teenager / ? Is your son a teenager? No, ...................... he isn’t . He’s 23 years old. .................................................................. 2 you / brother and sister / ?

.................................................................. Yes, ...................... .

3 your mum’s name / Annabel / ?

.................................................................. No, ...................... . Her name’s Carol.

4 Jess’s step-father / nice / ?

.................................................................. Yes, ...................... .

5 Kenny and Kyle / twins / ?

.................................................................. No, ...................... . Kyle’s one year older than Kenny.

6 I / your best friend / ?

.................................................................. Yes, ...................... !

3 Write sentences about the members of this family using the affirmative form and the negative form, as in the examples.

and Andrew are cousins. 1 Olivia ........................................................................ 2 Alfred and Lizzie aren’t husband and wife. ........................................................................ 3 ........................................................................

Fred

Wilma

Alfred

Mabel

4 ........................................................................ 5 ........................................................................ 6 ........................................................................

Leo Frazer

7 ........................................................................

Amy

Lizzie

James

8 ........................................................................ Andrew

Ella

TOP GRAMMAR PLUS Elementary © Helbling Languages

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Olivia Anna Stephen

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review | Units 1 • 2 • 3 • 4

review

Map it out! | be

1 Complete the diagram with the missing words.

he she 3 ..................

I are not ’m not isn’t we it ’m not

is is not (4 ..................)

tall.

I .................. 5

.................. you they

am am not ( ..................) 2

are 6 .................. (aren’t)

hungry.

18 years old.

Lexis upgrade | The family

WORD BANK p. 402

2 Look at the family tree and complete the sentences with the verb be and the correct family member.

Helen

Jason

Tom

Katie

George

Brenda

Dora

Jason and George are brothers 1 2 3 4 5 6

Helen ........................ is mother Tom’s ........................ . Tom and Katie ........................ Helen’s ........................ . Helen and Jason ........................ husband and ........................ . Jason ........................ Dora’s ........................ . Dora, Tom and Katie ........................ ........................ . Jason ........................ Tom’s ........................ .

Friends

WORD BANK p. 402

3 Read the sentences and fill the gaps with the adjectives to describe Tom’s friends. sociable easy-going lazy bad-tempered happy cheerful Tom is very .................................... happy 1 and has a lot of friends. 2 Angie is never sad when she is with her friends. She’s a .................................... girl. 3 Frank is not easily upset or worried; he is .................................... . 4 Claude is always angry and annoyed. He’s .................................... . 5 Julia is always full of energy and enthusiasm. She’s a .................................... girl. 6 Dylan is often tired and wants to sleep. He’s .................................... . 12

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4 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the present simple of be.

isn’t 1 Natalie ........................ my mum; she’s my aunt. 2 ........................ I too late for the party? 3 There ........................ some interesting people in your family. 4 Selina ........................ my step-sister, not my sister. 5 One of my relatives ........................ a famous actor! He’s in lots of films. 6 ........................ there anyone in your family called Mr Stopes? 7 No, I ........................ Linda’s mum! Linda is my sister! 8 Tom, David and Giles ........................ brothers; they are cousins. 9 There ........................ any children in the park today. It’s raining. 10 We ........................ a big family. There are just four of us. 11 William and Kate ........................ engaged. They are married. 12 ........................ you and Brian related? 5 Use the words to write sentences or questions with am, is, are. 1 David / my brother 2 3

4 you / bad-tempered / in the mornings?

David is my brother. ........................................................................ all my relatives / lovely people 5 ........................................................................ my step-father / thirty-three 6 ........................................................................

........................................................................ your grandfather / a nice man? ........................................................................ our parents / not / at work today ........................................................................

review 1 | Units 1 • 2 • 3 • 4

Grammar upgrade

6 Complete the paragraph with the correct form of the present simple of be.

Things 1.................. are different in my family these days. Suddenly I 2.................. a member of a big family instead of being an only child. You see, my mum and Steve 3.................. married now, so he 4 .................. my new step-father. And there 5.................. four children in Steve’s family – Lucas, Alicia, Felix and Rosie. They 6.................. my new step-brothers and sisters. Steve’s children 7.................. here with us every second weekend. We have a lot of fun and 8.................. all good friends. It 9.................. great being part of a big family!

Communication upgrade 7

Complete the mini-dialogues using one word or short form in each space. Then listen and check. CD | 004

1 2 3 4

A Hi, Mishka! How are you?

5 A Is it time for breakfast?

I’m B Sorry! I can’t stop! .................. in a hurry. B No, .................. early. A B A B A B

Sandy .................. Mark’s sister; she’s his cousin. 6 Yes, you’re right. How old is your brother now? 7 .................. twelve. Are you OK? 8 No, I’m .................. . I’m cold.

A B A B A B

This .................. my new T-shirt! .................. lovely! Where is Richard? .................. he is! Let’s go to the beach today. .................. fine by me.

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exam practice

KET, TRINITY and PET Practice Cambridge English Key (KET) | Reading Part 3 1 Complete the five conversations. Example: 0 Where are you from?

A From home. B From Brazil. C From the school.

1 Is dinner ready?

A In five minutes. B Yes, there is. C Five minutes ago.

2 Are you hungry?

A I’m afraid. B No, but I’m thirsty. C In the kitchen.

3 How old are you?

A Fifteen years. B I have fifteen years. C Fifteen.

4 How are you?

A Not very well, I’m ashamed. B Not very well, I’m afraid. C Not very well, I’m scared.

5 We are all at the park. Are you coming?

A Yes, but is there your sister, too? B Yes, but your sister there is too? C Yes, but is your sister there too?

Reading Part 6 2 Read the definitions for some family members. Which is the word for each one? The first letter is already there. There is one space for each letter. Example: She is your father’s mother.

ra e _r g_ _n _ dmo _ _ _ _t h __

1 2 3 4 5

c_____ g___________ f_____ __ ___ s_____ __ ___ a___

He is your uncle’s son. They are your mother’s parents. He is your wife’s / husband’s father. She is your wife’s / husband’s sister. She is your mother’s sister.

Reading Part 9 3 Read this email from your English friend Chris. I’m attaching a photo of my family. My big family! The person on my left is my uncle David. He’s always happy and very easy-going. The person on my right is my aunt Angie. She’s a teacher and she’s always in a hurry!! Is your family big? What’s your dad’s job? Write and tell me about them!

Write Chris an email. Answer the questions.

Write 25-35 words.

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exam practice 1

KET, TRINITY and PET Practice Trinity Grade 6 | Topic for discussion 4 Complete the list about your family then write a paragraph using your notes. Practise reading your paragraph to your family or a friend. Try to add in more information as you speak.

My small / big family 1 Number of people in my family 2 Who they are 3 What they do 4 5 6

Cambridge English Preliminary (PET) | Listening Part 1 5

There are five questions in this part. For each question, there are three pictures and a short recording. Choose the correct picture and put a tick (3) in the box next to it. CD | 005

1 Which picture is Tom’s correct family?

Tip!

Listen carefully to the five dialogues. If you are not sure of your answer, wait for the second listening.

2 How old is Sarah’s mother? A

3 Which is Julie’s snack?

4 What is in the boy’s sandwich?

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