CG1_webUnit by Aslett Michael

U ni t 1

be Verb: Present Tense

The basic verb in most languages is be. Use it to talk about a condition, classification, description, or location. Also, be is the basic auxiliary verb. Use it with other verbs to form new verb tenses.

Using the be verb

The be verb is used in the following situations:

1. to identify or classify someone or something That is the new chemistry building. Jane isn’t a doctor; she’s a lawyer. I am a big football fan.

2. to describe someone or something Flocerfida is generous, loving, and kind. The teachers aren’t happy with the results of the test. iPods® are pretty popular on campus these days.

3. to locate someone or something My friend is in Pennsylvania now. Han’s favorite theaters are on the North Side. The best restaurants aren’t in St. Louis, they’re in Kansas City.

Forming the Present Tense of be

English verbs must agree with their subjects. That means verbs change from the base form to match the subject of the sentence. In the present tense, a regular verb has the same form for subjects I, you, we, and they. For he and she, add -s to this form. However, the be verb does not follow this rule. The forms are irregular. The be verb is irregular in many languages. Think of the be verb in your native language. Is it regular or irregular?

Affirmative Statements I You He/She/It The dog

am confused. are from Los Angeles. is on the bus. is brown and white.

Affirmative Statements We You (plural) They My children

are are are are

Russian. very intelligent. lost. good students.

I You He/She/It The dog

You can contract the subject and the be verb in the present tense: I’m, You’re, He’s, She’s, It’s, We’re, They’re. This is very common in spoken English.

be Verb: Present Tense

am confused. are from Los Angeles. is on the bus. is brown and white.

We You (plural) They My children

are are are are

Russian. very intelligent. lost. good students.

You can contract the subject and the be verb in the present tense: I’m, You’re, He’s, She’s, It’s, We’re, They’re. This is very common in spoken English.

be Verb: Present Tense

Negative Statements

Notice that there are two ways to make negative contractions with be. Both are very common in spoken English. First-person singular is the exception; it has only one contraction.

You He, She, It

am not (I’m not) are not (aren’t) or (You’re not) is not (isn’t) or He’s not/She’s not/It’s not

We You (plural) They

are not (aren’t) or (We’re not) are not (aren’t) or (You’re not) are not (aren’t) or (They’re not)

You He, She, It

am not (I’m not) are not (aren’t) or (You’re not) is not (isn’t) or He’s not/She’s not/It’s not

We You (plural) They

are not (aren’t) or (We’re not) are not (aren’t) or (You’re not) are not (aren’t) or (They’re not)

Christine and I aren’t cousins. We’re sisters. My college professor is also a professional wrestler. This restaurant isn’t cheap. In fact, it’s quite expensive. We’re not from India. We aren’t from Pakistan. We’re from Bangladesh.

Yes/No Questions and Short Answers

In English questions, the verb comes before the subject. Contractions are not used in affirmative short answers, but both contractions can be used in negative short answers.

Am I late? Are you hurt? Is he/she busy? Are we on time? Are they here yet?

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes,

you are. I am. he/she is. we are. they are.

Yes/No questions can also use negative verbs. Aren’t you an avid fan of jazz music?

No, No, No, No, No,

you’re not. or No, you aren’t. I’m not. he’s not/she’s not. or No, he isn’t/she isn’t. we’re not. or No, we aren’t. they’re not. or No, they aren’t.

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes,

you are. I am. he/she is. we are. they are.

Yes/No questions can also use negative verbs. Aren’t you an avid fan of jazz music?

Yes, I am./No, I’m not.

No, No, No, No, No,

you’re not. or No, you aren’t. I’m not. he’s not/she’s not. or No, he isn’t/she isn’t. we’re not. or No, we aren’t. they’re not. or No, they aren’t.

Yes, I am./No, I’m not.

Information Questions

Information questions always begin with a question word. Then, they follow the same order as Yes/No questions. Notice that Who takes the place of the subject.

Why am I late? Where are you? Who is at the door? When is the party? What are the lottery numbers today? How is your mother feeling?

Because my alarm didn’t go off. At the library. A kid selling cookies. At eight o’clock. 5-1-2. Much better, thanks.

Statements of Weather and Time using It

All English sentences must have a subject. Statements about time and weather often use it as the subject.

It is very hot in Las Vegas in the summer. However, it is cold today. It’s 7:30 a.m. in Denver. What time is it in Miami?

Creative Grammar

Punctuation Rules for Using Apostrophes in Contractions Contractions are very common in spoken English. They are often used in personal writing, too. Written contractions use an apostrophe (‘) to stand for the missing letters. Notice the apostrophes in the contractions of be. Think about which letters are missing. I’m We’re You aren’t You’re He’s They’re not She isn’t

■ 1-1 Punctuation Write the apostrophe in the correct place for each of the following contractions.

It ’ s not 1. Its not __________

6. Youre __________

11. Im not __________

2. Were __________

7. Shes __________

12. Theyre __________

3. They arent __________

8. Were not __________

13. Shes not __________

4. Im __________

9. You arent __________

14. It isnt __________

5. Hes not __________

10. He isnt __________

■ 1-2 Error Correction Some of the sentences below are missing a subject. Rewrite those sentences by adding It or it in the correct place. If a sentence already has a subject, circle it.

It is 8:45. Is it time to leave?______________________________________________________________________ 1. Is 8:45. ____________ 2. It’s warm in Dallas in the summer. __________________________________________________________________________ 3. Is rainy in Boston today. ____________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Is only 5:30 a.m. in Seattle. __________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Is really hot in Tucson. ______________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Is time for class? ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. It is very cold. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Is always sunny in summer. _________________________________________________________________________________

be Verb: Present Tense

■ 1-1 Punctuation Write the apostrophe in the correct place for each of the following contractions.

It ’ s not 1. Its not __________

6. Youre __________

11. Im not __________

2. Were __________

7. Shes __________

12. Theyre __________

3. They arent __________

8. Were not __________

13. Shes not __________

4. Im __________

9. You arent __________

14. It isnt __________

5. Hes not __________

10. He isnt __________

■ 1-2 Error Correction Some of the sentences below are missing a subject. Rewrite those sentences by adding It or it in the correct place. If a sentence already has a subject, circle it.

be Verb: Present Tense

■ 1-3 Sentence Writing

Identification and Classification

A. Write four sentences using be to tell about yourself. Write two affirmative and two negative statements. Use

contractions if you wish. Example: I am a student. I’m not a professor.

1. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

B. Write four sentences using be to tell about your family. Write two affirmative and two negative statements.

Use contractions if you wish. Example: My mother is a good cook. My brothers aren’t students.

5. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Description

C. Write four sentences using be to tell about your friends. Write at least one negative statement.

Example: Maria and Wei-Ping are very pretty. They’re not shy.

9. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Location

D. Write three sentences using be to tell where some of your friends and family are now. Write at least one

negative statement. Example: My aunt is in China. My brother isn’t in China.

13. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Creative Grammar

■ 1-4 Description of the Photograph

Look at the picture. Use it to complete the activities.

A. Work in groups of four. First, study the picture closely.

In your notebook, make a list of words that describe the boy: what he looks like, how he feels, and where he is.

B. Work with your group to write eight sentences

describing the boy and telling where he is. Write affirmative and negative sentences. Use be and your words from Exercise A. Make sure the subject and verb agree in each sentence. Example: The boy is young. He isn’t very old.

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

C. Cut out two photographs of interesting people from a newspaper or magazine and bring them to class. In your

groups, practice using the be verb to describe the people in the photographs.

be Verb: Present Tense

groups, practice using the be verb to describe the people in the photographs.

be Verb: Present Tense

■ 1-5 Communicative Activity

Where are the Crook Brothers?

The evil Crook Brothers are at it again. They are stealing treasures from all over the U.S.

You and your classmates must search the United States to find and arrest the Crook Brothers. Follow these steps:

A. Using the map below, study and discuss the regions of the U.S. Which region do you live in? If you don’t know

what the abbreviations stand for, look up “State Abbreviations” on the Internet. Practice saying the states in each region. Example: Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri are in the central United States.

Northwest

North MN Central

WA ME WI

Central

NV CO

WV KY

South Central

Southeast

Midwest IL

Central

Northeast CTMARI PA

WV KY

NJ DE

Mid-South

NC SC

Southwest AZ

MS LA

VT MI

Mid-South OK

ME WI

PA MD

North MN Central

Northeast CTMARI OH

Southwest AZ

Midwest

VT MI

Northwest

South Central

AR MS LA

NC SC

Southeast

B. Without letting any of your classmates see, write the names of two states where you think the Crook Brothers

are hiding. For each state, write at least two clues that can help your classmates guess where the Crook Brothers are. Your clues must indicate the region where they are. In your notebook, write clues similar to these examples:

Example Clue # 1: The Crook Brothers are in the southwest United States. Student A: Are they in Arizona? Student B: No, they aren’t.

Example Clue #2: They are in a state between California and Utah. Student A: Are they in Nevada? Student B: Yes, they are.

C. Work in groups of three. Take turns using your clues to help your group guess the Crook Brothers’ location.

State: ____________________________________________

Creative Grammar

â&#x2013; 1-6 Vocabulary Development: Adjectives

A. Analyze each photograph. Think about words to describe the people in the pictures. Use a bilingual dictionary

if you need to find an English word. Write at least 12 words in your notebook. Photo A

if you need to find an English word. Write at least 12 words in your notebook. Photo B

Photo A

B. Use be and the words you wrote for Exercise A to write sentences about each photograph.

Photo B

B. Use be and the words you wrote for Exercise A to write sentences about each photograph.

Example: In Photo A, the girl is about 10 years old. In Photo B, the children are many different ages.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

be Verb: Present Tense

■ 1-7 Theme-based Discussion

Read each topic below. Make sure you understand the questions. Work in groups of four to discuss the first topic. Then choose one person to report the group’s answers to the class. Next, move to another group to discuss the next topic.

A. The picture below shows how one artist sees fear. Everyone is afraid sometimes, but some people have

strong, unreasonable fears of certain things. These kinds of fears are called phobias. There are people who are afraid of heights, enclosed spaces, animals, or even other people. People are afraid of snakes, spiders, and insects. What are you afraid of? Why are you scared of it?

B. Some people are very afraid of bad weather. Look at the chart below. Work with a partner. Use the newspaper or

the Internet to find out what the weather is like in some major cities in the United States. Complete the chart and exchange your work with another pair. Describe the weather in each city. Use the following adjectives to describe the weather: sunny, windy, rainy, snowy, foggy, cloudy, cool, cold, warm, hot, humid, dry, pleasant, perfect. Example: Today in New York, it is partly cloudy. The temperature is 71 degrees. It is a cool, pleasant day. Cities

New York

Today

71 ° F

Tampa

Denver

Minneapolis

Nashville

Baltimore

New Orleans

Your City

Creative Grammar

Cities

New York

Today

71° F

Tampa

Denver

Minneapolis

Nashville

Baltimore

New Orleans

Your City

Creative Grammar

■ 1-8 Sentence Structure

Read the information. Use it to complete the activity.

The Pocono Mountains

The Pocono Mountains section of northeast Pennsylvania is the perfect place to vacation

year-round.There are high peaks and deep valleys in the Poconos.There are also sparkling lakes,

rushing rivers, amazing wildlife, and some of the loveliest waterfalls in the Northeast.

Visitors to the Poconos are happy because the whole area is a four-season playground. Skiing,

snowboarding, and tubing are popular during the winter. In the fall, spring, and summer, visitors enjoy

horseback riding, swimming, boating, fishing, golf, whitewater rafting, and family picnics.Tourists are

busy shopping at outlet stores during the entire year.

Many visitors in the Poconos are often guests in cozy country inns or major resorts.There are many

attractions, natural wonders, and nice accommodations in the Poconos for travelers—anytime of the year.

Now read each answer. Use be and information question words to write a question for each answer.

Where are the Pocono Mountains? 1. Q: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A: In northeast Pennsylvania.

2. Q: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A: Yes, it is.

3. Q: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A: Yes, there are.

4. Q: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A: Because the whole area is a four-season playground.

5. Q: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A: Skiing, snowboarding, and tubing.

6. Q: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A: In the fall, spring, and summer.

7. Q: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A: At outlet stores.

8. Q: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A: Many visitors are.

be Verb: Present Tense

A: Many visitors are.

be Verb: Present Tense

■ 1-9 Cloze

The story below is about college roommates. Some words are missing. Read the story and write a form of be in each blank. The correct answer could be affirmative or negative. Remember to make the verbs and subjects agree.

is My name ____________ Sunee. I (1) ____________ from Thailand. I (2) ____________ a student, and I

(3) ____________ 20 years old. I live with my roommates in an apartment. My address (4) ____________

2467 Racine, Apartment A. My roommates (5) ____________ Karen and Sherri.They (6) ____________

sisters from Chicago. Karen (7) ____________ 19 years old, and Sherri (8) ____________ 20.We

(9) ____________ good friends. I (10) ____________ so happy that I have nice roommates!

Some people don’t have nice roommates. My friend Niran (11) ____________ also from Thailand. He

(12) ____________ 20 years old. Niran (13) ____________ friends with his roommate.They fight almost

every day. His roommate’s name (14) ____________ Kevin, and he (15) ____________ 18 years old. Niran

and Kevin live in the dormitory.Their address (16) ____________ 4402 S. Governor, #202. Niran says that

Kevin (17) ____________ very lazy and never cleans anything. Kevin says Niran (18) ____________ bossy.

They (19) ____________ good roommates for each other.They need new roommates next year.

Creative Grammar

■ 1-10 Grammar Practice

Read the story in Activity 1–9 again. Now use be to write sentences answering the questions about the story. Example: Who is Sunee? She is a student.

1. Where is she from?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is her address?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Who are Sunee’s roommates?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How old are they?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Why is Sunee happy?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Who is Sunee’s friend?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What is Niran’s address?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. What is his roommate’s name?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. How old is Niran’s roommate?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Are they good roommates?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

be Verb: Present Tense

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

be Verb: Present Tense

■ 1-11 Error Correction

Read the sentences below. Each sentence has mistakes: missing subject or verb, wrong form of be, wrong verb, incorrect spelling, or punctuation error. Write an X next to any sentence that is missing a subject. Circle all the other mistakes in each sentence; then write the sentence correctly.

1. Is cold today. It is ’ nt h . ot.

It is cold today. It isn’t hot. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. Is cold today. It is ’ nt h . ot.

It is cold today. It isn’t hot. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Is your shoes too big for you? My shoes arent big.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Are afraid of live chickens? Yes, I’m.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. My grandfather’s girlfriends young. She has 22 years old, and my grandfather has 85 years old.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Colin at the library. Isn’t at the movies.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Where is Brian? I called him, but he not at home.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Why Alan nervous on the first day of class?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Where you be? Is you home or is you at school?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Is a beautiful day today. It’is sunny and warm.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. My brothers is in Houston. Theyre in the army.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. My sister she is’nt at home now. She are at work.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Creative Grammar

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Creative Grammar

■ 1-12 Sentence Stems

Think about people and things you see every day. Use the sentence stems below to write true statements about them using be. Write affirmative and negative statements. Make sure the subject and the verb agree.

is long and beautiful. 1. My sister’s hair _______________________________________________________________________________________________

2. My neighbor __________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. The employees ________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. The clock _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. The bathroom _________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. My favorite shirt _______________________________________________________________________________________________

7. My brother ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. A man on the bus ____________________________________________________________________________________________

■ 1-13 Sentence Conclusions

Now use the sentence conclusions below to write statements using be. Write affirmative and negative statements. Make sure the subject and the verb agree.

My friend Rik is 1. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ from Iceland.

2. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ in bed early.

3. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ very handsome.

4. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ today?

5. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ in the spring.

6. _________________________________________________________________________________ a manager at McDonald’s®.

7. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ in the basement.

8. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ at 6:00 a.m.

be Verb: Present Tense

■ 1-14 The Writing Page

A. Think of three friends and use forms of be to write three sentences about them.

Example: Maribel Garcia is a good student. She is 23 years old. Maia Simon and Halima Rahim are very interesting. They are from Egypt.

1. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

B. Now use be to write sentences telling where each friend from Exercise A is today. Write one negative

sentence. Example: Maribel Garcia is at the library. Maia and Halima aren’t with her. They are at home.

4. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

C. Work with a partner. Use your sentences from Exercises A and B to tell your partner about your friends. Your

partner will tell the class about them.

Creative Grammar

■ 1-15 Unit Review

Directed Writing

Task: Write a paragraph about you and your class.

Prewriting

Who are you? What are you like? Where are you right now—in class? At home? What is that place like? Who is with you? What are they like? Ask a friend some questions if you need more information about your class or the place where you are. In your notebook, make notes about yourself and the place. Use a chart like the one below.

from Thailand

“you”

quiet, friendly

teacher

from Thailand

“you”

my class/home

Kirana, Pavel, Ines

teacher

my class/home

Kirana, Pavel, Ines

First Draft

Use your cluster chart and notes to write a first draft of your paragraph. Use be in the present tense. Write affirmative and negative sentences, and use contractions to describe yourself and your class. Here are some nouns and adjectives you may want to use. Nouns: student, teacher, friend, classmate. Adjectives: friendly, nice, interesting, boring, tough, easy.

Model

quiet, friendly

Model

My name is Sopal. I’m from Thailand. I’m in an English class in Sacramento, California. Kirana, Pavel,

and Ines are some of my classmates. They’re friendly and nice. They are from different countries, but we

are all friends. Our teacher is Dan Peters. He is very interesting. The class isn’t easy, but it is fun.

be Verb: Present Tense

Revision

Read through your paragraph and check for correct forms of be, clear statements, logical order, and correct punctuation. Ask a partner to read your paragraph. Your partner should be able to answer the following questions about your paragraph:

• What is your name?

• What are you like?

• Where are you?

• Who is with you and what are they like?

• Did you use correct forms of be?

• Do you have any errors in contractions?

• Does the paragraph need any more information?

Final Draft

Make any changes or additions that are needed in your paragraph. Then write or type a final copy. You may want to include your final paragraph in a portfolio of your writing.

Evaluation

Your teacher will grade your paragraph. You will be evaluated on:

• the detail level describing yourself and your class;

• the correct use and forms of be;

• the variety of affirmative and negative sentences; and

• the correct forms of contractions.

Creative Grammar