Elementary English lessons 1

“To be or not to be… that is the question.”

INDEX 1. TO BE + NAMES 2. TO BE + JOB 3. TO BE + AGE 4. TO BE + NATIONALITY

5. TO BE + ADJECTIVES 6. TO BE + MARTIAL STATUS 7. REVISION 8. TO BE + WEATHER

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To Be

This is one of the most important verbs in English. We use it to talk about age,

nationality, jobs, emotions, the weather, time, etc.

To Be= Ser / Estar I You He She *It We You +They

Simple Present Tense

am are is is is are are are

*It is used for places, animals or things not for people. Except in the case of a baby when the sex (male or female) is unknown or not specified. +They is used for people or things (plural form).

Contractions I am You are He is She is It is We are They are

1

= I’m = You’re = He’s = She’s = It’s = We’re = They’re

*Contractions are often used in informal English.

about names.

What’s your name?

What’s his name?

What’s her name?

What’s your surname?

I’m Anna = My name’s Anna He’s Tom. His name’s Tom She’s Kath. = Her name is Kath My surname is Gisbert.

In groups of three, practice asking and answering your names and surnames.

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2

about jobs (occupations)

Substitute using other jobs you know.

Ex. Nurse, singer, dancer, painter, secretary, architect, journalist, receptionist, banker, farmer, police officer, firefighter, cook, sailor, director.

Attention: A (+consonant) /AN (+vowel) I am a You are a She is an He is a We are You are They are

dentist. magician. engineer. doctor. students politicians teachers.

** Practice asking question about professions.

Key Question:

What do you do?

What does she do?

What do they do?

1. I am a/an ________________ in a restaurant.

2. You are a/an ____________ in a hospital.

3. He is a/ an ________________ on a ship.

4. She is a/ an ____________. She makes films.

5. We are

6. They are ___________. They work in a kitchen.

_________________ at this school.

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20 30thirty 31 thirty-one 32 thirty-two 33 thirty-three 34 thirty-four 35 thirty-five 40 forty 46 forty-six 47 forty-seven 48 forty-eight 49 forty-nine 50 60 70 80 90 100 http://www.languageguide.org/english/numbers/ A2

3

about age

He is 5 years old. He is 5. He is five years old. He is five. *Not He is 5 years or He is five years.

Key Question:

How old are you?

How old is she?

How old are they?

Substitute the age in the blank and practice with other students or your teacher.

1. I am ___________________.

5. We are _____________ and ________________

2. He is ___________________.

6. My brothers are ___________ and ___________

3. You are

___________________.

7. My friend is ____________.

4. She is

___________________.

8. They are ______________ and ___________.

4

about nationality

He is from Mars.

She is from The Philippines.

I am from Greece.

He is a Martian She is Filipino I am Greek.

We are from Spain!

Key Question:

We are Spanish!

Where are you from?

What is your nationality?

Class Activity: Substitute the following information and practice asking aand answering questions.

Country Nationality

5

Germany German

Spain Spanish

with adjectives

China Chinese

Thailand Thai

The Netherlands Dutch

India Indian

*Adjectives are never plural in English

I am happy.

She is sad.

We are sick.

They are cold.

You are sleepy.

It is hot.

The books are bigs. (incorrect) The books are big. (correct)

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Key Questions:

How is she?

Is he happy?

Are you mad?

Using the following adjectives substitute them into sentences. expensive, cheap, dirty, clean, mad, hungry, thirsty, beautiful, handsome, difficult, easy, open, closed.

1. I am ____________.

2. They are ___________.

3. You are ___________.

4. Mr. White is _________.

5. The book is 6. David is 7. Sheila is 8. The car is

__________. __________. __________. __________.

Practice time **In pairs, practice asking questions using some of these adjectives and answering using YES or NO in sentences.

Negative sentences I You She He It We You They

am are is is is are are are

not not not not not not not not

Contractions Subject +Verb + Negation I’m not = I’m not

He is not = He isn’t

You are not = You aren’t

Change these sentences to the negative form. Use a pronoun if it’s possible.

1.- This is a new book. _____________________________________________________ 2.- Bill is Mexican. ________________________________________________________ 3.- We are busy today. _____________________________________________________ 4.- This is a difficult exercise. _______________________________________________ 5.- We are Mexicans. _____________________________________________________ 6.- It is a small book. _____________________________________________________ 7.- I am a teacher. _________________________________________________________ 8.- Helen and Mary are sisters. _______________________________________________ 9.- You are a good student. __________________________________________________ A2

Complete the sentences with the forms of the verb “to be”.

1.- Mr. Jones ___________________ a man.

2.- They _____________________ doctors.

3.- _______________ you an English teacher?

4.- I _______________ a football player.

5.- He _________________ Mexican.

6.- She _________________ an American.

7.- You ______________ students.

6

about martial status

I am married.

You are single.

She is widowed.

They are divorced.

We are engaged.

He is separated. ***All of these words are adjectives even though they end in ED not to be confused with regular past tense verbs.

Key Questions: Are you married?

Practice: Is she married?

Yes, she is. / No, she isn’t.

Are you single?

Are they engaged?

Yes, they are. / No, they aren’t.

Substitute into these sentences: 1. Are you ________________?

2. Is _____ single?

3. ________ they divorced?

Are you divorced?

Is he separated?

Yes, he is./ No, he isn’t.

Yes, I ______.

No, ______ isn’t. ______, they are.

Interview 3 students in the class and record the answers in the following chart:

Name :

Single

Married

Divorced

Engaged

Widowed

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Question Formation Am Are Is Is Is Are Are Are

Are they from Mexico?

Yes, they are. / No, they aren’t

I you she he it we you they

Are you Chinese?

Yes, I am. / No, I’m not.

Ex. Is she pretty?

Yes, she is.

No, she isn’t.

Is he a teacher?

Yes,he is.

No, he isn’t.

Are they slow?

Yes, they are.

No, they aren’t.

Some new vocabulary: French, Irish, Italian, Cuban, German, Turkish, Guatemalan, Egyptian, Russian, Portuguese, Indonesian, , lawyer, waitress, lifeguard, carpenter, sales representative, writer, comfortable, difficult, lazy, dry, wet, unhappy, angry, nervous, tall, young, old.

Practice time Use the verb “to be” in these questions.

1.- _________________ I sleeping?

2.- _________________ Sally working?

3.- _________________ Julie a teacher?

4.- _________________ they doctors?

5.- _________________ that a dog?

6.- _________________ she walking?

7.- _________________ that cat in the tree?

8.- _________________ this a book

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7 Introductions using names, ages and professions Hello, my name is Karen.

I am 33 years old.

I am an English teacher.

Key Questions: What’s your name?

What’s his name?

What’s her name?

Conversation practice: Practice and then use your own information Silvia: Hi, my name is Silvia. What’s your name?

Michael: My name is Michael?

Silvia: Where are you from?

Michael: I’m from Canada. What about you?

Silvia: I’m from Mexico. Nice to meet you.

Michael: Nice to meet you, too. What do you do?

Silvia: I teach Spanish. What about you?

Michael: Wow I teach English.

Practice time Ask you partner about his/her name, age, nationality, job and profession. Do NOT read.

8 using “TO BE” with weather It is rainy.

It is hot.

It is dry.

.

Key Questions: Is it rainy? Is it sunny?

Is it cloudy?

Look at the following picture and describe the weather.

It is really hot.

Is it snowy?

Is it stormy?

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More Practice 1. Translate into English.

1. Per què tens por?

6. El teu llapis no és blau.

2. Quants anys tens? Tinc 45 anys.

7. Tens fam? No. Tinc sed.

3. On està Peter? Està a clase o a casa.

8. Per què estàs trist?

4. On està el nostre llibre? Està damunt la taula.

9. Està massa ocupada.

5. Els alumnes estàn a la biblioteca però el profesor no.

10. Està preparat? Sí

ELEMENTARY PODCAST. 1. Check your understanding. Do this exercise while you listen. Answer the questions if possible.

What do you know about Ravi?

From:

Age:

Likes:

What do you know about Tess?

From:

Age:

Likes:

What do you know about Gordon?

From: Job: What do you know about Zara?

From:

Age:

Likes:

Job:

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Links Vocabulary Alphabet: http://www.languageguide.org/english/alphabet/ Colours: http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/colors/ Numbers: http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/various/numbers10-100.htm Family: http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/family/ http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/family/scrambled_letters.htm Jobs: http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/jobs/ Continents: http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/continents/ Europe: http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/europe/ Weather: http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/vocabulary19/weather.htm Grammar To be:

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/be.htm http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/be2.htm http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/be3.htm http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/questions/be.htm http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/questions/be2.htm

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