to be  here, there  like + -ing  Personal pronouns  Possessive 's  Present Simple  this / that / these  was / were 

Be

Use :

Use be with:

Names Hello, I’m John.

Your ageHow old are you? 

I’m 17.

Places

London is in England.   

The Pyramids are in Egypt.  

The bank is one kilometre from here.

AdjectivesThis hotel is nice.  

I’m hungry. 

Jobs and family

I’m a student. 

My parents are doctors. 

This is my sister. 

Ann and Tom are my children.

Other NounsJess is a dog. 

‘Hamlet’ is a play.

adjective + nounThat’s a nice dress. 

She’s a good actor.

Form :

Positive sentences

I

am / ‘m cold / hungry

a student / a teacher

at home / in the kitchenYou / We / They are / ’re

He / She / It is / ‘s

Negative Sentences

I

am not / ‘m not cold / hungry

a student / a teacher

at home / in the kitchenYou / We / They are not / aren’t / ’re not

He / She / It is not / isn’t  / ‘s not

Questions

Am

I cold / hungry?

a student / a teacher?

at home / in the kitchen?Are you / we / they

Is he / she / it

Short answers

Yes,

I am.

you are.

he / she / it is.

we are.

they are.

  No, I’m not.

you aren’t / you’re not.

he isn’t / he’s not. 

we aren’t / we’re not.

they aren’t / they’re not.

Contractions

The verb be has a full form and a contracted form. 

I am = I’m

He is = He’s

We normally use the contracted form (‘m / ‘s / ‘re) in speaking and informal writing. 

We write the words in full in formal writing.

You can only use one contraction at a time:

eg: He isn’t

He’s not

but NOT He’sn’t

You can contract ‘be’ after pronouns (I, you, she etc) and names. 

You can contract ‘is’ after question words. 

What is your name? => What’s your name?

But do not contract ‘are’ after question words.

Where are you from? => Where’re you from? 

Do not contract short answers:

Yes, I am NOT Yes, I’m

Common mistakes

1. In English, every sentence must have a verb. Some students write sentences with no verb.

I very hungry. => I’m very hungry

My brother in his bedroom. => My brother is in his bedroom.

2. Some students write questions incorrectly.

She is your sister? => Is she your sister?

1.   Which word completes the sentence?

You ____ very hungry!

 are     Correct

 is   

 am     Incorrect

2.   In which sentence can you write is?

 ____ your parents here?   

 ____ you a doctor?   

 This ____ my mother.     Correct

3.   Which question is NOT correct?

 You are a manager?     Correct

 Where is your house?   

 How old are you?   

4.   Which sentence is correct?

 He not my dad, he’s my husband!   

 I’m no a student, I’m a teacher.   

 Maria’s not in the kitchen.     Correct

5.   Which is the correct answer to this question?

Are you hungry?

 No, I not.   

 Yes, I’m.   

 No, I’m not.     Correct

6.  

     it cold outside?

7.  

Where       you?

8.  

Sorry, but we       free on Friday. We're busy

9.  

That       my sister, it’s my mum!

Hello, I       Paul. Nice to meet you. 

Here, There

Use:

Here:

Use here when you find something.

                                Where’s my bag?                             It’s here!  Here it is!

Here means that something is near you.

                                Is your dad here?                             Yes, he is.

There:                  

Use there to talk about what exists.

                                There’s a cafe, a bank, a shop and a park in the town.

Use there to talk about how many things there are.

                                There are three people in my family.

                                There are ten students in the class.

And use there to talk about where things are.

                                There is a bathroom opposite the bedroom.

                                There’s a cash machine near the cafe.

Use there, or over there, to talk about something that is not near you.

                                Where’s my bag?             It’s over there, near the door.

Form:

1)            Use here and there with be.

                Here is your bag. Your bags are here.

                There is a nice restaurant in town. There are some good shops in town.

                

2)            You can contract is after here and there. You cannot contract are.

                Here is Joe!                                                         =>           Here’s Joe!

                There is a great café near here.                  =>There’s a great café near here.

                Here are your bags!                                        =>           Here’re your bags.

                There are three kids in my family.             =>           There’re three kids in my family.

3)            Make questions by inverting here / there and be:

                Is there a nice restaurant in town?           

                Are there any good shops in town?

                How many shops are there in the town?

Common mistakes

1. Some students do not use there to talk about things that exist.

                A restaurant is in my town.         =>           There is a restaurant in my town.

                Ten students are in my class.      =>           There are ten students in my class.

2. Some students forget to invert there and be in questions.

                How many students there are in your class?=>

                How many students are there in your class?

1.   Which question is correct?

 John he is here today?   

 Is John here today?     Correct

 John is here today?   

2.   Which reply is NOT correct?

Where’s my jacket?

 It’s over there.   

 It’s here.   

 Here is it.     Correct

3.   Which word goes in the space?

____ is a good book shop near my house.

 Here   

 This   

 There     Correct

4.   Which question is correct?

 How many rooms there are in your house?   

 How many rooms are in your house?   

 How many rooms are there in your house?     Correct

5.   Which word goes in the space?

Your keys ___ here!

 You do not need a word.   

 is   

 are     Correct

6.   Which sentence is wrong?

 There’re some nice shops near my house.      Correct

 There’s a nice café near my house.   

 Here’s my favourite bar.   

7.   Which sentence is correct?

 Here’s your coat.     Correct

 There’re your shoes.   

 Here’re your bags.   

8.   Complete the question.

____ a bank near the hotel?

 Here is   

 There is   

 Is there     Correct

9.   Complete the question.

Is ____ a supermarket near ____?

 there / here     Correct

 here / there   

 here / here   

10.   Complete the sentence.

____ a cash machine over ____.

 There’s / there.     Correct

 There are / here.   

 Here’s / there   

Verbs of Preference + gerunds

Use:

We can use several different words and phrases in English to talk about things we like and dislike.

like                             love                       enjoy

don’t mind

dislike           hate                       can’t stand

Form:

After these words you can use a noun or a verb in the –ing form.

                I like water.                                         I like swimming.

                I love sports.                                      I love running.

                We enjoy good food.                     We enjoy eating out.

                I don’t mind housework.              I don’t mind cooking.

                I dislike buses.                                   I dislike waiting.

                I hate housework                             I hate cleaning.

                I can’t stand planes.                       I can’t stand flying.

Spelling rules

Remember the spelling rules when you make the –ing form.

If a verb ends in e, delete the e before you add –ing.

have                              =>           I love having breakfast in bed.

If a verb ends one vowel and one consonant, double the consonant.

swim                             =>           I don’t like swimming.

Exceptions: words that end in w or y.

row                                                =>           I love rowing.

sew                                                =>           I don’t like rowing.

play                               =>           I like playing football.

                Other exceptions:

iron                                                =>           My mum hates ironing.

open                              =>           I don’t mind opening the window for you.

Personal pronouns

Use:

Personal pronouns go before a noun.

They tell you who owns something.

This is my coat. 

Is this your bag?

Form:

1)            Possessive adjectives are shown in the table below.

I my This is my brother.

you your is this your chair?

he his His sister works here.

she her Janet and her brother are here.

it its My dog is brown, but its tail is white.

we our My husband and I live in London, but our children live in Paris.

they their My cousins live in Scotland with their parents.

Common mistakes

The pronoun is connected to the person who owns the object, NOT the object.

My sister and her husband live in Paris.    NOT    My sister and his husband live in Paris.

Possessive ‘s

Use:

Possessive adjectives after a name and before a noun.

They tell you who owns something.

This is John’s coat. 

Is this Tina’s bag?

Don’t use ‘s after things. 

I clean the garden’s pond every week. =>           I clean the pond in the gardenevery week.

What’s the book’s name?                           =>           What’s the name of the book? 

You can usually use ‘s after organisations and groups of people.

It’s the government’s decision.   OR          It’s the decision of the government. 

Tom is the company’s new  director.        OR          Tom is the new director of the company.

You can use ‘s after time expressions.

What time is tomorrow’s meeting?

  

You can sometimes use ‘s after countries and cities.

India’s population is rising.

But you cannot do this if it refers to a person.

I met London’s mayor last week.              =>           I met the mayor of London last week.

England’s Queen is well-known. =>           The Queen of England is well-known.

Form:

To make the possessive form, add ’s to the end of the name.

Is that Jack’s bag?

With two names, only add ‘s to the second name.

That’s Jane and Harry’s house.                NOT        That’s Jane’s and Harry’s house.

If something belongs to two or more people, put the apostrophe(‘) after the plural s. Do not write a second s.

My parents’ house is really big. NOT        My parents’s house is really big.

However, if the plural noun is irregular, write the apostrophe (‘) before the S.

The children’s party was great. NOT        The childrens’ party was great. 

Present Simple

Use:

Sentences in the present simple tense are true all the time.

I come from Japan.

I live in Paris.

I like animals.

I have three sisters.

Form:

1) Form the present simple this way:

Positive

I

like  

 

animalsyou

he  

likesshe

it

we like

they

Negative

I

don’t  

 

like

 

 

animalsyou

he  

doesn’tshe

it

we don’t

they

Questions

Do

I  

 

like

 

 

animals?

you

 

Does

he

she

it

Do we

they

Short answers

 

 

Yes,

I do    

 

No,

I don’t

you   you

he  

does

  he  

doesn’tshe   she

it   it

we do   we don’t

they   they

Spelling Rules for 3rd person (he / she / it)

If a verb ends in consonant + y, change y to i and add es.

I study English.  He studies English.

If a verb ends in tch, ss, x, sh or z, add es.

She watches television.

Susan misses her family.

He fixes the television.

My dad washes the car on Sundays.

Some verbs have irregular spellings:

I go         →           he / she / it goes

I do         →           he / she / it does

I have     →           he / she / it has

Common mistakes

1)            Some students forget to add s for he/she/it.

My mother like chocolate.            →            My mother likes chocolate.

2)            Some students make the negative form incorrectly.

Tom no work here.           →            Tom doesn’t work here.

Tom isn’t work here.

Tom don’t work here.

3)            Some students forget to use Do and Does to make questions.

You like this song?             →            Do you like this song?

Is your father work here?             →            Does your father work here?