Science: The Brain
I
Lesson 1
Be
Adjectives with be
The Present and Past of be
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Grammar in Context
I
I think I’m in the wrong
place. I am an engineering
student. My class is in
Wheeler Hall.
This is Anderson.
Wheeler is on Campus
Blvd. You aren’t late
yet. Your class isn’t
until 10:30. Wheeler
isn’t far from here.
Notes: Be
The verb be is used to:
1. to say what someone or something is.
She is a student. He is a teacher.
2. to describe someone.
Rebecca is an artist. Theo is a musician.
3. to talk about where someone is.
They are in the classroom.
4. to talk about where someone comes from.
Isabel is from Ecuador
5. to talk about age.
. My mother is 85 years old
6. with “it” to talk about weather or time.
It is almost noon. It is snowing.
Notes: Adjectives
1. Use adjectives to describe someone.
She is worried.
2. Use adjectives to describe something.
The class is long.
3. Use it when there is no subject mentioned
It was a dangerous storm.
4. To intensify an adjective, add very, really, or extremely.
It was a very warm day.
She is a really nice person.
The city was extremely quiet.
Exercise A
Fill in the blanks
was
1. The storm __________ very scary..
is
2. Today __________ our first day of class.
are
3. We __________ all hot today.
are
4. I think they __________ from Mexico.
isn’t
5. She (not) __________ very friendly.
The Present and Past of be: Yes/No Questions
Present Yes/No Questions and Past Yes/No Questions and
Short Answers with Be Short Answers with Be
Yes/No Question Short Answer Yes/No Question Short Answer
Are you bored? you are
Yes, _________. Was I bored? you were.
Yes, __________.
you’re not.
No, _________. No, you were not.
__________.
you weren’t.
No, __________.
Is he/she/it he/she/it is.
Yes, _________. Was he/she/it he/she/it was.
Yes, __________.
bored? it isn’t.
No, __________. bored? he/she/it wasn’t.
No, ____________.
he/she/it is not.
No, ___________.
Are we bored? Yes, __________.
we are. Were we cold? Yes, ___________.
we were.
No, _________.
we are not. No, we weren’t
___________.
we aren’t
No, __________.
Exercise A
Ask your partner the questions. Then, introduce your
partner to the class.
1. What is your name?
2. Where are you from?
3. What was your last English class?
Exercise B
Raise your hand if you see the mistake. Correct each
mistake.
1. Tornados is
__ dangerous.
Tornados are dangerous
2. The weather in June ___
are cool and dry.
The weather in June is cool and dry.
3. December is
_ comfortable in Moscow last year.
December was comfortable in Moscow last year
4. She _____
aren’t studying meteorology.
She isn’t studying meteorology.
Exercise C
Play “Ten Questions” with your partner. Take
Turns guessing and answering.
How to play:
1. Student A thinks of a famous person, place,
or thing.
2. Student B asks questions to guess who
or what Student A is thinking about.
3. If Student B can guess before asking
10 questions, Student B wins Is it a person?
No, it isn’t a
person. Is it a place?
Yes, it is.
Yes, it is. Is it Paris?
Simple Present Tense: Have and Be
Affirmative Negative
Subject Verb Subject Do/Does Verb
+ Not
I/You/We/They have I/You/We/They do not
He/She/It has He/She/It does not have
Subject Verb Subject Be + Not
I am I am not
You/We/They are old You/We/They are not old
He/She/It is He/She/It` is
The Past Tense of Be: Statements
Affirmative Negative
Subject be Subject be + not
I, you, he, she, was I, you, he, she, it wasn’t
it
We, they were We, they
weren't
Nouns + Adjectives + be
Affirmative: noun + be + adjective Affirmative: be + adjective + noun
The classes are small. They are small classes.
The lesson was very interesting. It was a very interesting class.
Negative noun + be + adjective Negative: be + adjective + noun
The children aren’t happy. They aren’t happy children.
The test wasn’t difficult. It wasn’t a difficult test.
w of Be
Contracted Forms
What are the contracted forms of be?
I ’m
am Isabel.
’s my
He is
friend Marco.
’re exchange
We are
students.