CHAPTER
@f In Chapter 1, you learned that the "be" verb can be used with nouns. The "be" verb can also be used with
adjectives. An adjective is a word that describessomething.
@l Foltow this pattern to make positive and negative sentenceswith the "be" verb and an adjective:
ttBeot Verb (Negative)
Subject Adiective
I am huppy.
tall.
He, She,It IS (not)
nice.
You, We, They are friendly.
CoNtnacrroNs: is + not: isn't; are + not = aren't
Sometimes,you can say a sentencein two different ways using contractions:
Exevrprrs: She'snot busy. / Shelsr'f busy.
@f Contractions can be used to answer yes/no questions in two different ways:
Exervrpus: Is he angry? No, he'snot,/No,he isn't.
Do not use contractions i{ the answer is positive:
@l Follow thesepatterns to make and answer yes/no questions with the "be" verb and an adjective:
I am,
ttBett Yes, he, she, it ls,
Verb Subject Adiective
you, we, they are.
Am I beautiful? fm not.
tired? he, she, it isn't.
Is he, she, it
clean? No,
Are you, we, they hds, she's,it's not.
young?
vou, we, thev aren't.
yorf re, we're, they're not.
10 BunprNc Brocxs oF ENGLISH
@l'Whnt is (a noun) like?" or 'What are(nouns)like?" meansdescribethe noun. In this case,like is not a verb. It is
a preposition and means "similat to."
Ex,[Link]:What is your country like? It is warm and beautifuL
What are your childrenlike? They arefriendly andhelpful.
@l Some questionsare made with the wordhou + an adjective. This kind of question wants to know how
much the adjective is. Follow this pattem to make questionswithhow + an adiective:
ttBett Verb Subject
How Adjective
tall arn t?
old 1S he, she, it?
How rich
busy are you, we, they?
Exeprprn: How busyare you?
w The answer to questionswithhow + an adjective might be a number. For example,to the question, "IIow old
areyou?" the answer might be, am thirty-threeyearsold."Sometimes,other wbrds, called adverbs of degree,
'"1
are used. Adverbs of degree don't give an exactnumber, but they give an idea of how much the adjective
is. Below are some examplesof thesewords:
Subject + "8e" Verb Adverb of Degree Adiective
vely tall.
Ia m somewhat tired.
She is a little old.
not very sleepy.
They are
not at aII
You can use an adjective'after not at all or you can put the adjective after not, followedby at aII.
Exanaprr: They are not at all tired. / They are not tfted at all.
@l Adiectives are often used before nouns to describethe noun.
Exeuprns: He is a rich man. That is an interestingbook.
@l Other verbs besidesthe "be" verb, for example haztelhas,are used with an adiective + noun. Verbswill be
studied in detail starting with Chapters4 and 5. If this sectionis too difficult, skip the exerciseat the bottom
of page 13.
Subject Verb Adjective Noun
I, You black
have hair.
We, They brown
He, blue
has qreen eyes.
S he ,It
BunprNc Brocxs oF ENGTISH 17
Use the pictures below and practice negative and positive sentences with your partner. Switch and repeat.
[A. What's Mary like? EA. what are Mike fle. what's Newyork
B. She' and Sue like? City like?
She'spretfy. B. They' B. It' g.
They're young. It's exciting.
Mary Mike and Sue NewYork City
ugly pretty old young boring exciting
yourmother yourbrothers Jay
shy friendly weak strong serious funny
that restaurant Ted you
cheap expensive fat skinny sad happy
Brad and Debby yourcar [Link] [Link]
messy neat slow fast stingy generous
12 Bunnmc Brocrs oF ENGLTsH
CHAPTER The "Be" Verb + Adjective
yourfather you andyourfriend Alex
mean ntce short tall single married
yourdogs yourapartment youraunt
lazy energetic small big poor rich
Luke yourneighbors that movie
unattractive handsome noisy quiet dull interesting
Use haaeor hss and the words on Adjectives Nouns
the right to describethe people in
the pictures on pages t2 and13. bl"ndered [Link] black
-: .
cur\1
.\
trdiqh+
Strdi
r hair
A. Mary andlay have brown hair.
w jffi
bI._ gl"y
r@\
B. Ted has a blonde moustache. t9@ ?o6 *k*n
\e eYes
fre"k ce
.le.
rnousfac
s r ni l e
Ieard
Bunorruc Brocxs oF ENGLTsH 13
if there is a
[Link]
red X over the picture' Switch and repeat'
youbusy? Ee. U your dressnew? Ee. are john and Rita hungry?
tle.
B. No, I'm not' B. , it is.
yourdress John and Rita
you
new hungry
busY
the car Ted
youruncles
fast nervous
tired
yourson yourkids
yoursister
married angry
the knife Mike and Sue
yourhusband
late sharp
1.4 Butronrc Brocrs oF ENGLISH
you yourfriend Liz and Jane
comfoftable sick cute
English Kim yourgrandchildren
difficult upset kind
thiscity the restaurant Alice
dangerous open thirsty
you andyourfriend Mr. and Mrs. Lee the movie
ready asleep free
APPLE
Fus. tr W \f
The teacher thinks of a word (for example, apple). W
-4
Each student (or team) has ten minutes to think
of as many adjectives as possible that correctly t
describe the word. The students can use dictionaries. ,
The student (or team) with the most words wins.
t
_j
BunorNc Brocrs oF ENGLTSH 15
CHAPTER The'(Be" Verb + Adiective
Use the pictures below and practice the conversationswith your partner. Use the information in the
yellow box below and at the bottom of each picture to answer the [Link] and repeat.
not at all a little somewhat
EA. How tall is your sister?
B. She'snot tall at all.
tall
your sister
hungry expensrve
LisaandVince yourcar
rich heavy
your uncle the TV
16 Bunonvc Brocxs oF ENGLIsH
CHAPTER ' The 668e"Verb + Adiective
Use the pictures below and practice the conversationswith your partner. Use the information in the
yellow box below and at the bottom of eachpicture to answer the [Link] and repeat.
a little somewhat
[A. How tall is your sister?
B. She'snot tall at all.
tall
your sister
hungry expensrve
LisaandVince yourcar
rich heavy
youruncle the TV
L6 Bunowc Brocxs oF ENGLIsH
Sl Read the story.
Hi, my name is Karen. Ted is my husband. He is a very nice man. He isn t short. He's tall. He is
very [Link] daughtel, Lisa, is married to Vince. They are very happy. Dave, our son, is
married to Alice. Tom, our other sory is young, and he isn't married. Our house is very comfortable.
It is somewhat big. It is white, and the roof is brown. It is not dirty at all. It is very clean.
HL my name is Mary. I am married to [Link] is a very kind man, and he is very patient. He isn't
very [Link] is fu*[Link] sory Alex, is married to Kim. Kate and Luke, our other childrery are
single. Luke is a little tall. Kate is not very tall. We are all somewhat busy. Our neighborhood is
very [Link]'s not noisy at all. The people are very friendly. We're happy to live here.
Loke
Sl Answer the questions with a complete sentence.
1.) Is Ted short?
2.) \{hat is Ted like?
3.) Is Lisa married to Vince?
4.) How big is Ted and Karen's house?
5.) How dirtv is Karen's house?
6.) What is Jay like?
7.) Are Kate and Luke married?
8.) How tall is Luke?
9.) How tall is Kate?
10.) What is Mary's neighborhood like?
@l Write five questions about the story and ask your partner the questions.
@f Look at the picture but not the story and tell the story to your partner. You don't have to be exact.
@i Write a story about what you and people in your family are like. Write about what your city and
neighborhood are like. Read the story to your partner.
18 BunorNc Brocxs oF ENGLTsH
CHAPTER The "Be" Verb + Adiective
* F}.acem, m*fuer
R*aBtr-Bfe
about places and the weather'
Use the pictures and vocabulary below and practice conversations
The conversationsmight go like this:
A. What's Los Angeles like? A. Whaf s the weather like in
B. It's warm and sunnY. Washington D.C. in the summer?
A. What else? B. It's cloudy and warm.
B. The oceanis wonderful. B. Is Washington D.C' interesting?
A. That's great. Yes,it is. The monuments
are beautiful.
NewYorkCitg
Seoffle
be foggg
be cloodg
be worrn,sonng
oceon
wotenfoll
be hot
beoch
rnoontoins
Ilisetcssi*m
it'
@tWhat'syour hometownlike? Describe
in spring,summer,fall and winter?
@iwhat,s the weatherlike in your hometown
19
BuITPINc Brocrs oF ENGLISH