It is with this verb that you need to start learning English grammar. Verbs in English language do not vary by person, but the verb to be is an exception. With the help of this verb we will learn to compose simple sentences, which in Russian do not contain a verb, for example, “I am a student”, “he is at home”, “this is interesting”, etc. In English it is unacceptable to form without a verb that performs the action, and to be serves as a linking verb. For example, to say “I am a student,” we must insert the desired form of the linking verb to be and, as a result, the sentence will take on the meaning “I am a student” - “I (am) a student.”

Forms of the verb to be in the present tense

In the present tense, the verb to be has three forms: AM, IS, ARE:

• Remember: to be and AM, IS, ARE are not 4 different ones, but forms the same verb:

(We hope our dragon will help you remember this)

Let's look at how the verb to be changes in the present tense

Affirmative form

• We are friends - we are friends
• They are busy - they are busy
• The book is thick - the book is thick
• It is a cat
• She is clever - she is smart

Negative form

To form a negative conjugation form of a given verb, you need to put a negative particle “not” after one of the required forms of the verb (am, is or are). Here are some examples of negative sentences:

• I am not hungry – I am not hungry
• He is not busy
• The room is not big – the room is not big

Interrogative form

To form an interrogative form, you need to put the appropriate form of the verb (am, is or are) at the beginning of the sentence:

• Are you Peter? -Are you Pete?
• This room? – Is this a room?
• Are you hungry? -Are you hungry?
• He is busy? – Is he busy?

• To understand how verbs live in the English language, let’s first remember at least one Russian verb in its initial form, for example, the verb “to live”. As you know, Russian verbs in their initial form end in “-т”, and later, when conjugated, the ending changes. As for the English language, the verb in its initial form is used together with the particle to, for example, we say to be – would t, find t Xia, i.e. if the particle to precedes the verb, this means that the verb is in the initial form, and when further using the verb with persons, this particle is omitted. Let's give an example: “To be or not to be” - there are two verbs in the sentence - and both are in the initial form, and they must be used together with the particle to, and, accordingly, we will translate into English as “to be or not to be”. If we have before us the sentence “I (am) a student,” i.e. we have changed the verb to suit the person of the subject, then the particle to is omitted and the proper form of the verb is used, in this case am.
• Unlike the verb to be, other verbs in English are not conjugated, for example, the verbs “live, sit, love” in the initial form are translated into English “to live, to sit, to love”, i.e. with a particle to, and when conjugated - without to, for example, “I live, sit, love” will be translated into English as “I live, sit, love,” i.e. initial form of a verb in English without a particletonot used, but when conjugatedtofalls. The initial form in English is called the Infinitive - Infinitive.

More about the particle to watch our video tutorial:

Verb conjugations tobe in present time

Now let's learn how the verb to be changes (conjugates) in the present tense. As mentioned above, in Russian, sentences like “I am a student, she is a doctor, we are workers” are formed without a predicate verb. But to translate these sentences into English, you need to put the appropriate form to be after the subject - “I am a pupil, she is a doctor, we are workers.”

Please note the translation of the following sentences in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms into English:

Verb conjugations tobe in past and future tense

In the past tense, the verb to be has two forms - was and were (was, was, were)

In the future tense, the verb to be is conjugated as follows

Note: In modern English the form shall is rarely used to form the future tense of verbs (although its use is not a grammatical error), the form is used for all persons will. Therefore, sometimes there are discrepancies in different textbooks.

To summarize, consider the following table:

Here are some commonly used verb expressions: to be which you should learn and conjugate yourself using the conjugation table:

• To be happy/unhappy – to be happy/unhappy
• To be glad - to be joyful
• To be hungry/to be full up– to be hungry/full
• To be fond of - to love, be carried away by something
• To be busy - to be busy
• To be late (for) - to be late (for)
• To be in time for – to be on time
• To be present at – to be present at (for example, in a lesson)
• To be absent (from) – to be absent
• To be married – to be married
• To be single - to be single / not married
• To be lucky - to be lucky
• To be ready (for) - to be ready (for, for example, a lesson)
• To be afraid (of) – to be afraid
• To be interested (in) - to be interested in something
• To be ill / well - to be sick / to feel good
• To be angry (with) - to be angry, angry (at someone)

Let's conjugate together the expression to be married in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences. What did you get?

>When is the verb to be used?

When is the verb to be used in English?

Here you can find out when the verb to be is used.

Before talking about when the verb to be is used, it is necessary to recall that this is a special verb in the English language.
Firstly, it has different shapes for different pronouns. In Present Indefinite time am - for the pronoun I, is - for he, she, it, are - for we, you, they. In the tense Past Indefinite was - for singular pronouns, were - for plural pronouns. Secondly, the verb to be, unlike other verbs, is used to compose interrogative and negative sentences.

These features of the verb to be should always be remembered. The verb to be appears almost everywhere in English, and the most common occurrences are listed below.

1. Using the verb to be as a linking verb.
In this meaning, the verb to be is translated as to be, to appear.

For example.
He is an engineer - He is an engineer (he is an engineer).
Mary will be an economist next year - Mary will be a teacher next year.

If you pay attention, such sentences are translated into Russian without a verb. And since in English there cannot be a sentence without a verb, its function is performed by the verb to be, being a linking verb.

2. Using the verb to be as a semantic verb.
In this meaning, the verb to be is translated as to be, to be.

For example.
He isn't at the university - He is not at the university (he is not at the university).
I will be there at 6 o"clock - I will be there at six o'clock.

In such sentences, when translated, the verb to be is also often not translated.

3. Using the verb to be as an auxiliary verb.

a) In all tenses of the Continuous group.
I am calling him now - I’m calling him now.
My mother was cooking, when I came - My mother was cooking when I came.
I will be still sleeping at 3 o"clock - I will still sleep at 3 o'clock.

b) In all tenses of the group Perfect Continuous.
I have been waiting a long time for my sister - I have been waiting for my sister for a long time.
I had been sleeping for three hours when my mother came - I was sleeping for three hours when my mother came.

B) In all tenses of the passive voice.
The car was bought yesterday - The car was bought yesterday.
We were invited to a party - We were invited to a party.

4. Using the verb to be as a modal verb.
We are to do it at once - We must do it immediately.

5. The use of the verb to be as part of the phrase there is/there are.

The verb to be is part of a phrase.
There is a lamp in my room - There is a lamp in my room.

The further you delve into learning English, the more you begin to appreciate and love your familiar native Russian language. It seems to us that in Russian there are no confusing tenses, no regular/irregular verbs, no articles. Everything is simple and clear. But this, of course, is not true. And the Russian language has its own complex rules and confusing definitions. In this article we will look at the slightly confusing construction there is/are, which is quite unusual because it is at the beginning of a sentence and is usually not translated in any way.

How and when to use there is/there are?

We use this construction when we need to say about location any item. That is, that something (someone) somewhere located. You need to immediately remember that we always put it at first offers. I think you already guessed that there is we use if we're talking about about one subject, and there are - about several.

We will literally translate the first sentence as follows: "There there is (is) book on the shelf". Of course, in Russian it sounds ugly, and no one talks like that in real life. But at the first stage it is important to understand meaning what we say .

This literal translation will help you speak correctly and, most importantly, understand the logic of this construction. But when you say this phrase many times and there is no need to translate it word for word, then you can move on to a beautiful literary translation: There are two books on the shelf.

Order of words in a sentence
with there is/are

Remember to put “there is/ there are” at the beginning when you talk about the location of something. This will help your interlocutor understand from the very beginning that we are talking about finding something somewhere. In such a sentence, each word is in its specific place. Let's look at the word order in a sentence.

Negative form c there is/are

The negative form is formed by adding a particle not. It is used when you want to say that something no/wasn't/won't be anywhere. We can cut there is not = there isn't And there are not = there aren't.

Also with the construction there is/ there are the word is often used no (No). But abbreviations in such phrases are not allowed, because not is a particle that can be abbreviated, and no is a word that cannot be abbreviated.

How to ask questions with there is/are?

The construction of questions with this construction follows the standard rules of the English language. To ask a question, just move the words is/are to the beginning of the sentence, before the word there. Let's look at an example of how to turn an affirmative sentence into an interrogative one.

Statement

Question

A positive response will look like this.

At negative answer we add the particle not.

To reinforce this, let's look at another example.

How to ask questions using question words?

With the phrases there is/there are, you can also build sentences using question words. Here are some of them:

• what - what,
• which - which,
• why - why,
• how long - how long,
• when - when.

In such questions, we put these words first, and then the sentence is built as in a simple question.

There is/are in past and future tenses

If you want to talk about something that was or will be somewhere, then for this it is enough to change form of words is/are (verb be). We will look at how this verb changes in great detail in the next article. For now, just remember that to change the tense using the construction there is/are, you need to change the verb.

Since there is/there are is mainly used to say where is this or that object, then you can easily practice using this construction. Take a look around. What do you see? Where are the things you are used to? So, There is...

Verb be (be) in the present tense has three forms: am, is, are:
am used only with a pronounI (I).
is - with nounssingular.
are - with nounsin plural . Pronoun you in English it is always plural, although it can be translated into Russian as “you” or “you”.

Verb Declension Table to be in the present simple tense:

I"m not hungry, but I"m thirsty.
I'm not hungry, but I'm thirsty. (thirsty - adjective)

Kristy(she) is my niece.
Christy is my niece.

The weather is n"t very nice today.
The weather today is not very pleasant.

Kittens(they) are very funny.
Kittens are very funny.

My sister and I(we) are big fans of Lady Gaga.
My sister and I are big Lady Gaga fans.

"Game of Thrones"(it) is the most expensive TV show.
"Game of Thrones" is the most expensive TV series.

In an interrogative sentence, am, is, are come before subject to. (In a declarative sentence, the verbs am, is, are come after the subject).

Are are you busy? - No, I"m not. I"m free now.
You're busy? - No. I'm free now.

Am I right? - No, you are n"t. You are wrong.
I'm right? - No. You're wrong. (wrong - adjective)

Where is my rucksack? Your rucksack (it) is under the desk.
Where's my backpack? - Your backpack is under the table.

How old are your children (they)? - My son (he) is 8 and my daughter (she) is 6.
How old are your children? - My son is 8, and my daughter is 6.

The pie is so delicious. Is the recipe difficult?
This pie is so delicious. Is his recipe complicated?

Use of verbs am, is, are:
It is unusual for the Russian language to use the verb “to be” in the present tense, and is omitted in translation. And in English the verb to be is very important, since it is linking verb- connects different parts of speech (2 nouns, a noun and an adjective, a pronoun and a noun). Otherwise the sentence is incomplete in meaning: Our daughter is a biologist. - If translated literally, everything is fine - Our daughter is a biologist. But in English, without the verb is, this sentence is grammatically incorrect, since it is not clear how the daughter and the biologist are related. In order for a daughter to “become” a biologist, these two nouns must be connected with the verb is - Our daughter is a biologist. - Our daughter (is/is) a biologist.

Remember! Sentence in English cannot exist without a verb, therefore, if there is no semantic verb in a Russian sentence, then in this sentence in English it is necessary to use the linking verb “to be”, i.e. am, is or are:

Klaus comes from Germany.
Klaus is from Germany. (come is a semantic verb - the verb is is not needed)
Klaus is from Germany.
Klaus from Germany. (without is the sentence will remain without a verb)

You look beautiful!
You look great! (there is a verb look)
You are beautiful.
You are wonderful! (no semantic verb)

This dog seems very clever.
This dog seems very smart. (there is a verb seem)
This dog is very clever.
This dog is very smart. (no semantic verb)

Note! Some verbs of the Russian language into English are translated by adjectives with the verb to be: late (late), tired (tired), ill (sick), angry (angry), afraid (afraid), thirsty (thirsty).

I "m too tired to cook.
I'm too tired to cook.

Why are you always late?
Why are you always late?

I don't understand why she is angry with me.
I don't understand why she's angry with me.

My son and husband (they) are ill.
My son and husband got sick.

Little kids are often afraid of the dark.
Young children are often afraid of the dark.

When it comes to learning any language and breaking down language barrier, polyglots always highlight their knowledge of verbs. And it’s true: knowing verbs and knowing how to use them in various forms, you just need to “string” other words on them and you will already have whole sentences. Given this situation, it is not surprising that most of the standard vocabulary A native speaker of Russian, English, Chinese, and another arbitrarily chosen language is precisely this part of speech. But wait, this doesn’t mean that you should immediately start chaotically memorizing any verbs that catch your eye. If this makes any sense, it will be very small. Instead, it is better to analyze in detail those English verbs, which are often and actively used in speech. This is exactly what we will do by studying the verb to be in English.

The verb to be, which is equivalent to the Russian “to be”, “to appear”, “to be”, is one of the most universal and most commonly used verbs in the English language. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that, unlike other representatives of this part, the verb to be is conjugated, changing in persons and numbers.

In addition, to be can be used as a semantic verb or assisted by another verb, acting as an auxiliary. But let's talk about everything in order.

The verb to be refers to irregular verbs, so it has 3 forms. These forms are formed independently, without being explained by rules, so they simply need to be memorized:

The verb to be in the Past Simple or simple past tense in the number of its forms is reduced to two. Their use again depends on the person and number:

This, however, was not always the case. Previously, the future tense form shall be was used for first person pronouns (I / we). Nowadays you can find it very rarely, so just knowing about its existence is enough. In all cases, use the form will.

Please note that other verbs in English are not conjugated. The fact is that there are no conjugations in this language at all, which greatly simplifies English grammar. The verb to be is an exception to the rule.

The forms of this verb in Simple tenses were presented above. All tense forms of the verb to be can be expressed in the following table:

The verb to be may not be used in all tenses. So, in the Perfect Continuous the verb to be is not used. It can also be noted that continuous tenses with the verb to be are not very rare. The use of verbs in continuous forms is possible only in certain situations.

Verb to be in English: sentence forms

Affirmative form

The affirmative form of a sentence with the verb to be is constructed in a standard way: first comes the subject, followed by the verb to be in the required form as a predicate. Study the table:

Negative form

Negative forms of sentences with this verb are formed by adding the negative particle not after to be. No auxiliary verbs are required to use the form:

Both in the affirmative and in negative sentences the verb to be can be shortened:

There are no shortened forms for the past tense in the statement.

I am not, unlike other verbs, is shortened as I’m not. I amn't is used only in Scotland and Ireland.

Interrogative form

English interrogative form depends on the type of question:

• IN general issue or alternative questions, the verb be in the required conjugation is placed before the subject. Tables for clarity :

The answer uses only the verb to be:

The answer uses an affirmative sentence:

If you want to use the future form of the verb, then will must be brought forward, while be will remain in its original place:

• In special questions, an English question word is added to the form above:

The answer is used in the affirmative form:

In your answer it is enough to use the verb to be:

• As part of a nominal predicate, which consists of a linking verb (to be) and a nominal part expressed by nouns or adjectives. In this case, the verb is translated into Russian as “is”.

Although " There is” can be used, its presence will seem inappropriate, and the proposal will turn out somehow ugly. Judge for yourself:

The Russian language does not need this verb, so it is not usually used. The English language will not allow this, because English sentences is that they are strictly ordered. In simple terms, if you, for example, are composing a complete affirmative sentence, then it must consistently use a subject and a verb, nothing else. In some way, a similar role to be can be associated with the obsolete “is”, which previously performed exactly the same function in the Russian language.

The verb to be in a nominal predicate can also be used to mean “be” in imperative sentences:

1. How auxiliary in Continuous and Perfect Continuous. In this case, the auxiliary verb to be is used with semantic verbs. The verb to be itself is usually not translated in such sentences. Study the examples in the table:

The verb to be can also be used to use the passive voice:

1. In addition to the functions mentioned, the verb to be is also used as a component in the constructions:

• to be going to (getting ready);

• there is / are / (there is / exists);

1. The use of the verb is also possible as a modal verb in the meaning of “should”, “agreed”, “agreed” when we are talking about obligations, orders, schedules and plans, the inevitability of events. In this case, to verb the to particle is added:

1. And also when using the verb to be in English in the following constructions:

1. Frequent uses of the verb are also associated with idioms. Here are some of them:

As you can see, the verb to be is very popular and varied, so it can be used in any situation with almost any tense. Once you understand the conjugations of this verb and its role in a sentence, you should not have any difficulty using it. Devote some time English exercises on this topic to reinforce the material, make up your own examples and most importantly - practice the language with native speakers. Because you won't find as much benefit in any exercise as you can get from people who use the language on a daily basis and can help you with any language barriers.