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Evelyn Vanesa Soria Avila ENGLISH I – ING150

UNIT 1

NOUNS AND VERB TO BE

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PRONOUNS

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a common noun or proper noun. There are different
kinds of pronouns.

Common nouns are words for people, animals, places or things.

Examples:
✓ These are words for people: lawyer, actor, singer, dentist, police officer, etc.
✓ These are words for animals: zebra, dog, cat, crocodile, etc.
✓ These are words for places: park, shop, restaurant, school, etc.
✓ These are words for things: basket, blanket, desk, pencil, eraser, computer, etc.

Proper Nouns are names for particular people, places or things. They always begin with a capital
letter.
Examples:
✓ Santa Claus ✓ Hong Kong ✓ Santa Cruz
✓ Johnny Depp ✓ Bolivia ✓ Father’s day
✓ Jennifer Lopez ✓ Colombia ✓ Mother’s day

SUBJECT PRONOUNS

The words I, you, he, she it, we and they are called personal pronouns or subject pronouns.
They take the place of nouns and are used as the subject of the verb in a sentence.

Examples:
✓ My name is David. I am the youngest in the family.
✓ This is my father. He is a teacher.
✓ This is my mother. She is a lawyer.
✓ I have a brother and two sisters.
✓ They are Peter, Sharon, and Jenny.
✓ I have a dog. It is called Lucky.
✓ Lucky, you are a good dog.
✓ Good morning, children! You may sit down now.
✓ My family and I live in a big city. We have an apartment.

Grammar help:
The subject of a sentence is the person, animal, place or thing that does the action shown by the
verb.

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Exercise: Use the correct personal pronouns. Watch the words in brackets.
EXAMPLE:
______ often reads books. (Lisa)→ She often reads books.

1. __________ is dreaming. (George)

2. __________ is green. (the blackboard)
3. __________ are on the wall. (the posters)
4. __________ is running. (the dog)
5. __________ are watching TV. (my mother and I)
6. __________ are in the garden. (the flowers)
7. __________ is riding his bike. (Tom)
8. __________ is from Bristol. (Victoria)
9. __________ has a brother. (Diana)
10. Does __________ have a computer (Mandy)?
11. __________ often reads books. (Leila)
12. __________ is watching TV. (Alan)

THE VERB TO BE

The verb to be is the most important verb in the English language. In the simple present tense,
to be is conjugated as follows:

Affirmative forms of the verb to be

Subject Pronouns Full Form Contracted Form
I am 'm
you are 're
he/she/it is 's
we are 're
you are 're
they are 're

Negative Forms of the verb to be:

Subject Pronouns Full Form Contracted Form
I am not 'm not
you are not aren't
he/she/it is not isn't
we are not aren't
you are not aren't
they are not aren't

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Examples

✓ I am big. ✓ She is Maria.

✓ I am 10 years old! ✓ We are at home.
✓ They are Egyptian. ✓ Carlos and Susan are siblings.
✓ They are from Egypt. ✓ My mom and I are at Tarija.

Remember! You can use abbreviations

✓ I am big. = I'm big.

✓ You are my friend. = You're my friend.
✓ My mum is a doctor. = My mum's a doctor.
✓ We are doctors. = We're doctors.
✓ They are Egyptian. = They’re Egyptian.

Interrogative forms of the verb to be:

Am I? Yes, you are No, you aren’t
Are you? Yes, I am No, I’m not
Is he/she/it? Yes, he is No, he isn’t
Are we? Yes, we are No, we aren’t
Are you? Yes, you are No, you aren’t
Are they? Yes, they are No, they aren’t

Examples:
✓ Is Brad Pitt French?
✓ No, he isn't. He's American.
✓ What about Angelina Jolie? Is she American, too?
✓ Yes, she is. She is American.
✓ Are brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie French?
✓ No, they aren't. They are American.

Use of the simple present of to be

The principal use of the simple present is to refer to an action or event that takes place habitually,
but with the verb "to be" the simple present tense also refers to a present or general state,
whether temporary, permanent or habitual.
✓ I am happy.
✓ She is helpful.

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The verb to be in the simple present can be also used to refer to something that is true at the
present moment.
✓ She is 20 years old.
✓ He is a student

The meanings of the verb "to be"

The verb "to be" also has many different meanings. The following are the most important ones.
1. Exists.

2. Happens.

3. Located.

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4. Shows identity.

5. Shows a quality.

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EXERCISES

Exercise 1: Complete with the correct form of the verb to be - am/is/are.

1. It __________ cold today. 7. Clara and Steve __________
2. I __________ at home now. married.
3. They __________ Korean. 8. She __________ an English teacher.
4. My name __________ Nikita. 9. Carlos _________ a soccer player.
5. We __________ from Ukraine. 10. Daniel and John _______ engineers.
6. I __________ OK, thanks.

Exercise 2: Negative forms of the verb to be. Complete the gaps with the negative
forms of the verb to be. (isn’t, aren’t, am not)
Example: She isn't from France.

1. This book __________ mine. 6. It ___________ Monday today.

2. Jane and Peter ___________ 7. Jennie's surname ___________
married. Peters.
3. That car ___________ blue. 8. I ___________ a hairdresser.
4. My brother ___________ here at the 9. My name ___________ Alexander.
moment. 10. Those books ___________ on the
5. We __________ in England. table.

Exercise 3: Make the positive sentences negatives.

Example: I am a student. -→I'm not a student.

1. This exercise is difficult.

______________________________________________________________________

2. We're from Spain.

______________________________________________________________________

3. My grandmother's name's Adelaide.

______________________________________________________________________

4. The kids are in the garden.

______________________________________________________________________

5. You're English.
______________________________________________________________________

6. My car is very expensive.

______________________________________________________________________

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7. This is my student's notebook.

______________________________________________________________________

8. These photographs are very nice.

______________________________________________________________________

9. Alex is twenty-five years old.

______________________________________________________________________

10. I'm fine.

______________________________________________________________________

Exercise 4: Yes / no questions with the verb to be. Fill in the gaps with the correct
form of the verb to be - am, is, are. Then, write the affirmative and negative short
answer.
1. _________ Jane and Alice sisters? ____________________ / _____________________
2. _________ this car yours? ____________________ / _____________________
3. _________ I in your way? ____________________ / _____________________
4. _________ Maria John's sister? ____________________ / _____________________
5. _________ you twenty-five years old? ____________________ / ___________________
6. _________ the Smiths divorced? ____________________ / _____________________
7. _________ this your new bicycle? ____________________ / _____________________

Exercise 5: Yes / no questions. Put the words in the correct order to make positive
sentences with the verb to be.

1. Are student? You a

______________________________________________________________________

2. this book? your Is

______________________________________________________________________

3. States? the Peters Is Unites Mr. from

______________________________________________________________________

4. married? they Are

______________________________________________________________________

5. right or wrong? I Am
______________________________________________________________________

6. name Is daughter's your Sandra?

______________________________________________________________________

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7. and you Are Mrs. Jenkins? Mr.

______________________________________________________________________

Exercise 6: Put the words in the correct order to make positive sentences with the
verb to be.

1. old. I twenty-five am years

______________________________________________________________________

2. We are Venezuela. from

______________________________________________________________________

3. a student. name I'm and Anton is My

______________________________________________________________________

4. book. is This my
______________________________________________________________________

5. a nice day today. It's

______________________________________________________________________

6. brother's name Paul. Her is

______________________________________________________________________

7. engineer. is John an
______________________________________________________________________

8. My husband's name Johansson. Is

______________________________________________________________________

9. my students class. are in There twelve

______________________________________________________________________

10. at the of letter. address is My top the new

______________________________________________________________________

Exercise 7: Read the conversations below:

Conversation 1
Ken: Hello, My name's Ken. What's your Conversation 2
name? Ken: Where is that girl from?
Jack: Jack. How are you? Jack: She's from Japan
Ken: I'm fine, and you? Ken: How old is she?
Jack: Great. Where are you from? Jack: She's 26.
Ken: I'm from Seattle.

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Conversation 3
A: What’s your name? Conversation 4
B: Mario Sanchez. A: Where is Sylvia from?
A: How do you spell your last name? B: She’s from Nicaragua.
B: S – A – N – C - H – E – Z A: Is she a student in this university?
A: Where are you from? B: Yes, she is.
B: I’m from Mexico. A: Is she in second semester?
A: Are you a carpenter? B: No, she isn’t. She’s in third.
B: Yes, I am.

Now complete this conversation.

Mary: Hello. My (_______) Mary. What's (_______) name?
Peter: Peter. How (_______) you?
Mary: I'm (_______), and you?
Peter: OK. (_______) you from?
Mary: (_______) from Ireland.

Exercise 8: Put in the following forms of be (am, are, is) into the gaps in the text. Do
not use short/contracted forms.
Peter Baker (1)_______ from Manchester, but Paul and John (2)_______ from London.
Manchester and London (3)___________ cities in England. Hamburg (4)_______ a city in
Germany. Sandra (5)_________ at school today. Jack and Peter (6)________ her friends. They
(7)_______ in the same class. Mr and Mrs Baker (8)_________ on a trip to the USA to visit their
cousin Anne. She (9)__________ a nice girl. Peter says: "My grandfather (10)________ in
hospital. I (11)_________ at home with my grandmother." What time (12)________ it? It
(13)_________ 8 o'clock. (14)_________ you tired? No, I (15)________ not.

Exercise 9: Read the Text Below

My name is Ken Beare and I'm a teacher. My address is 19 Green Street, and my telephone
number is 555-555-3333. I'm 39 years old, and I'm married. My daughter, Katherine, is two and
half years old. My wife, Barbara, is Italian. She is a bank teller.

Now fill in the gaps in the paragraph.

My name (_______) Mario, and (_______) a doctor. My (_______) is 23 York Avenue, and my
(_______) (_______) 555-555-8888. (_______) 45 years (_______), and I'm married. My son,
Peter, (_______) 10 (_______). My wife, Giorgia, is American. She (_______) a lawyer.

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Remember:

INFORMATION QUESTIONS VERB TO BE

WH Questions with verb to be

WH questions are very common in English. The lesson below shows you how to use them
correctly.

WH questions ask for information. Here are some questions and their answers:

Question Answer Example

What Thing What is your name? My name is Karl.
When Time When is the party? It is on Saturday at 8:00.
Who Person Who is your brother? My brother is Tom.
Where Place Where is the bank? It is next to the library.
How State How are you? I am great!
How Form/manner How is Carla? She is thin.

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WH Questions Structure with verb to be

Question Word (Wh Word) + Verb to be + Subject
QW + V + S
Who is he?

Here are the examples:

✓ Where are you from?
✓ Who is that man?
✓ When is your class?

Exercises
Exercise 1. Complete with What and verb to be: What is or What are.
1. ______________ my e-mail 5. ______________ their
address? occupations?
2. ______________ their phone 6. ______________ your two e-mail
number? addresses?
3. ______________ their names? 7. ______________ her occupation?
4. ______________ his first name? 8. ______________ your address?

Exercise 2: Complete the conversations. Write questions with How old is or How old
are.
Example: A: How old is Mindy?

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B: Mindy? She is twenty-four

1. A: _____________________________________
B: My grandparents? They are very old!
2. A: _____________________________________
B: I am twenty-five.
3. A: _____________________________________
B: Beth’s mother? She is forty-five.
4. A: _____________________________________
B: My brother? He is five years old.
5. A: _____________________________________
B: Our granddaughter is six, and our son is four.
6. A: _____________________________________
B: My boss? He is thirty-five.

Exercise 3: Complete with What - when - where - who

1. ____________ is your name?
2. ____________ are you from?
3. ____________ is your birthday?
4. ____________ is your favorite singer?
5. ____________ is your phone number?
6. ____________ is your favorite hobby?
7. ____________ is the park?
8. ____________ is your teacher?

Exercise 4: Match one thing on the left with another thing on the right
1. Where is James from? a. His wife's name is Kathy.
2. Where is James? b. They are on holiday because today is their
3. What is his wife's name? birthday.
4. Who are Steven and Jack? c. James is at work.
5. Why are the children on holiday? d. Steven and Jack are James and Kathy’s
6. Who is older: Steven or Jack? sons.
e. James is from London.
f. Steven is older than Jack.

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Exercise 5: Put the words in order to have an information question.

1. old are how you ? __________________________________________________
2. in is English that what ? ________________________________________________
3. you are how ? ________________________________________________________
4. where is teacher your ? _________________________________________________
5. why is Gerry late ? _____________________________________________________
6. upstairs you are why ? __________________________________________________
7. pencil case my where is ? ________________________________________________
8. in the pool are the children why ? __________________________________________
9. his sister when home is ? _________________________________________________
10. what homework for is ? __________________________________________________

Exercise 6: Answer of the following questions

1. What's your first name?
2. What’s your middle name?
3. What's your last name (family name)?
4. What is your nickname?
5. Where are you from?
6. What do you do?
7. What is your phone number?
8. How old are you?
9. Are you married/single?
Exercise 7: Write a paragraph about you.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 8: Write a paragraph about your classmate.

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

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ENGLISH TITLES

A title is a word that comes before someone’s name (usually their last name) in order to indicate
their gender, occupation, or marital status. Some common titles include “Dr.” (which stands for
“Doctor”), “Prof.” (which stands for “Professor”), and “Mr.” (which stands for “Mister”).

The four titles we’re going to talk about are commonly used with adults, regardless of their
profession, and can indicate both gender and marital status. These titles are:

Exercise: Titles: Choose the correct title: Mr. / Mrs. / Miss / *( Ms. )
1. This is ______ Lee, she is a doctor. 2. This is ______ Adams, he is an actor.
a. Mr. a. Mr.
b. Mrs. b. Mrs.
c. Miss c. Miss

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3. This is ______ Brown, she is a nurse. 5. This is ______ White. He is a baker.

a. Mr. a. Mr.
b. Mrs. b. Mrs.
c. Miss c. Miss

4. This is ______ Green, She is cooking 6. This is ______ Black, she is teaching
for her children. her son.
a. Mr. a. Mr.
b. Mrs. b. Mrs.
c. Miss c. Miss

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POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

The possessive adjective needs to agree with the possessor and not with the thing that is
possessed.

Examples
✓ My car is very old.
✓ Her boyfriend is very friendly.
✓ Our dog is black.
✓ Their homework is on the table.

Like all adjectives in English, they are always located directly in front of the noun they refer to.
(Possessive Adjective + Noun)

We do not include an S to the adjective when the noun is plural like in many other languages.

Examples:
✓ Our cars are expensive. (Correct)
✓ Ours cars are expensive. (Incorrect)

However, the verb that is used needs to be in agreement with the noun - if the noun is singular
then the verb is singular; if the noun is plural then the verb is plural.
Examples:
✓ My pen is black. (Singular) ✓ Our child is intelligent. (Singular)
✓ My pens are black. (Plural) ✓ Our children are intelligent. (Plural)

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Its vs. It's Its = The possessive adjective for It.

Be careful not to confuse its and it's. It's = a contraction of it is.

Exercises
Exercise 1: Replace the personal pronouns by possessive adjectives:
1. Where is (I) _________ book?
2. Here is (we) _________ teacher.
3. She goes to school with (she) _________ brother.
4. (They) _________ father works in a car factory.
5. (You) _________ laptop is very expensive.
6. (He) _________ favorite hobby is tennis.
7. (I) husband and I want to go to Paris.
8. We want to see (it) _________ historical monuments.
9. Leila likes (she) _________ dog !
10. (It) _________ name is Bobby.

Exercise 2: Complete the sentences with the correct possessive adjectives.

1. The pen belongs to Mr. Grant. It's _____________ pen.

2. The book belongs to Mary. It's _____________ book.
3. The suits belong to the boys. They're _____________ suits.
4. The house belongs to us. It's _____________ house.
5. The eraser belongs to Fred. It's _____________ eraser.
6. Those shoes belong to the children. They're _____________ shoes.
7. The hat belongs to you. It's _____________ hat.
8. The hats belong to you. They're _____________ hats.
9. The notebook belongs to me. It's _____________ notebook.
10. This pen belongs to Mrs. Williams. It's _____________ pen.

Exercise 3: Write the right possessive adjective:

1. Two students didn't do _________ mathematics homework.

2. I have a car. _________ color is black.
3. We have a dog. _________ name is Pancho.
4. Nancy is from England. _________ husband is from Australia.
5. Ann and Nadia go to a high school. _________ little brother goes to primary school.
6. Alan has a van. _________ van is very old.
7. We go to a high school. _________ high school is fantastic.
8. I like singing. _________ mother sings with me.
9. François and Alain are French. _________ families are from France.
10. Mary likes _________ grandmother. She often visits her.

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Exercise 4: Decide the correct word to go into each of these sentences, subject
pronoun or possessive adjectives.
1. _________ name is Neil. I am a teacher.
2. That is your sister! What is __________ name?
3. ________ are Monica and Paula and we are Italian.
4. What is ___________ job? She is a teacher.
5. ________ am from England. Are you from England too?
6. What is Bill's job? __________ is a waiter.
7. We are from Rome. __________ house is very big.
8. "What is your name?" "________ name is Veronica."
9. I have a dog and _________ name is Toby.
10. My mother is 48 and ________ is a nurse.

POSSESSIVE NOUNS

Possessive nouns are used to indicate ownership.

Possessive nouns usually are formed by adding an apostrophe (') and s.

✓ John's book
✓ Kerry's car
✓ Grandma's mirror

When a noun is plural and ends in s, just add an apostrophe (').

✓ The kids' toys
✓ My parents' house
✓ The teachers' lounge

If two people own one thing, add the apostrophe and s to the second person only.
✓ John and Mary's new house
✓ David and Sue's wedding
✓ Tom and Doug's car

If two people own separate things, add the apostrophe and s for each person.
✓ Susan's and Beth's books
✓ Jean's and Dan's pants
✓ Ben's and Jim's offices

Which of the following is not correct?

1. Dr. Hunts has a new computer.
2. Dr. Hunts's new computer is working well.
3. Dr. Hunts' computer is new.

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Exercises

Exercise 1: Choose between possessive nouns and plural nouns and circle the right
answer.
1. The dogs / The dog’s collar is blue.
2. Aaron’s / Aarons friend is named Adam.
3. I really like my grandmothers / my grandmother’s cookies.
4. If you want to go to the movies / the movie’s we should go by car.
5. I really like to drink soda using spiral straws / straw’s.
6. The birds / the bird’s egg is blue.
7. I like the smell of roses / rose’s.
8. Diamonds / Diamond’s are a girls / girl’s best friend.
9. David’s / Davids mom is very tall.
10. My brothers’ / My brother’s are twins.

Exercise 2: Complete each sentence by filling in the blanks with the possessive form
of the nouns in parentheses.
1. The ________ color (birds)
2. The ________ hues (lights)
3. The ________ painting (museum)
4. The ________ length (mattress)
5. _______ Metropolitan museum (New
York)
6. The _______ weight (television)
7. My ________ bed (dog)
8. My _________ car (Mom)
9. The ________ uniform (officer)
10. The ________ bottle (baby)
11. The ________ toy (boy)
12. The ________ tire (car)
13. The ________ cord (telephone)
14. The ________ books (teacher)
15. The ________ smell (flower)
16. The ________ brightness (light)

Exercise 3: Write each group of words using a possessive noun.

1. The room of the girl ____________________________
2. The toy of the boy _____________________________
3. The house of my mom __________________________
4. The ball of the dog _____________________________
5. The purse of the lady ___________________________
6. The telephone of the man________________________
7. The car of the mailman _________________________
8. The milk of the cat ____________________________
9. The cries of the dog ___________________________
10. The cage of the monkey ________________________

Exercise 4: Write the sentences again using the name in brackets.

Example: These are her books. (Anne) → These are Anne’s books.

1. Where is his coat? (Andrew) ____________________________

2. Is that his car? (your brother) ____________________________
3. It’s on her desk. (the teacher) ____________________________

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4. Its dinner is here (the dog) ____________________________

5. Her children are at school now. (Judy) ____________________________
6. It is her idea. (My wife) ____________________________
7. His new bike is really good. (Jeff) ____________________________
8. Here is her telephone number. (The doctor) ____________________________

Exercise 5: Write the sentences with the apostrophe (’) in the correct place.
Example: These are Susans keys. → These are Susan’s keys.

1. I like your husbands haircut. ____________________________

2. Those are Robert and Sarahs children. ____________________________
3. There is a teachers meeting on Mondays. ____________________________
4. Are the childrens coats in the car? ____________________________
5. The mens clothes are upstairs. ____________________________
6. Alices mother is very ill. ____________________________
7. This is my mothers dress. ____________________________

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Vocabulary

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HELLO AND GOOD BYE

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The Alphabet

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The Numbers

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