Revision week 1

Verb “To be”

The uses of the verb "To be" in English are the following: To talk about names; to express the
age of someone or something (in this case, it does not mean “ser or estar”); to express
someone's nationality and to talk about a person's profession.

For example:

He is Argentinian => /ji is aryentinian/

We are teachers => /wi ar tichers/

I am twenty (20) years old => /ai am tuenti iears ould/

The most complex thing about the verb "To be", however, is using it with different types of
subjects, that is, when speaking in the first, second or third person, when speaking in the
plural, or even when speaking in the past or present. Although the meaning and use do not
vary, the way in which it is written for each case is different.

Present simple /presnt simpl/

We use the “Present Simple” verb tense when we want to talk about fixed habits, routines or
facts – things that do not change.

1. I wear glasses Habit or routine

Now
Past At the Future
moment
How do we form the “Simple Present”?

In the present simple, the vast majority of verbs use the base form (wear), except in the case
of the third person singular (He, She, It). In that case the verb ends in -s

• I wear
• You wear
• He/she/it wears
• We wear
• You wear
• They wear

For some verbs, the third person singular ends with -es instead of -s. Typically these verbs are
those whose base form ends in -o, -ch, -sh, -th, -ss, -gh, -z

• I go
• You go
• He/she/it goes
• We go
• You go
• They go

How do we form the “Simple Present Negative”?

Pronoun + do/does + not + base form of the verb + [article] + noun.

Pronoun + don’t/doesn’t + base form of the verb + [article] + noun.

“They don’t wear shoes”

“I do not wear rain boots”

“He doesn’t wear a cap”

“She does not wear a dress”

How do we form questions in “Simple Present”?

Do/does + pronoun + base form of the verb + [article] + noun.

“Do they wear shoes?”

“Do I wear rain boots?”

“Does He wear a cap?”

“Does she wear a dress?”

Present continuous /presnt continius/

We use the "present continuous" to talk about actions that are happening in the present, at
this moment, but will soon end.

• I am wearing glasses. At the moment

Now
Past At future
the
(Present continuous) ‘I am wearing glasses’ tells us that the person is currently wearing
mo
glasses. Soon, he may stop using them. We call this “a temporary situation”.
men
t
How do we form the “Present Continuous”?

In the present continuous, the “verb to be” must be used after the pronoun; verbs use the
base form (wear) together with the letters –ing at the end (wearing)

Pronoun + “verb to be” + base -ing

I am wearing glasses

You are wearing glasses

We are wearing glasses

She is wearing glasses

How do we form the “Negative Present continuous”?

Pronoun + “verb to be”+ not + base form of the verb with -ing + [article] + noun.

“They aren’t wearing shoes”

“I am not wearing rain boots”

“He isn’t wearing a cap”

“She is not wearing a dress”

How do we form questions in “Present Continuous”?

“Verb to be” + pronoun + base form of the verb with -ing + [article] + noun.

“Are they wearing shoes?”

“Am I wearing rain boots?”

“Is He wearing a cap?”

“Is she wearing a dress?”

Time expressions to identify the “Present Continuous”

At the moment /at de moumnt/: ‘At the moment, I’m wearing a hat.’

These days /diis deis/: ‘Paul is wearing a coat, these days.’

Now /nau/: ‘Are you wearing a T-shirt, now?’

How do we form verbs with -ING?

1. In most cases, you just add the -ing.

eat → eating ask → asking go → going

2. If the verb ends in -e, remove the “e” before adding -ing.

take→ taking wake→ waking write→ writing come→ coming dance→ dancing

3. If the verb ends in -ie, remove the “ie” and add -ying

die→ dying tie→ tying lie → lying

4. If the verb ends in a vowel (vocal) + consonant, the consonant must be doubled before
adding -ing.

Stop→ stopping swim → swimming run→ running begin→ beginning

5. In the UK, verbs ending in l double the l.

travel→ travelling cancel → cancelling

Be careful!
4.1. If it ends in -y or -w we do not double the consonant. This is because in English phonetics
“y” and “w” are considered semivowels.

Play → playing buy → buying draw → drawing borrow → borrowing

4.2. If the accent does not fall on the last syllable*, we do not double.

listen→ listening remember → remembering

*NOTE: syllable = silaba

1 syllable = eat → eat

2 syllables = forget → for-get

3 syllables = remember → re- mem- ber