2.

2 Verb be (he/she/it/they)

1 We use the verb be to talk about people, things and people’s jobs. We use
contractions in positive and negative sentences.
Subject be

He ’s/is a teacher.
She ’s/is a doctor.
Positive
It ’s/is a taxi.
They ’re/are doctors.
He isn’t/is not a teacher.
She isn’t/is not a shop assistant.
Negative
It isn’t/is not a phone.
They ’re not/aren’t/are not students.
© Oxford University Press
 2.2 Verb be (he/she/it/they)
1 We do not use contractions in questions and positive short answers with be.
be subject Short answers (+) Short answers (-)

No, he/she/it is not.

Is he/she/it from China? Yes, he/she/it is.
No, he/she/it isn’t.

No, they are not.

Are they engineers? Yes, they are. No, they’re not.
No, they aren’t.

2 We only use contractions in negative short answers.

© Oxford University Press

 2.2 Verb be (he/she/it/they)

1 Correct the mistakes.

1 She not a nurse. She isn’t/is not a nurse.

2 They is waiters. They ’re/are waiters.

3 He is a shop assistant? Is he a shop assistant?

4 Is it a phone? No, it not. Is it a phone? No, it isn’t/is not.

5 Is she a taxi driver? Yes, she’s. Is she a taxi driver? Yes, she is.

6 They from Argentina. They’re/are from Argentina.

© Oxford University Press