CEC – ENGLISHLANDS DON’T GIVE UP THE ROUTINE KEEPS ON

COMPLEMENTARY COURSE

THE VERB TO BE

The verb to be is the most important verb in the English language. It is difficult to use because it is an
irregular verb in almost all of its forms. 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

Interrogative forms of the verb to be:

Am I?
Are you?
Is he/she/it?
Are we?
Are you?
Are they?

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

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

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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.

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.

Remember:

 I, you, he, she, it, you, they are subject pronouns (also called personal pronouns, a term used
to include both subject and object pronouns.)
 am, are, is are forms of the verb to be in the simple present.
 'm, 're, 's are short (contracted) forms of am, are, is
 'm not, aren't, isn't are short (contracted forms) of am not, are not, is not.

The Simple present of the verb "to be"

Fill in the blanks with the right subject / personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they):

1. Angelina Jolie is American. _________ isn't French.

2. Brad Pitt is American, too. ________ isn't German.
3. Brad and Angelina aren't French. ________ are American.
4. My friend and I are high school students. ______ aren't primary school students.
5. The Statue of Liberty is in New York. _________ isn't in Washington.

Fill in the blanks with the right form of to be ( am, are or is):

1. ______you the new student?

2. Yes, I ______.
3. Leila and Nancy ________students.
4. Nancy ________Australian .
5. My sister and I _______students.
6. The girls ______tired.
7. These women ________beautiful.
8. The tea ________delicious.
9. Nadia and Leila ________friends.
10. The newspaper _________cheap.

Choose the correct answer (negative or affirmative form of to be):

1. Is Julia Robert French? No, she _________French.

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2. What about Robert de Nero? Is he an American actor? Yes, he ___________.

3. Are New York and Los Angeles Spanish Cities? No, they __________Spanish cities.
4. Is Big Ben in Paris? No, it __________in Paris.
5. Is Mount Everest in Africa? No, it ____________in Africa. It is in Asia.

Complete the questions with 'is' or 'are'. Give true answers for you.

a) You/ a good singer? ________________________________

b) Your teacher/ married? ________________________________
c) Tennis/ your favorite sport? ________________________________
d) Your shoes / new? ________________________________
e) Your best friend / English? ________________________________
f) You / very intelligent? ________________________________

THE SIMPLE PRESENT

The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal.
We use the present tense:
1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.

 I take the train to the office.

 The train to Berlin leaves every hour.
 John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.

2. For facts.

 The President of The USA lives in The White House.

 A dog has four legs.
 We come from Switzerland.

3. For habits.

 I get up early every day.

 Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
 They travel to their country house every weekend.

4. For things that are always / generally true.

 It rains a lot in winter.

 The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.
 They speak English at work.

Verb Conjugation & Spelling

We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO).

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In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.

Subject Verb The Rest of the sentence

I / you / we / they speak / learn English at home

he / she / it speaks / learns English at home
The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb:
1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.

 go – goes
 catch – catches
 wash – washes
 kiss – kisses
 fix – fixes
 buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.

 marry – marries
 study – studies
 carry – carries
 worry – worries

NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.

 play – plays
 enjoy – enjoys
 say – says

Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense

To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To
Be and Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.).

 Affirmative: You speak French.

Negative: You don't speak French.

You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject
is I, you, we or they.

 Affirmative: He speaks German.

Negative: He doesn't speak German.

When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative
sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third
person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below.
Negative Contractions

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Don't = Do not
Doesn't = Does not
I don't like meat = I do not like meat.
There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.

Word Order of Negative Sentences

The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present Tense
using Don't or Doesn't.

don't/
Subject Verb* The Rest of the sentence
doesn't

I / you / we / they don't have / buy

cereal for breakfast
he / she / it doesn't eat / like etc.
* Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before
the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For
example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.
Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:

 You don't speak Arabic.

 John doesn't speak Italian.
 We don't have time for a rest.
 It doesn't move.
 They don't want to go to the party.
 She doesn't like fish.

Questions in the Simple Present Tense

To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It has no translation in Spanish though it
is essential to show we are making a question. It is normally put at the beginning of the question.

 Affirmative: You speak English.

Question: Do you speak English?

You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We
use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they.

 Affirmative: He speaks French.

Question: Does he speak French?

When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a
question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third
person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below.

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We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might,
should etc.)
Word Order of Questions with Do and Does
The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.

Do/
Subject Verb* The Rest of the sentence
Does

Do I / you / we / they have / need

a new bike?
Does he / she / it want etc.

*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the
verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For
example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.
Examples of Questions with Do and Does:

 Do you need a dictionary?

 Does Mary need a dictionary?
 Do we have a meeting now?
 Does it rain a lot in winter?
 Do they want to go to the party?
 Does he like pizza?

Choose the correct form of the following verbs:

wake(s) up - open(s) - speak(s) - take(s) - do(es) - cause(s) - live(s) - play(s) - close(s) - live(s) - drink(s)

1. Ann ___________handball very well.

2. I never _________coffee.
3. The swimming pool _________at 7:00 in the morning.
4. It _________at 9:00 in the evening.
5. Bad driving __________many accidents.
6. My parents _________in a very small flat.
7. The Olympic Games __________place every four years.
8. They are good students. They always _________their homework.
9. My students ___________a little English.
10. I always ___________early in the morning.

Put the verbs between brackets in the correct form:

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1. Jane (not/drink) ___________ tea very often.

2. What time (the banks/open) ____________ in Britain?
3. Where (John/come) ______________ from?
4. It (take) ___________ me an hour to get to work.
5. She (not/wake) _______________ up early on Sundays.

Choose the right verbs to complete the sentences. Sometimes you need the negative:

write - turn - eat - tell - rise

1. The earth _____________around the sun.

2. The sun ____________in the east.
3. Vegetarians _____________meat.
4. A liar is someone who _______________the truth.
5. A novelist ______________novels.

Put in order the sentences

always / at nine o'clock / out of the garage / in the morning / drives / his car / he
_______________________________________________________________
he / to town / after breakfast / often / Mrs Hodges / takes
_______________________________________________________________
a parking place / near the shops / they / find / rarely
_______________________________________________________________
sometimes / in a garage / Mr Hodges / his car / parks
_______________________________________________________________
fly / with my parents / to Florida / sometimes / I / in winter
_______________________________________________________________
late / came / last year / she / often / to school / in spring
________________________________________________________________
often / have / at about three o'clock / a cup of tea / they / at the hotel / in the afternoon
________________________________________________________________
meet / at the sports ground / they / after dinner / always / their friends
________________________________________________________________
enjoys / very much / swimming / in our pool / always / in the morning / she
_________________________________________________________________

"THE REASON"

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HOOBASTANK

1.- Complete the sentences

________not a perfect ______________

___________ many things I wish I didn't ________
But I continue _______________
I ____________ meant to do those things to __________
And so I _________ to say before I __________
__________ I just _________ you to __________

2.- Put the words in order

CHORUS

me I've a reason found for __________________________

change To I who used be to __________________________
over A to new reason start __________________________
the And is reason you __________________________

3.- Put in order the sentences

___And be the one who catches all your tears

___It's something I must live with every day
___That's why I need you to hear
___I wish that I could take it all away
___ And all the pain I put you through
___ I'm sorry that I hurt you

REPEAT CHORUS

4.- Match the columns

I'm not those things to you

I never meant to do you to know
And so I have a perfect person
That I just want to say before I go

REPEAT CHORUS

I've found a reason to show

A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

Don’t Give Up

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Bruno Mars

Chosse the correct word

When you want/wants to do something that's new
And it seem/seems really, really hard to do
You feel/feels like quitting, you feel/feels you're through
Well I have/has some advice for you

If you want/wants to catch a ball Don't give up

Keep on trying
But you're having no luck at all
You're gonna make it
The ball hit/hits your head, it hit/hits your nose I ain't lying
It hit/hits your belly, your chin and toes Don't give up, don't ever
quit
Well, try and try and try again
Try and try and you can
Keep on trying and soon end do it
You put/puts your hands out in the air Don't give up
You'll catch the ball Keep on going
You're on a boat,
Yes this I swear/swears
So keep on rowing
Don't give up, don't ever
You got yourself rollerskates stop
You put/puts them on and you feel/feels great Try and try and you'll
You stand/stands up, then you fall/falls, come out on top
Don't give up
Don't think you can skate at all
You get/gets back up, then you trip/trips,
You skip/skips and tip/tips and slip/slips, and flip/flips
You try/tries and try/tries and try/tries some more
And soon you're skating across the floor

Don't give up, don't pack it in

Try and try, and you'll win
Don't give up, no no no (x4)
Don't give up!

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