Verb TO BE

Present Simple - Affirmative form

En general es considerado uno de los verbos más importantes del idioma Inglés y es fundamental saber usarlo en sus diferentes formas para  aprender a comunicarnos. 

Para el estudio de este verbo vamos a dedicar el tiempo que sea necesario, ya que por sí solo constituye una base fundamental de la construcción de nuestro conocimiento de esta lengua.

Exercise 1       Exercise 2       Exercise 3       Exercise 4       Exercise 5

Ejemplos:

1. I am a good student. (Yo soy un buen estudiante).
2. We are old friends. (Nosotros somos viejos amigos).
3. He is a student. (Él es un estudiante).
4. The pencil is on the desk. (El lápiz está sobre el escritorio).
5. She is absent from class today. (Ella no está en clase hoy).
6. They are friends. (Ellos son amigos).
7. The weather today is good. (El clima está bien hoy).
8. The sky is clear. (El cielo está limpio).
9. They are brothers. (Ellos son hermanos).
10. The child is in the garden. (El niño está en el jardín).
11. We are cousins. (Nosotros somos primos).
12. She is sick today. (Ella está enferma hoy).
13. She is a young woman. (Ella es una mujer joven).
14. He is a businessman. (Él es un hombre de negocios).
15. He is a lawyer. (Él es un abogado).
16. Today is Monday. (Hoy es lunes).
17. He and Mary are good students. (Él y Mary son buenos estudiantes).
18. The man on the corner is waiting the bus. (Él hombre en la esquina está esperando el autobus).
19. You are old friends. (Ustedes son viejos amigos).
20. He is in Europe. (Él está en Europa).

Present Simple - Negative form

La forma negativa del verbo To Be se consigue simplemente añadiendo NOT después del verbo. De igual forma que en el afirmativo también podemos hacer la contracción para que sea más natural. 

Ejemplos:

We aren’t old friends. (Nosotros no somos viejos amigos).

He isn’t a student. (Él no es un estudiante).

The pencil isn’t on the desk. (El lápiz no está sobre el escritorio).

She isn’t absent from class today. (Ella no está ausente en clase hoy).

They aren’t friends. (Ellos no son amigos).

The weather today isn’t good. (El clima no está bien hoy).

The sky isn’t clear. (El cielo no está limpio).

They aren’t brothers. (Ellos no son hermanos).

The child isn’t in the garden. (El niño no está en el jardín).

We aren’t cousins. (Nosotros no somos primos).

She isn’t sick today. (Ella no está enferma hoy).

She isn’t a young woman. (Ella no es una mujer joven).

He isn’t a businessman. (Él no es un hombre de negocios).

He isn’t  a lawyer. (Él no es un abogado).

Today isn’t Monday. (Hoy no es lunes).

He and Mary aren’t good students. (Él y Mary no son buenos estudiantes).

The man on the corner isn’t waiting the bus. (Él hombre en la esquina no está esperando el autobus).

You aren’t old friends. (Ustedes no son viejos amigos).

He isn’t  in Europe. (Él no está en Europa).

The tax isn’t high. (El impuesto no es alto).

Exercise 1   Exercise 2

Present Simple - Interrogative form

Para utilizar el interrogativo ubicamos el verbo al principio de la oración y colocamos el signo de pregunta al final. 

Ejemplos:

1. Am I a good student? (¿Soy un buen estudiante?).
2. Are we old friends? (¿Somos viejos amigos?).
3. Is he a student? (¿Él es un estudiante?).
4. Is the pencil on the desk? (¿El lápiz está sobre el escritorio?).
5. Is she absent from class today? (¿Ella está ausente en la clase hoy?).
6. Are they friends? (¿Ellos son amigos?).
7. Is the weather good? (¿El clima está bien?).
8. Is the sky clear? (¿El cielo está limpio?).
9. Are they brothers? (¿Ellos son hermanos?).
10. Is the child in the garden? (¿El niño está en el jardín?).
11. Are we cousins? (¿Nosotros somos primos?).
12. Is she sick today? (¿Ella está enferma hoy?).
13. Is she a young woman? (¿Ella es una mujer joven?).

14. Is he a businessman? (¿Él es un hombre de negocios?).
15. Is he a lawyer? (¿Él es un abogado?).
16. Is today Monday? (¿Hoy es lunes?).
17. Are he and Mary good students? (¿Él y Mary son buenos estudiantes?).
18. Is the man on the corner waiting the bus? (¿Él hombre en la esquina está esperando el autobús?).
19. Are you old friends? (¿Ustedes son viejos amigos?).
20. Is he in Europe? (¿Él está en Europa?).

To Be - Past Tense

El pasado del verbo TO BE en inglés tiene dos formas WAS and WHERE.

Affirmative

Subject	To Be	Examples
I	was	I was tired this morning.
You	were	You were very good.
He	was	He was the best in his class.
She	was	She was late for work.
It	was	It was a sunny day.
We	were	We were at home.
You	were	You were on holiday.
They	were	They were happy with their test results.

Negative Sentences

The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb (was or were).

Subject	To Be	Examples
I	was not	I was not tired this morning.
You	were not	You were not crazy.
He	was not	He was not married.
She	was not	She was not famous.
It	was not	It was not hot yesterday.
We	were not	We were not invited.
You	were not	You were not at the party.
They	were not	They were not friends.

Negative Contractions

The can make negative contractions of the verb To Be in the Past tense by joining the verb (was or were) and n't (e.g. were not = weren't). We don't make a contraction of the subject and the verb (e.g. I was).

I was not tired this morning.	OR	I wasn't tired this morning.
You were not crazy.	OR	You weren't crazy.
He was not married.	OR	He wasn't married.
She was not famous.	OR	She wasn't famous.
It was not hot yesterday.	OR	It wasn't hot yesterday.
We were not invited.	OR	We weren't invited.
You were not at the party.	OR	You weren't at the party.
They were not friends.	OR	They weren't friends.

Questions

To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.

Affirmative	You	were	happy.
	Subject	Verb
Question	Were	you	happy?
	Verb	Subject

Affirmative	Question
I was late	Was I late?
You were sick.	Were you sick?
He was surprised.	Was he surprised?
She was from Italy.	Was she from Italy?
It was a big house.	Was it a big house?
We were ready.	Were we ready?
You were early.	Were you early?
They were busy.	Were they busy?

Before the verb you can also have a WH- Question word (Why, Who, What, Where etc.)

Were you happy? Yes, I was.

Why were you happy? Because I was promoted at work.

To Be - Short Answers

In spoken English, we usually give short answers in response to questions.

Was he from Japan? - Yes, he was (from Japan). The last part (from Japan) is not necessary. We use shorts answers to avoid repetition, when the meaning is clear.

Question	Short Answers**	Short Answers
Was I late?	Yes, you were.	No, you weren't.
Were you sick?	Yes, I was.	No, I wasn't.
Was he surprised?	Yes, he was.	No, he wasn't.
Was she from Italy?	Yes, she was.	No, she wasn't.
Was it a big house?	Yes, it was.	No, it wasn't.
Were we ready?	Yes, we were.	No, we weren't.
Were you early?	Yes, we were.	No, we weren't.
Were they busy?	Yes, they were.	No, they weren't.

** With To Be, We don't use contractions in affirmative short answers.

Exercise 1     Exercise 2   

To Be - Future Tense

Para indicar el futuro es tan simple como ubicar "WILL" después del pronombre personal. En el siguiente cuadro se explica claramente las diferentes formas del futuro.

También es cierto que  para indicar el futuro además de "WILL" podemos utilizar el "GOING TO".

Es difícil identificar la diferencia entre las dos formas del futuro en inglés, pero hay diferentes libros en los que se llega a la conclusión de que el "WILL" se utiliza en caso de probabilidad, es decir, es cuando hablamos sobre un futuro que no es 100% seguro de que suceda.  Ejemplo: Si estas hablando de la posibilidad de ganarte la loteria podrias decir. I will buy a Ferrary

Por otra parte el "GOING TO" se utiliza para hablar de situaciones en el futuro que son un hecho y que van a suceder. Ejemplo: Si compras un billete de avión para ir a Barcelona, entonces podrás decir:  I am going to go to Barcelona next year.

Exercise 1     Exercise 2  Exercise 3