Remember, we use the verb be to talk about

occupations.

I'm a teacher.
Susan is a project director.
Sam is a taxi driver.

2. We also use the verb be to talk about

nationalities.

Luis is American.
He's not Mexican, but his family is from
Mexico.
Emi is Japanese.

We use the verb be to talk about age.

Susan is 25 years old.

Luis is 24.

4. We use the verb be to talk about height.

She's five feet six inches.

She's 1.65 meters tall.

5. We use the verb be to talk about feelings.

Luis isn't sad.

He's angry.

We use the verb be to talk about looks.

She's pretty.
That dog is ugly.

7. We also use the verb be to talk about skills.

Luis is talented.
Susan is smart.
Luis is athletic.

8. We can use the verb have to describe how a person looks.

Emily has brown eyes.

Emily has brown hair.
Susan and Laura have beautiful smiles.

We use the verb have to show possession.

 Susan has a big office.
Laura and Luis have good computers.

10. Remember, to make the negative form of have, use don't and
doesn't. Use doesn't with he, she, it, and singular nouns. Use
don't with the other forms.

Laura has a nice office.

Laura and Susan have big offices

 11. Remember, to ask a question with have, use do or does, and the
simple form of the verb.

Emi: Her office has a window.

Luis: Yes, it has a huge window!
  1. Let's look at some information questions with
the verb be.
We begin the question with who to ask
about a person.

Rachel: Who's that?

Luis: That's Susan Wu. She's the new
project director.

We use what to ask about a thing.

To ask for more information, we use what
kind or what type.

Rachel: What's that?

Luis: It's Susan's new laptop.
Rachel: It's beautiful! What kind is it?
Luis: I don't know, but it's very fast.

 2. We use where to ask about a place.

Rachel: Where's her office?

Luis: This is her office.

We use when or what time to ask about time.

Rachel: When's your first meeting with her?

Luis: This afternoon.
Rachel: What time?
Luis: At three o'clock.

. To form information questions for most verbs, we begin with a

question word, followed by do or does, followed by the subject
and the simple form of the verb. Look at how we form an
information question.

Susan reports to Laura.

Luis: Who does Susan report to?
Laura: She reports to me. I'm her boss.

Susan: Where do you live?

Luis: I live on Taylor Street, near Union Square.

Luis: What does Susan want?

Laura: She wants the Star One files.

Luis: When does she need my report?

Laura: She needs it tomorrow. I need it tomorrow too.

Luis: What time do you need it?

Laura: The end of the day is fine.

 4. We don't use do or does when who or what asks a question

about the subject.

Luis wants a really big office.

Remember, we don't say, who does want a really big office.

The Star One program costs a lot.

Remember, we don't say, what does cost a lot.

5. We always use the third person singular form of the verb when
who or what asks a question about the subject.

Emily: Who wants a big office?

Student: Luis does.
Emily: Who wants a really big office?
Student: Susan and Laura do.
 1. Words like sandwich, hamburger, and
apple are count nouns. We can count these
items. We use a, an, or one with singular
count nouns. We use a before a word that
begins with a consonant sound and
an before a word that begins with a vowel
sound.

a sandwich
one hamburger
an apple

 2. Count nouns can be plural. To make a regular count noun plural,

we add -s or -es.

a sandwich
one hamburger
an apple

Some count nouns have irregular plurals. We don't add -s or

-es.
Here are some irregular count nouns:
a man
a woman
a child
a person

3. We use a count noun with singular and plural verbs like this:

Dave: The sandwich is good.

Rich: The sandwiches are awful.

 4. Words like time and help are non-count nouns. We can't count
time and help.
Non-count nouns don't have plural forms. Non-count nouns don't
use a or an.
 Luis needs help with his project.
He doesn't have time to finish everything.

 4. (Continued) Here are some common non-count nouns:

bread
tea
clothing
coffee
information
fruit
fun
rice
milk
cheese
sugar
salt
pepper
water
work

 5. When we want to measure non-count nouns, we use words like

kilos and pounds. We can also use these words to measure
count nouns.

a kilo of rice (non-count)

two kilos of beans (count)
a pound of coffee (non-count)
five pounds of cookies (count)
a jar of mustard (non-count)
one jar of pickles (count)
a carton of milk (non-count)
a carton of eggs (count)
a loaf of bread (non-count)
a piece of lettuce (non-count)

6. When a non-count noun is the subject of a sentence, the verb is

always singular.

Customer: Dave, this milk is bad!

Dave: Sorry.
Customer: And this coffee tastes funny too.
Dave: Here's another cup.
 7. We use how many to ask about count nouns. We use how
much to ask about non-count nouns.

Emi: How many sandwiches do you make every day?

Dave: Oh, about a hundred, maybe more.
Emi: Dave, how much bread do you order every day?
Dave: Emi, we order about ten loaves of bread.

8. We can use the before singular count nouns, plural count nouns,
and non-count nouns.

Emi: The sandwich is good. (count)

Dave: The tomatoes are great. (count)
Emi: The bread is good too. (non-count)

 9. To make a general statement, do not use an article before plural

count nouns and non-count nouns.

Tuna sandwiches are good.

French bread is good.
 1. We use some and any with plural count
nouns and non-count nouns. We use these
words to talk about general amounts or
quantities.

Frankie: I'd like some chips, but I don't want

any tomatoes. (count)
Paul: I'd like some coffee, but I don't want
any milk. (non-count)

2. We use some in affirmative sentences.

Emi: I'd like some iced tea.

Dave: Rich, I need some iced tea and some
lemons.
Rich: OK, just a second.

3. We use any in negative statements.

Emi: I don't want any mustard, and I

don't want any chips either.
Dave: OK

 4. We can use some or any in questions.

Dave: Do you want any dessert?

Emi: No, I don't. Just a sandwich is fine.
Dave: Do you want some pickles?
Emi: Yes, I do. I love pickles.

5. We sometimes use some or any in a short answer. We don't

repeat the nouns.

Dave: Do you have any money?

Rich: No, I don't have any.
...or...
Rich: No, I don't.
Dave: Do you have any money?
Rich: Yes, I have some.
...or...
Rich: Yes, I do.
 1. It's easy to count words like sandwiches,
hamburgers, and apples. These are count
nouns. We can use a, an, or one before
singular count nouns. We can use numbers
before plural count nouns.

a sandwich
an apple
three hamburgers

2. When we don't know the number of things

we are talking about, we can use many, a lot
of, some, or a few with count nouns. These
words are called quantifiers.

We have a lot of oranges.

We have some bananas.
We don't have many apples.
We have a few melons.

3. Remember, to ask about quantity with count

nouns, we use how many.

Dave: How many salads do you want?

Emi: Just one.

 4. We can use measure words with words for containers to count

both non-count and count nouns.

Here are some examples:

a bowl of soup (non-count)
two bowls of soup (non-count)
a cup of coffee (non-count)
three cups of coffee (non-count)
a jar of mustard (non-count)
two jars of mustard (non-count)
a slice of bread (non-count)
two slices of cake (count)
a piece of fruit (non-count)
two pieces of bread (non-count)
a glass of milk (non-count)
 two glasses of water (non-count)
a pound of apples (count)
a carton of eggs (count)
a can of beans (count)

 5. When we don't know the number of things we are talking about,

we can use a lot of, some, a little, or not much.

We have a lot of coffee.

We have some coffee.
We have a little coffee.
We don't have much coffee.

6. Remember, we use how much to talk about non-count nouns.

Dave: How much sugar do you want in your tea?

Emi: Just a little.

 7. We can answer with a lot for both count and non-count nouns.
We use a few for count nouns, and a little for non-count nouns.

We have a lot of milk.

We have a lot of potato chips.
We only have a few tomatoes.
We only have a little rice.
 1. Was and were are the past tense of be.
Use was with I, he, she, and it.

I was at home all weekend.

He was in L.A. on Saturday and Sunday.

2. Use were with you, we, and they.

We were at the movies on Sunday.

They were at the beach.

 3. To make yes-no questions, we change the word order.

You were in L.A. this weekend.

Kate was with you.

4. To make information questions, we add questions words like who,

what, where, when, and how before was and were.

Ana: How was your weekend?

Chris: Boring. Where were you?
Ana: In L.A.
Chris: Who was with you?
Ana: Emi and Sam.

Remember, there are two ways to form questions with who.

Emi: Who were you with?
Chris: I was with Ana.

 5. In the negative, we use was not and were not or the contractions
wasn't and weren't.
We usually use contractions in conversations.

Chris was at home all weekend.

Laura and Paul were at the movies on Saturday.
 6. To answer yes-no questions, we use was and were in the long
answer and the short answer.

Dave: Ana, were you here last week?

Ana: No, I wasn't.
Dave: Ana, were you here last week?
Ana: No. I was away on vacation.
Dave: Were Chris and Luis with you?
Ana: No, they weren't. They were in the city all week.

 7. To talk about the past, we can use adverbs. Here are some
examples:

I was here.
Sam was here.
Laura and Paul weren't here.
Chris wasn't here.
Emi wasn't here.

Note: Adverb expressions can come at the beginning or end of

the sentence.