Basic 1 - Extra Practice - Chapter 1: Grammar-BE Verbs in The Present Tense
Basic 1 - Extra Practice - Chapter 1: Grammar-BE Verbs in The Present Tense
Both ser and estar are usually translated as BE verbs. BE verbs have three forms in the present tense—am, is, and are.
It is It's
They
Chang472: Hi. My name is Chang. I'm a waiter in a restaurant, and I'm from Hong Kong. How about you?
KW368: Nice to meet you, Chang. I'm Kevin. I'm not a waiter. I'm a businessman from Canada.
KoreanTeacher: Hi, Chang and Kevin. My name is Joon-eun. I'm from Korea. I'm a teacher in a large school.
SIzumi: Hello, everyone. I'm Naoko. I'm a singer. How are you?
KW368: Pretty good, thanks, Naoko. So, are you from Korea, too?
Chang472: No, Naoko isn't from Korea. She's a great singer from Japan.
KoreanTeacher: Nice to meet you, Naoko!
SIzumi: Nice to meet you, too!
Possessive adjectives describe who the noun belongs to. To make a noun possessive, we add –'s.
Example: That is Tom's book. His, her, its, their, our, your, and my are also possessive pronouns.
Subject Pronoun Possessive Adjective Spanish Translation Possessive Pronouns Spanish Translation
We nuestro/a/s nuestro/a/s
Dear Christina,
How are you? It's October 9, and it's my birthday today. I'm in college in San Francisco, and it's so nice here. The other
students are great. My major is chemistry, and the homework isn't bad.
At home in China, my favorite food is Chinese, but here in the US, it's pizza! And what's my new nickname? My
teachers call me Lee.
How is your job in New York? Is it OK? What's your e-mail address? My e-mail address is
[email protected] new phone number is 555-0148, and my address is 2043 University Lane. Write me soon!
Your friend,
Li Hua
**The demonstrative pronouns/adjectives in English are this, that, these, and those. This and These describe nouns that
are close. That and Those describe nouns that are far. This and That are singular; These and Those are plural.
**Demonstrative pronouns can stand alone. Example: That is her book. These are my friends. Demonstrative adjectives
go before a noun. Example: This table is brown. Those cars are fast.
ex. this
2. Fill in the blanks with this, these, that, those, they, or it.
1. ex. Is that your backpack over there in the corner? 6. Are ______ his books?
2. ________ sunglasses in the magazine are very cool. – No, ______ aren't. _______ books are his books.
– Yes, ______ are. – Yes, ____ is! Thank you very much!
4. Is ______ her backpack? 8. I don't like _______ paintings, but I like _______
5. Answer the question with the information from the text. (There is more than one
answer.)
This is my friend Jiro. He's from Osaka, Japan. He's a chef at a sushi restaurant in New York. His
sister is a waitress at that same restaurant. Jiro’s wife doesn't work in the restaurant. She's a
teacher at a school.
This is my friend Delfina. She's only 29, but she's a famous writer! Her books are great! Delfina’s
nickname is Del. Her children are Carisa and Cody. Carisa is 5, and Cody is 3. Their favorite books
are Delfina’s books!
This is my brother Mario. We are from Peru. He's a college student in Lima. His major is English.
Our father is a businessman and our mother is an artist. Their names are Marco and Gabriela.
They are both 58 years old.
______________________________ 6. Mario:
A) He is from Peru.
B) His mother is an artist.
C) His brother's major is English.
** For affirmative sentences, use the chart above to conjugate verbs in the simple present.
** For negative sentences, questions, and short answers, we must use do or does to form the sentence.
1. Fill in the blanks with like, likes, do, don't, does, or doesn't.
Hayley: Hey, I have tickets to the Marc Anthony concert!
Cory: Ex. Do you like his music?
Hayley: Of course! I ______ his music a lot. _____ you _____ his music?
Cory: No, not really. My family ______ Latin music a lot, but I _______ _______ it at all.
Hayley: That's crazy! I think Latin music is the best. What kind of music ____ you ______?
Cory: I _______ electronic music. _____ you _____ electronic music?
Hayley: No, I ______, but my sister ______.
Cory: Hmm, you ______ ____ electronic music. What about Calvin Harris? He makes good electronic music.
Hayley: Well, my sister _______ his music a lot. I ______ his music a little bit, but I ______ Marc Anthony's
music better.
Cory: I see.
Hayley: So… _____ you want to go to the concert with me?
Cory: Thanks, but no I ______ want to go. I will ask someone in my family if they want to go.
2. Write examples of each type of sentence in the box below. Use the verb like.
Affirmative Ex. I like jazz music.
Negative
Question
Short Answer
4. Vocabulary: Look at each music genre. Write different musicians and groups in each
genre. Use your own knowledge or research artists on the internet. Some musicians or
groups could belong in multiple categories.
Latin Electronic
Dance Music Pop Music Jazz Music Hip Hop Classical Music Rock Music
Music Music
My name is Juan, and the people in my family love music. My grandmother is a famous Latin music
singer, and my grandfather is a music writer. His music is amazing! Of course, my parents like Latin
music, but they also like jazz and classical music. I don't like classical music, and I think jazz is OK.
My favorite kind of music is rock. I like Latin music and pop, too. Now, what do my children like?
That's a good question. My children don't like classical music. They don't like jazz. They also don't
like rock. My children's favorite music is hip-hop. But I don't like it!
It's strange. My children don't like my music, and I don't like my parents' music. But we all like my
grandparents' music. So, our family's favorite kind of music is Latin music.
3. Juan's parents don't like classical music. 6. Juan's family doesn't like Latin music.
A) True A) True
B) False B) False
Verbs in the simple present express habitual actions that we do regularly, e.g. “I play tennis. She studies English.” The
simple present can also express states of being that are true in the present e.g. “You are happy. They like coffee.”
** Remember: With verbs in the simple present, I, You, We, and They share a single form. He, She, and It require a verb
with “–s” at the end. Negative sentences, questions, and short answers usually require a helping verb.
1. Complete the chart with verbs in the simple present. Some verbs are irregular.
watch
do
have
go
writes
talk
2. Complete the blanks. Remember to conjugate if the subject is in the third person.
4. Read the text. Answer the question. Use information from the text.
2. What does Ben watch? 5. When does Ben go to the Internet cafe?
________________________________________. ________________________________________.
3. What does Ben's brother like? 6. Does Ben like video games?
________________________________________. ________________________________________.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
We use can to express ability. Can does not change form in the present. We use can + the base form of the main verb.
Affirmative: I can play the piano. My Mom can cook well. They can drive.
Negative: I can't dance at all. He can't sing very well. We can't speak French.
Questions and answers: Can you play the guitar? No, I can't, but my sister can.
What languages can she speak? – She can speak English and Spanish.
1. Answer the questions with “very well”, “well”, “a little bit”, “not very well”, or “not at all”.
Use full sentences. Then, ask your partner.
Can you ride a bike? Ex. Yes, I can ride a bike very well. / Yes, a little bit.
Can you sing? Ex. No, I cannot sing at all. / No, not very well.
1. Ex. What can you do if your friend is sad? I can talk to her about her problems.
2. What can you do if you speak English? _______________________________________________________.
3. What can you do if you have a guitar? ________________________________________________________.
4. What can you do with one million dollars? ____________________________________________________.
5. What can you do in your city? ______________________________________________________________.
5. What can you do in your house? ____________________________________________________________.
My friends Tony and Shannon are very talented. They can do a lot of things.
Tony is an artist. He can draw and paint very well. His pictures are beautiful. Shannon is an amazing singer, and she
can play the piano, too.
They are American, but they live in Canada. They can speak English, of course, but they can also speak French.
Tony and Shannon have a daughter, Chloe. She is only 8, but she is talented, too: she can speak English and French,
she can sing well, and she can draw amazing pictures.
1. Tony can't paint very well. 4. Shannon can speak two languages.
A) True A) True
B) False B) False
3. Tony and Shannon are from Canada. 6. Shannon and Chloe can't speak French.
A) True A) True
B) False B) False
5. Write a similar paragraph about the things a friend can and can’t do.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
The present progressive is used to express actions that began in the past and are continuing to occur in the present
moment (right now).
The present progressive verb phrase has two parts: a BE verb + the –ing form of the main verb. The BE verb must be in
the present tense (am, is, are). If the sentence is negative, put “not” after the BE verb.
Examples: I am reading. She isn't studying. We are learning.
To form questions in the present progressive, use the following format:
BE verb + subject + the –ing form of the main verb
**When the BE verb is the first word in the question, the answer will be yes or no. When the question begins with a
WH-- word, the answer should begin with the subject.
Examples: Are you studying? --Yes, I am. / –No, I'm not.
Is he wearing a T-shirt? --Yes, he is. / --No, he isn't.
What are they wearing? --They are wearing jeans and sneakers.
1. Complete the blanks using the present progressive. Use the verb in parentheses.
4. You are doing your homework? 8. Right now, I listen to the teacher.
________________________________________ __________________________________________
_______________________________________ _________________________________________
4. Write a paragraph about two people in your class. Answer the following
questions: What are their names? What are they wearing?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Singular ↓ Plural ↓
1. Complete the sentences with ”there is”, ”there isn't”, ”there are”, or ”there aren't”.
2. Complete each sentence with behind, in, on, under, or next to.
4. Vocabulary: Guess the vocabulary word. (Use the vocabulary from page 50.)
1. What room do you cook in? I cook in the kitchen. 5. What covers the windows?____________________
2. What do you sleep on? _______________________ 6. What do you write on?________________________
3. What do you sit on?__________________________ 7. What gives light to the room?__________________
4. What plays music?___________________________ 8. What room do you take shower in?_____________
5. Read the text. Choose True or False. Then, Answer the question with information from
the text. Use There’s or There are.
Hi, Melanie!
My new job is good, and I like Vancouver. Can you come to Vancouver? You can see my new
apartment.
It's a nice apartment. There is a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. In
the living room, I have my old sofa. Behind the sofa, there are two big windows. I can
sit on my sofa and watch people on the street. My desk is in the living room, too.
Right now, I'm sitting at my desk and writing this e-mail on my computer.
In the bedroom, there's a bed, a small table, and a reading lamp. The lamp is on the
table, so I can read books at night. There are still books and clothing under my bed.
Don't worry. I can clean my room for your visit.
It isn't a big apartment, but I love it!
Your brother,
Ryan
P.S. My new address is 538 Canal St., Apt. #2.
1. Look at the map and complete the sentences with on, across from, next to, on the corner
of, or between.
1. The theater is _________________ the school.
2. The Korean restaurant is _________________ the bank _____ the public library.
3. The department store is on the corner Sun Avenue 6. Go straight Main Street.
3. Look at the map. Start at the art gallery and give directions to the following places:
1. the bank_______________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________.
2. the church______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________.
_______________________________________________________________________________________.
4. the school______________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________.
4. Vocabulary: Guess the vocabulary word. (Use the vocabulary from page 56.)
As their name implies, countable nouns can be counted. Usually, countable nouns exist in naturally separable
pieces. If something is a countable noun, you do not need to cut or separate it in order to count it. Uncountable
nouns cannot be counted. Usually, they do not exist in naturally separable parts.
Can be used with some (in affirmative sentences) Can be used with some (in affirmative sentences)
and any (in questions and negative sentences) and any (in questions and negative sentences)
Can be used with an –s ending Cannot be used with –s, a/an, or numbers
Can be used with a/an and numbers Can only be used with “there is.”
Can be used with “there is” with singular nouns Can never be used with “there are” (because there
Can be used with “there are” with plural nouns are never plural uncountable nouns).
*Note: When using some/any with count nouns always use the plural form of the noun.
**Note: The following things are countable: Piece, slice, cup, glass, bowl, plate, pot, bottle, carton, etc. For example,
water is uncountable because it is a liquid. But we can count bottles of water. I can have four bottles of water, a
piece of pizza, two slices of cake, three bowls of pasta, and one carton of milk.
1. Divide the foods into categories. Circle the uncountables: Add your own examples.
cake, strawberries, a cup of coffee, rice, fish, a bowl of ice cream, juice, apple, tea, chicken, milk, bread, lettuce, a plate
of pasta, a glass of wine, water, pizza, a piece of chicken, beef, soup, eggs, bananas, cake, coffee, rice, fish, ice cream,
juice, apples, tea, chicken, milk, bread, lettuce, cookies, potatoes, pasta
2. There is / There are a cup of coffee on the desk. 6. There are three piece / pieces of chicken on his plate.
3. Are there some / any potatoes on the counter? 7. There aren't any cookie / cookies in the box.
4. There is some / any milk in the refrigerator. 8. There is some water / waters in the glass.
2. There aren't some banana in the fruit salad. 5. There are some breads in the bag.
3. Are there any pineapple juice in the refrigerator? 6. There is five piece of pizzas.
4. Read the text. Choose the best word to complete the sentence about the text.
Dear Freddie,
I'm shopping at the mall. Have fun with the children. There's a lot of food for you. For lunch, you can make sandwiches:
There's some bread on the kitchen table. The chicken is in the refrigerator, and there's some lettuce, too. There's juice in
the refrigerator. For the children, there are apples for dessert. Please remember: The children can't have any cookies
after lunch.
For dinner, there's some rice and fish: You can cook the rice for 25 minutes. You can cook the fish for 20 minutes.
There's a salad in the refrigerator, next to the juice. Don't forget the bananas on the table. They're the children's favorite!
For dessert, there isn't any cake, but there's ice cream in the freezer.
See you at 8 p.m.!
2. For lunch, there are ____ for the children's 5. To drink, there’s juice. There’s also some milk.
dessert. A) True
A) bananas B) False
B) apples
C) cookies 6. There's some cake for dessert.
A) True
3. For dinner, there's a ____ in the refrigerator. B) False
A) bread
B) pasta
C) salad
There are three forms of BE in the present tense, but only two forms of BE in the past: was and were.
**Phrases that express a past time: yesterday, last night, last week, last month, last year, one hour ago, two weeks ago,
three years ago, etc.
**Note: In English, BE is both ser and estar. Also, there is no special conjugation for the preterite vs the imperfect past
tenses. For example, yo era = I was, yo fui = I was, yo estuve = I was, and yo estaba = I was.
2. Fill in the blank with the present tense of BE (am, is, are) or the past tense of BE (was,
were).
1. Karla ______ at school in the morning, but now she and her friend ______ at the library.
2. Last Saturday, I _______ at the Internet cafe, but I _______ at the mall.
3. My boyfriend and I _______ at the mall on Sunday. We went shopping.
4. The students _______ in class right now. They _______ studying.
5. Where _______ you now?
– I _______ at the gym. I _______ exercising.
6. Where _______ you yesterday?
– I _______ doing my homework at the library.
5.Read the text. Answer the question with information from the text.
friend4ever: Hey, Mara. I was at school today, but you weren't. Where were you? Were you sick?
MaraLoves2shop: Yes, I was sick. It was terrible, Gloria.
friend4ever: Really? I'm sorry. Were you at the doctor's office?
MaraLoves2shop: No, I wasn't.
friend4ever: Were you at home all day?
MaraLoves2shop: No, I wasn't… OK, you're my friend. I can tell you. I was at the mall in the morning, and in
the afternoon my sister and I were at a cafe. It was a lot of fun. Please don't tell the
teachers.
friend4ever: What? I don't understand. You were sick, but you were at the mall?
MaraLoves2shop: Well, I wasn't sick. I was just sick of school. It's so boring there!
friend4ever: Yeah, I understand. Can I be sick, too?
3. Where was Mara in the morning? 6. Were Mara and her sister sick?
_____________________________________________. _____________________________________________.
For most verbs in English, there is only one form in the past. To form regular verbs in the past, add –ed. Other verbs
have irregular forms in the past that do not follow a rule and must be memorized. Examples:
Use the auxiliary DID in questions, short answers, and negative sentences, but not in affirmative sentences.
Questions: Did you eat lunch? Short Answers: Yes, I did. / No, I didn't. Negative: She didn't like the show.
**Note: We do not combine the auxiliary verb did with the past tense form of the main verb.
Correct: They didn't listen to the teacher. Incorrect: They didn't listened to the teacher.
3. Did you studied yesterday? 6. They weren't take a trip last summer.
2. Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in parentheses.
1. Last night, I just ________ home. I ______n't ______ out with my friends. (stay, hang)
2. We _______ to the mall yesterday. We ______n't ______ to the Internet cafe. (go, go).
3. He _______ a trip last week. He _____n't _______ his room or ______ his homework. (take, clean, do)
4. ______ you ________ your family over Christmas? (visit)
– Yes, I _____. I __________ to Texas to visit my family. (travel)
6. What _____ you _____ yesterday? (do)
– I _______ out with my friends. We ______ a movie at the theater. (hang, see)
3. Did your friends hang out with you last weekend? _____________________________________________.
clean my room
see a movie
do my homework
go to a party
take a trip
1. Brenda went to California last October. 4. Brenda watched people at the cafe in San Francisco.
A) True A) True
B) False B) False
2. Darlene liked the trip. 5. Darlene ate fish in San Francisco.
A) True A) True
B) False B) False
3. Darlene and Brenda can swim. 6. Darlene and Brenda went dancing at Lake Tahoe.
A) True A) True
B) False B) False