The Verbs To Be, To Have, and To Go

To be, to have, and to go are irregular verbs. Their forms in the present tense are as follows:

TO BE TO HAVE TO GO
I am I have I go
he, she, it is he, she, it has he, she, it goes 
we are we have we go
you are you have you go
they are they have they go

Note that there is no personal form for you as there is in most other languages. You will use you to refer
both to close friends and to strangers.

Singular and Plural Forms of Nouns

All English nouns are either singular or plural. Most words form the plural by adding an -s to the end of the
singular form:

month à months

visa à visas

airport à airports

Other words, already referring to more than one person or thing, do not normally add an -s.

person à people

fish à fish

mouse à mice

etc.

Contractions
You will want to learn how to use contractions as soon as possible. Contractions are used constantly in
informal English. Examples of contracted subject/verb forms are:

TO BE

I am à I'm
he is à he's
we are à we're
you are à you're
they are à they're

TO HAVE

I have à I've
we have à we've
you have à you've
they have à they've

Contractions are frequently used with compound forms of verbs, especially the progressive or continuous
form of the present tense (I'm going. / We're leaving.) and the present perfect forms (I've received the letter.
/ They've already left.)

Asking Questions
In English, you can ask simple yes/no questions by either inverting the subject and verb or by using rising
intonation:

–We can change money here.

   (simple, declarative statement)

–Can we change money here?

   (question with verb first)

–We can change money here?

   (question with rising intonation)

NOTE: In the case of the simple present tense, it is necessary to use a form of the verb to do as an auxiliary
in making a question:

–They like this bank.

–Do they like this bank?

–You have a passport.

–Do you have a passport?

The Forms of "To Do"

TO DO

I do do I?
you do do you?
she does does she?
we do do we?
they do do they?

Using Some and Any

In English the words some and any are used before plural nouns: some money, some dollars, any change,
etc.

However, it is often possible to leave out the word some in declarative sentences:

–We have (some) checks.

–Mr. Roberts gives them (some) money.

The word any is usually used in questions and negations to replace some:

–Do you have any change?

–Do you have some change?

–They don't have any friends.

Numbers (1-100)

Counting to 100 follows a pattern in English once the basic units are learned:

1 one 11 eleven 21 twenty-one 57 fifty-seven

2 two 12 twelve 22 twenty-two 60 sixty
3 three 13 thirteen 30 thirty 68 sixty-eight
4 four 14 fourteen 33 thirty-three 70 seventy
5 five 15 fifteen 34 thirty-four 79 seventy-nine
6 six 16 sixteen 40 forty 80 eighty
7 seven 17 seventeen 45 forty-five 90 ninety
8 eight 18 eighteen 46 forty-six 99 ninety-nine
9 nine 19 nineteen 50 fifty 100 one hundred
10 ten 20 twenty

Note that to count from 20—99, all you have to do is add a hyphen (-) and the second number: 33 = thirty +
(-) + thre

The Progressive Form of the Present

In many situations, you will encounter the progressive form of the present tense. There are three forms of
the present in English: the simple, progressive, and emphatic. In previous section, you learned the simple
forms of the verbs to be, to go, and to have. Compare the two conjugations of the verb to go:
SIMPLE PRESENT

I go
you go
he, she, it goes
we go
they go

PROGRESSIVE PRESENT

I am going
you are going
he, she, it is going
we are going
they are going

To form the progressive present, use the present tense of the verb to be as an auxiliary and add the ending
-ing to the infinitive. Sometimes there will be a slight spelling change:

–the boy runs

à the boy is running

–we bake a cake

à we are baking a cake

Don't be afraid to use contractions with the progressive present forms. You will hear and use I'm going or
they're driving much more often than the non-contracted forms.

Imperatives (The Command Form)

It is simple to use the imperative or command form in English. When a command is directed at someone
else, use the you form of the simple present tense:

–You take the elevator.

à Take the elevator.

(Simply drop the subject you.)

If the command includes you and others, use the we form:

–We take our luggage.

à Let's take the luggage.

(Drop the subject we and add let's [let us].)

Possessive Adjectives
Here are the possessive adjectives in English:
1st person, singular my

3rd person, singular his, her, its

1st person, plural our

2nd person, sing./pl. your

3rd person, plural their

In English, the gender and number of the possessor determines the form of the possessive adjective:

–I have a credit card. It's my credit card.

–She has some money. It's her money.

NOTE: Often the subject of the verb is not the person who owns the noun. Be careful about this. You must
know the gender and number of the owner to be able to use possessive adjectives correctly:

–Are you buying his ticket or her ticket?

–I'm buying his ticket.

Numbers (101–1,000,000)
Here's the system for counting from 100—999:

number + hundred + number

(650 = six hundred fifty)

1000—99,999:

number + thousand + number + hundred + number

(7,888 = seven thousand eight hundred eighty-eight)

100,000—999,999:

number + hundred + thousand + number + hundred + number

(565,332 = five hundred sixty-five thousand three hundred thirty-two)

NOTE: Follow the same system for numbers exceeding one million.

1,000,000 = one million

1,000,000,000 = one billion

Ordinal Numbers
To form an ordinal number (ordinal numbers put things in order), add the ending -th to the cardinal
number.

seven à seventh

thirteen à thirteenth

When a cardinal number ends in -y, the -y changes to -ie before adding -th.

twenty à twentieth

sixty à sixtieth

Note the following exceptions: first, second, third (sometimes abbreviated as 1st, 2nd, 3rd) and fifth,
ninth, twelfth.

twenty-first

forty-third

sixty-fifth

All others are abbreviated as follows: 4th, 5th, 20th, etc.

 Using Comparisons
There are two ways to make a comparison in English.

1.) Use more in front of the adjective.

–It's more exciting.

2.) Add -er to end of the adjective.

–A bus is cheaper than a taxi.

To complete a comparison, use than.

–I am older than my wife.

For most one-syllable adjectives, use -er: older, wiser, etc. For most two and three-syllable adjectives, use
more: more recent. For two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, use -er. Note that the y is changed to i in
words such as busy (busier) and pretty (prettier).

It is sometimes hard to decide whether to use more or -er in a comparison. In fact, there are many common
adjectives that use either form (such as able, angry, cruel, friendly, polite, quiet, simple, etc.). Listening
and practice with speaking the language will help you more than any number of rules. Finally, note the
following irregular forms:
good à better
little à less
bad à worse
far à farther

Adverbs can also be used in comparisons. More is used with adverbs that end in -ly:

slowly à more slowly

careful à more carefully

Use -er with one-syllable adverbs: faster, harder, sooner, closer, etc.

Note these irregular forms:

well à better
far à farther
badly à worse
 Information Questions
Many times you will want to ask a question that elicits information, instead of a simple yes/no answer.
Information questions will begin with one of the following words:

WHO
WHERE
WHOM
WHAT
WHOSE
WHICH
WHY
HOW
WHEN

Who refers to people. It is used as the subject of the question.

Whom is used as the object of a verb or preposition.

Whose asks questions about possession.

Why is used to ask questions about reason.

When is used to ask questions about time.

Where is used to ask questions about place.

What can be used as the subject or object of a question. It refers to things.

Which is used instead of what when a question concerns choosing from a definite, known quantity or
group.

How generally asks about manner. It is often used with much and many.

When a form of to be is the main verb in the simple present and simple past, it precedes the subject:
–Who is that man?

–Where is the airport?

–Where are the checks?

–What time is it?

The Emphatic Form of the Present

The third form of the present tense in English is for emphasis. When you use do as an auxiliary in an
affirmative sentence, it makes the verb stronger:

–Do you speak English or French?

–I don't speak French, but I do speak English.

–He does understand you, doesn't he?*

*Do for emphasis is also used in a sentence with a tag question when you want to be sure you have the
right information.

Negatives
The word not is used with do to make a verb negative, as in I don't have any money (don't = do not). No is
used as an adjective in front of a noun, as in I have no money. Both of these examples are acceptable ways
of expressing the idea that you do not have something.

Note these contracted negative forms with do:

I don't
you don't
he, she, it doesn't
we don't
they don't

Here are some affirmative words and their negative forms in English:

AFFIRMATIVES

someone, anybody
something, anything
still
ever
either... or

NEGATIVES

no one, nobody
nothing
no longer
never
neither... nor

Avoid using more than one negative in a clause:

–I don't have any money.

  NOT: I don't have no money.

–They don't see anybody.

  NOT: They don't see nobody.

–I didn't do anything.
  NOT: I didn't do n

Possessive Pronouns
Here are the possessive pronouns in English:

1st person, singular mine

3rd person, singular his, hers, its

1st person, plural ours

2nd person, sing./pl. yours

3rd person, plural theirs

In English, the gender and number of the possessor determines the form of the possessive pronoun:

–I have a bicycle. It's mine.

–They have some bread. It's theirs.

NOTE: Often the subject of the verb is not the person who owns the noun. Be careful about this. You must
know the gender and number of the owner to be able to use possessive pronouns correctly:

–Are you driving his car or hers?

–We're driving hers.

The Future Tense
In this lesson the future tense is used in a question and a declarative sentence:

QUESTION: Will you be having lunch?

STATEMENT: I'll just have a salad.

It is easy to use the future. Just add will (or shall,* which can be used after I or we) as an auxiliary and use
the base form of the verb (the unconjugated form of the verb found in the dictionary):

–He gets you something to drink.

à He'll (he will) get you something to drink.

–We have a salad.

à We'll (we will) have a salad.

*NOTE: In American usage, shall is used less often than will.

Tag Questions
Tag questions are questions that are added at the end of a sentence.

–Mary is here, isn't she?

–You like beer, don't you?

–They are leaving, aren't they?

–She doesn't drink coffee, does she?

–He has brown hair, doesn't he?

The subject of the tag question should be the same as the subject of the main verb. If the
first part of the sentence is in the affirmative, then the tag question will be negative, and
vice versa.

FIRST PART OF SENTENCE TAG QUESTION

affirmative  negative 

negative  affirmative

Placement of Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs are invariable in English. Adjectives always come in front of the noun they modify.
Adverbs usually come after the verb they modify.

ADJECTIVES

a good book
an excellent dinner
a fine wine
a charming person
a hot day
an unreasonable person

ADVERBS

–This newspaper is published frequently.

–The Immigration Agent is speaking quickly.

Telling Time
In the U.S., time is usually told on the 12, rather than 24-hour clock. Distinctions between morning,
afternoon, and evening are made by adding a.m. or p.m. 2 p.m. is therefore two o'clock in the afternoon; 6
a.m. is six o'clock in the morning.

HERE ARE SOME USEFUL EXPRESSIONS RELATED TO TIME:

–What time is it? - It's 11 p.m.

–Do you have the time? - Yes, it's 12 noon.

–What time should I arrive? - Around 3 p.m.

–How much time will it take? -No more than 20 minutes.

When referring to 12:00 at night, you can say midnight. When referring to 12:00 during the day, you can
say noon.

Here are some examples of how to express time in English, using quarter-hour and half-hour expressions:

If it's 10:15 you could say either

–It's quarter past (after) ten.

OR: It's ten fifteen.

If it's 5:30, you could say either

–It's half past five.

OR: It's five thirty.

If it's 8:45, you could say either

–It's quarter till nine.
OR: It's eight forty-five.

For all other times, simply list the hour first, then the number of minutes:

–It's 3:25 = It's three twenty-five.

–It's 10:35 = It's ten thirty-five.

OR: It's twenty-five till eleven.

Negative Questions
In a yes/no question in which the verb is negative, usually a contraction is used:

–Doesn't she live with you?

The other form, which is not contracted, is considered formal and is rarely used in everyday speech:

–Does she not live with you?

To form a negative question, make the auxiliary negative by adding not:

–Do they cash traveler's checks?

à Don't they (Do they not) cash...?

HERE ARE SOME MORE EXAMPLES:

–Is Mr. Jones here?

à Isn't Mr. Jones here?

–Are you coming?

à Aren't you coming?

Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns

To differentiate between things in English, use either:

this
that
these
those
Any of these demonstratives can be used with a noun or by itself. This (singular) and these (plural) refer to
something or someone close at hand. That (singular) and those (plural) refer to something or someone a bit
farther away.

EXAMPLES:

–Do you want this box or that box?

–I'd like some of that popcorn.

–Do you want these or those?

–This apartment is nicer than that one.

Paying For Things

When paying for things in the U.S., you will be quoted a price in dollars ($) and cents (¢). Sometimes the
words dollar and cents are used, but more often you will hear:

–How much is it?

–$29.95 (Twenty-nine ninety-five)
OR: (Twenty-nine dollars and ninety-five cents)

–What does it cost?

–$100.00*
OR: (One hundred dollars)

*NOTE: Usually, when the price is an even amount—dollars and no cents—the word dollars is kept.

Sense Verbs (To Taste, Feel, Smell)

Verbs related to the senses (to taste, feel, and smell) are treated somewhat differently in terms of modifiers.
Instead of an adverb, use the equivalent adjective to describe how something tastes, feels, or smells:

–These flowers smell good. (not well)

–I feel bad. (not badly, although you will hear this)

–My salad tastes good. (not well)

NOTE: Adjectives are used because attention is being drawn to the quality of the noun or pronoun subject,
not to the verb. If you said She smells well instead of She smells good, you would be emphasizing her
ability to smell something, not how she smells.

Prepositions
Here are some common English prepositions:

About - despre By - de  Over - peste

Above - de mai sus despite - in ciuda Since - intrucat
Across - peste Down - jos  Through - prin
after - dupa During -  in timpul Throughout - pe tot parcursul
along  - de-a lungul For - pentru  Till – pana la
among  - printre from – de la To – la
around  - in jurul In - in  Toward - spre
before  - inainte Into – in Under - sub
behind – in spatele Like - ca Until – pana la
below  - de mai jos Near – in apropiere, langa Up – de mai sus
beneath - sub Of - de Upon -pe
beside – pe langa off With - cu
between - intre On - pe Within - in
beyond – dincolo de Out - afara Without - fara

Prepositions are used in phrases and as parts of verbs.

Two-Word Verbs

The term two-word verb refers to a verb and a preposition which together have a special
meaning. Two-word verbs are common in informal English. Here is a list of some of
these verbs.

bring up To rear children; to mention a topic.

call up To call on the telephone.
clean up To make clean and orderly.
do over To do again.
drop off To leave something/ someone at a place.
fill out To complete an official form.
get on To enter an airplane, car, etc.
give back To return an item to someone.
go over To review or check carefully.
hand in To submit an assignment or report.
hang up To conclude a telephone conversation; to
put clothes on a hanger or hook.
look over To review or check carefully.
look up To look for information in a reference
book.
pick up To get someone in a car (e.g., in a car); to
take in one’s hand.
put away To remove to a proper place.
put on To put clothes on one’s body.
put out To extinguish a cigarette, fire, etc.
show up To appear, come.
take off To remove clothing; to leave on a trip.
take out To take someone on a date; to remove.
think over To consider carefully.
try on To put on clothing to see if it fits.
turn in To submit an assignment, report; to go to
bed.
turn off To stop a machine, light, faucet.
turn on To activate a machine, light, faucet.
turn out To extinguish a light.
turn up To increase volume or intensity.

There are two categories of two-word verbs:

1.) Separable:

–I handed my paper in.

In separable two-word verbs, a noun or pronoun may come between the verb and preposition.

2.) Non separable:

–She gets off the train.

With this kind of verb, a noun or pronoun must follow the preposition.

Object Pronouns
Remember, a pronoun is used in place of a noun. Subject pronouns come in front of verbs, and object
pronouns follow them:

me  us
you  you
him, her, it  them

EXAMPLES

–We see our friends.

à We see them. (them takes the place of our friends)

–Call the waiter.

à Call him. (i.e., the waiter)

–They like coffee.

à They like it. (i.e., coffee)

Placement of Object Pronouns

When there is a sentence with more than one object pronoun, the rule is as follows:

1. PLACE THE DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN DIRECTLY AFTER THE VERB

2. ANY INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN WILL COME LAST.

EXAMPLES

–The lawyer gives you the envelope.

à He gives it to you.

–They will send me some letters.

à They'll send them to me.

–He's explaining the will to us.

à He's explaining it to us.

Note that when you use a direct object pronoun, it comes earlier in the sentence than its noun equivalent:

–I give you a visa.

à I give it to you.

The example below points to a problem with object word order in English. When a noun is the direct
object, it normally comes last in the sentence (I wrote them a check.). When a pronoun is the direct object,
the indirect object moves to the end of the sentence, and is preceded by to:

–She's leaving you her estate.

–>She's leaving it to you.

Past Tense: The Simple Past and the Past Participle

Use the simple past tense when you are talking about something that happened at one particular time in
the past (i.e., the event began and ended in the past). Normally, there is a reference to past time (yesterday,
last night, etc.):
–I knew your aunt when she was young.
–Yesterday, they bought a car.
–We rented a car last week.
–He saw the U.S. Capitol while he was in Washington.

For many verbs, just add the ending -ed to the verb to make it simple past:

borrow à borrowed
close à closed
open à opened
cash à cashed.

Here are some rules for making the simple past tense of regular verbs:

1. Verbs ending in -e, add -d (hope à hoped)

2. Verbs ending in a vowel and a consonant:

A. For one-syllable verbs having a single vowel, double the consonant ending:

stop à stopped
rob à robbed

B. For one-syllable verbs having two vowels, just add -ed:

rain à rained
dreamed à dreamed (also, dreamt)

C. For two-syllable verbs, in which the first syllable is stressed, just add -ed:

listen à listened

D. For two-syllable verbs, in which the second syllable is stressed, double the consonant ending:

prefer à preferred
control à controlled

3. Verbs ending in -y. If the -y is preceded by a vowel, keep the -y (enjoyed, prayed); if the -y is preceded
by a consonant, change the -y to -i and add -ed:

try à tried
study à studied

4. Verbs ending in -ie, add -d:

die à died

5. Verbs ending in two consonants, just add the ending -ed.

NOTE: For regular verbs the form of the simple past is also the form of the past participle!!

Irregular Verb Forms

English has many irregular verbs that have special forms in the past tense. Here is a list of
some of the more important verbs:

Present Simple Past Past Participle

be was been
become became become
begin began begun
blow blew blown
break broke broken
bring brought brought
buy bought bought
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
come came come
cost cost cost
cut cut cut
dig dug dug
do did done
draw drew drawn
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feel felt felt
find found found
fly flew flown
forget forgot forgotten
get got gotten
give gave given
have had had
know knew known
let let let
lie lay lain
make made made
pay paid paid
put put put
read read read
run ran run
say said said
sell sold sold
sit sat sat
speak spoke spoken
spend spent spent
stand stood stood
teach taught taught
tell told told
take took taken
write wrote written

Questions in the Simple Past Tense

When making a question using the simple past, you will have to use did just as you learned to use do with
the simple present tense.

SIMPLE PRESENT

Statement:
–They accept credit cards.
Question:
–Do they accept credit cards?

SIMPLE PAST

Statement:
–They accepted credit cards last year.
Question:
–Did they accept credit cards last year?

When using did in a question, the main verb will be in the base form (the unconjugated form found in the
dictionary), not the simple past tense.

NOTE: For a negative question in the past, use didn't.

–Didn't you get my letter?

–Didn't they come?

Formation the present participle
The present participle is the verb form used to form the progressive tenses. It can also function as an
adjective.

There are certain rules for forming the present participle just as there are for the -ed forms.

1. VERBS THAT END IN -E

Drop the -e and add -ing:

hope à hoping
date à dating

2. VERBS THAT END IN -Y

If -y is preceded by a vowel, keep the -y:

Buy à buying

If -y is preceded by a consonant, keep the -y:

try à trying
study àstudying

3. VERBS THAT END IN -IE

Change the -ie to -y:

die à dying
lie àlying

4. VERBS THAT END IN TWO CONSONANTS

Just add the -ing ending:

start à starting

Verbs that end in a vowel and a consonant follow special rules.

FOR ONE-SYLLABLE VERBS

1 vowel à2 consonants (stop àstopping)

2 vowels à1 consonant (dream à dreaming)

FOR TWO-SYLLABLE VERBS

1st syllable stressed à1 consonant (listen àlistening)

2nd syllable stressed à2 consonants (prefer à preferring)
 

Possessives
To indicate possession in English, you will use either the preposition of or the -'s form. The latter is used
much more frequently in informal English.

–This is the office of the attorney.

–>This is the attorney's office.

–Here is the desk of Mr. Young.

–>Here is Mr. Young's desk.

–I know the family of Mrs. Jones.

–>I know Mrs. Jones's family.

Note the change in word order when the -'s form is used. The owner is listed first, followed by the thing
owned.

The Verb To Get

In American English, the verb get is used constantly. One common occurrence of get is with an adjective:

–I'm getting hungry.

–You shouldn't eat so much. You'll get fat.

In this instance, get has the meaning of become.

Get may also be followed by a past participle (-ed). The past participle functions as an adjective describing
the subject:

–We got worried, because they were late.

–I got tired from all the work.

Some of the common adjectives that follow get are angry, anxious, big, cold, dark, fat, hot, hungry, late,
mad, old, rich, sleepy, tall, thirsty, warm, well, wet.
 Forms of Other
Forms of other are used as either adjectives or pronouns:

SINGULAR: another book (is)

another (is)

PLURAL: other books (are)

others (are)
 

SINGULAR: the other book (is)

the other (is)

PLURAL: the other books (are)

the others (are)

Note that a final -s is used only for a plural pronoun (others). Another means one more in addition to the
one(s) already mentioned. Other/others (without the) refer to several more in addition to the one(s) already
mentioned. The other(s) has a different meaning (all that remains from a given number or specific group):

–I have three apartments. Two are mine. The

Troublesome Verbs
Here are some verbs that you, like many native speakers, may find troublesome (the base form, simple past
and past participle are given):

TRANSITIVE
(followed by an object)

raise, raised, raised:

The farmer raises chickens.

set, set, set:

I will set the glass down.

lay, laid, laid:

I am laying the dress on the bed.

INTRANSITIVE
(not followed by an object)

rise, rose, risen:

The moon is rising.

sit, sat, sat:

They sit in front.

lie, lay, lain:

I am lying on the bed.
 The Past Progressive Tense
In a previous section, you learned about the present progressive tense. The past progressive is used when
talking about something that was in progress at a particular time in the past:
–They were buying groceries when we arrived.

The buying of groceries probably began before and continued after the arrival of we.

PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE FORMATION:

Simply put the helping verb (a form of to be) into the past tense and use the -ing form of main verb:

–We are playing tennis.

à We were playing tennis.

The Future Progressive Tense

The future progressive tense refers to an action that will be underway at a particular time in the future.
When used in conjunction with when + a present tense, the future progressive action will precede the
present tense in time and may continue after it:

–The clerk will be weighing the bananas when you return.

FUTURE PROGRESSIVE TENSE FORMATION

Simply put the helping verb (a form of to be) into the future tense and use the -ing form of the main verb:

–We buy groceries.

à We will be buying groceries.

More on the Progressive Tenses

Certain categories of verbs are usually not used in any of the progressive tenses. When the verbs below are
used in one of the progressive tenses, they usually have a different meaning:

–You will be hearing from me.

(I will get in touch with you later.)

–She is having trouble.

(She is experiencing trouble).

SENSES MENTAL ACTIVITY POSSESSION ATTITUDES

hear  know possess  dislike
taste believe own seem
smell think have appear
see understand belong look
  remember want like
  mean prefer  hate
  recognize need  appreciate
love