\u003e Simple past tense of the verb "to be" (Affirmative sentences).

Simple past tense of the verb "to be" in English (Affirmative sentences). Past Simple Tense of "to be" (Affirmative sentences)

Here you can take a lesson on the topic: Simple past tense of the verb "to be" in English (Affirmative sentences). Past Simple Tense of "to be" (Affirmative sentences).

In this tutorial we will look at simple past time in English, and in particular the verb to bein the past affirmative sentences. The verb to be in the structure of the past tense is of great importance, since so many sentences in English contain this particular verb. There are also many sentences in which it would seem that the verb is not needed at all, but in English in these cases, to be is always used.

The past tense verb to be has two forms: was and were. The choice of one form or another depends on the number of the subject:

was - used with nouns in the singular, the Russian alternative was.
were - used with nouns in plural, the Russian alternative was.

Consider the past tense conjugation of the verb to be using personal pronouns as an example:

I was - I was
you were - you were / you were
he was - he was
she was - she was
it was - he / she was / was (inanimate)
we were - we were
they were - they were

Reminder: the pronoun you always agrees with verbs plural.

In sentences, the verb was / were can act as both a main and an auxiliary verb. So, in affirmative sentences was / were - the main verb, and in negative and interrogative sentences - an auxiliary verb. Let's consider in more detail affirmative sentences.

1. The verb to be in the past tense differs little in use from its form in the present. However, there is one difference: was / were cannot be shortened. Let's see the difference with examples:

I "m late. - I'm late.
I was late. - I'm late.

You "re at school. - You're at school.
You were at school. - Were you in school.

He's a teenager - He's a teenager.
He was a teenager. - He was a teenager (teenager).

As you can see from the examples, the word order in the affirmative sentence of the simple past tense is the same as in the present: Subject - Predicate - Object.

2. One of the commonly used and fixed phrases with was / were in English is: I was born. Consider in full sentences:

I was born on March 11, 1982. - I was born on March 11, 1982.
I was born in Russia. - I was born in Russia.
They were born on the same day. - They were born on the same day.
You were born in summer. - You were born in the summer.
He was born in New Hampshire. - He was born in New Hampshire.

This phrase is used in the passive voice, and therefore the word order is atypical.

3. All of the above examples show the use of was / were verbs with different personal pronouns. Let's also consider the proposals with other types of subjects:

Lena and her husband were happy to see us. - Lena and her husband were happy to see us.
Sam was there when we came. - Sam was there when we arrived.
Me and my sister were very close friends. - My sister and I were very good friends.
Reading books was my favorite hobby. - Reading books was my favorite hobby.
Baking cakes was something I really liked. - Baking cakes was something I really liked.

4. The simple past tense has its own characteristics. First of all, this time expresses completed action in the past, with time indication. For example:

I was at my parents "house yesterday. - I was at my parents' house yesterday.
He was on holiday two months ago. “He was on vacation two months ago.
The Browns were in their country house last month. - The Browns were at their dacha last month.

As you can see from the examples, the Past Simple time has its own signal phrases, which indicate that the action is completed and occurred in the past. Here is a list of the most popular phrases:

yesterday (yesterday), last year (last year), last month (last month), last Monday (last Monday), a day ago (day ago), two days ago (two days ago), a week ago (a week ago), in 1989 (in 1989), etc. These "temporary" phrases can appear both at the beginning of a sentence and at the end. Let's look at a few examples:

Andrew was in army in 1995. - Andrew was in the army in 1995.
Last summer the weather was very hot. - Last summer was very hot.
Somebody was in the house last night. “Someone was in the house last night.
Yesterday the windows were shut. - The windows were closed yesterday.
I was in the village four days ago. “I was in the village four days ago.

5. In some English sentences, it is customary to use the verb were also with subjects singular.Usually this phenomenon occurs in the subjunctive mood. For example:

If I were you, I would go to that party. - If I were in your shoes, I would go to this party.
If he were rich, he would buy a hotel. - If he was rich, he would buy a hotel.

6. The verbs was and were are often found in proverbs or wise sayings:

If wishes were horses, beggars might ride. “If desires were horses, beggars could ride.
If ifs and ans were pots and pans ... - If "if" and "if only" were pots and pans ... / If only, if only.
If things were to be done twice all would be wise. - If it was possible to do everything a second time, everyone would be wise.

If you young fellows were wise, the devil couldn "t do anything to you, but since you aren" t wise, you need us who are old. (Martin Luther) - If you young people were wise, the devil could not harm you, but since you are not wise, you need us - the older generation. (Martin Luther)

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. (Friedrich Nietzsche) - And those who were seen dancing were considered crazy by those who could not hear the music. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Thus, we got acquainted with the English Past Simple tense and with the use of the verb to be in affirmative sentences of the past tense. In the next lesson, we will take a closer look at the negative and interrogative forms of the verbs was and were, and some other features of their use. Until then, read the rules and suggestions, try to come up with your own examples for each rule.

Now we will get acquainted with one of the most important verbs of the English language - the verb to be, which means be, exist. This verb changes its form, depending on in what tense and with what subject it is used. For now, we will only consider the present.

So, in the present tense, the verb to be has three forms: am, is, are.

I am a doctor. - I am a doctor.

I am a doctor.

He is a doctor. - He is a doctor.

He is a doctor.

You are a doctor. - You are a doctor.

You are a doctor.

Using the forms of the verb "to be"

So, let's take a closer look at in which case which form of the verb to be should be used:

Case 1... If we speak in the first person singular, i.e. we use the pronoun "I" which means "I", we use the form "am". Thus, it turns out "I am" - "I am".

I am a teacher.

I'am a teacher. (I am a teacher)

Case 2.If we speak in the third person singular, using, for example, the pronouns "he, she, it", which mean "he, she, it", we use the form "is". That is, "He is" - "He is", "She is" - "She is", "It is" - "It is".

She is a teacher.

Case 3. If we say "we" which means "we", "you" which means "you" or "you", and also "they" which means "they", then we must use the form "are". For example, "We are" - "We are", or "You are" - "You are", "You are", or "They are" - "They are".

We are teachers.

We are teachers. (We are teachers)

The verb "to be" in English is often used as link between subject and object.In all of the above examples, he performed exactly this function. Let's take a closer look at one of the proposals.

She is a teacher.

She is a teacher. (She is a teacher)

In this proposal "She" is the subject, "a teacher" - addition, and the verb "to be" in the form "is" is a linking verb... Unlike the Russian language, in English the linking verb is never omitted, since the English sentence has a strictly fixed word order: subject + predicate + object.

Negative form of the verb "to be"

Now let's look at how the negative form of the verb "to be" is formed. It's quite simple - in order to form a negative form, it is enough to put a negative particle "not" after the verb "to be":

I am happy.

I'm happy.

I am not happy.

I AM not happy.

He is a doctor

He is a doctor.

He is not a doctor.

is he not doctor.

You are a teacher.

You're a teacher.

You are not a teacher

You not teacher.

Note that in colloquial speech, the negative particle "not" often merges with the verb "to be", forming reductions:

We will devote our article to the analysis of one unusual verb in the English language - the word to be, which translates as "to be", "is", "to be" or "to be". This one can be safely attributed to a separate full-fledged topic, because its use, formation has a special meaning that differs from other verbs. This information will be useful for schoolchildren, possibly students, as well as all those who study and are interested in English.

The verb to be, or what is

To be - this is with the particle to, the infinitive. It is freely used in the language where it is needed. For example, I want to be a singer - "I want to be a singer (singer)". But besides this initial form, the verb to be there are other independent forms: am, is or are.

This is the same verb with the same translation. However, the use of one of its specified varieties ( am, is or are) depends directly on the person and number in which the subject is. Everything is very simple. Let's figure it out and figure it out.

Am

Verb to be as am is used exclusively with the subject in the first person singular form (the pronoun "I" - I):

• I am a student.

If you translate literally every word, it will be like this: “ i am a student" or " i am a student". Of course, in Russian, we rarely construct a sentence in this way, often we simply omit this verb in our speech. It's easier for us to say: “ I am a student". Let's take another example:

• I am 10 (years old).

Literally: " i am ten years old". In Russian, we say: “ I am ten years old)».

Is

Verb to be as is used with subjects in the form of a third person singular (pronouns: he, she, it / it) Here are some examples:

• He is a pupil (he is a student).
• She is her mother (she is her mother).
• It (fox) is red (she (fox) is red).
• It is a table (this is a table).

Are

Verb to be as are used:

• with subjects in the first person plural (pronoun "we" - we);
• in the second person, singular and plural (pronouns "you", "you" - you);
• in the third person plural (pronoun "they" - they).

Here are some examples:

• We are friends (we are friends).
• You are my teacher (you are my teacher).
• They are brothers (they are brothers).

Often a verb to be represent in the form of a dragon with three heads. Sometimes this visual representation helps a foreign language learner to better understand the use of this verb.

Negative sentences with the verb to be

Choosing a specific form of the verb to be (am, is,or are) when constructing negative sentences also depends on the principle voiced above. Just after using this form, you need to put a negative not:

• I am not a child (in shorthand I’m not a child - "I am not a child").
• He is not Peter (in shorthand he’s not Peteror he isn’t Peter - "he is not Peter").
• She is not a doctor (in shorthand she's not a doctoror she isn’t a doctor - "she is not a doctor").
• It is not a cat (in shorthand it's not a cator it isn’t a cat - "this is not (is) a cat").
• We are not classmates (in shorthand we’re not classmatesor we aren’t classmates - "we are not classmates").
• You are not our friends (in shorthand you’re not our friendsor you aren’t our friends - "they are not friends").
• They are not sisters (in shorthand they’re not sistersor they aren’t sisters - "they are not sisters").

Interrogative sentences with the verb to be

It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the questions are also built differently from the rest of the sentences in the present tense in Present Simple. The word order is unusual here - unlike the usual affirmative sentence.

Forms am, isor are, depending on the form of the subject, are placed at the very beginning of the sentence. It is followed by the subject and the rest of the sentence:

• Am I happy (I am happy)?
• Is he a teacher (is he a teacher)?
• Is she your daughter (she is your daughter)?
• Is it our cat (this is our cat)?
• Are we good children (we are good children)?
• Are you good parents (you are good parents)?
• Are they my old friends (they are my old friends)?

It should be borne in mind that the question words " what, what - what; "where "- where;" when "- when;" why "," why "- why;" what time "- at what time etc. in the interrogative sentence, if any, are placed in the very first place in the question. In other words, the interrogative word is put first, then the verb form to be, then - the subject and the rest of the sentence. Let's look at the examples:

• Where is he (where is he)?
• What time is it now (which is now the hour)?
• What is it (what is it)?

You need to pay attention to the relationship of the verb to be with a question word who (who)... It tends to confuse English learners. So does the question word require who areor is after myself? In this particular case, it can be compared with in the singular or plural. Hence, with who can be used and isand are:

• Who is glad (who is glad)?
• Who are you (who you are)?

Past tense verb to be

In the past tense, this verb has only two forms ( was - "was" or were - "were"), which again depend on the person and number of the subject. I, he, she, it used was... On the contrary, were used with we, you, they... Negative sentences in the past tense are built like negative sentences in the present tense, only here not added to was or were... The abbreviated version will be wasn "tand weren "t.

With questions in the past tense, things are (we are talking about word order) exactly the same as with questions in the present.

Future tense verb to be

Future tense with verb to be the easiest to build. In affirmative sentences with any subjects, there is only one form - will be (will / will be). In negative sentences - will not be... Interrogative sentences are also built in the same word order as in the present tense.

The most important thing is training and strengthening. You should do as many exercises as possible to choose the desired form of the verb to be... There are tasks of different difficulty and in different formulations to practice your English: isor are, amor are, was, wereor will be must be put in place of the gaps in the sentences. They help hone the skill of quickly identifying the verb. to be at all times. However, you shouldn't get stuck for a long time on tasks like "insert are or is" (and the like). We need to move on and slowly complicate things.

Do not ignore tasks in which you need to translate, for example, into Russian, but more often from Russian into English. At first glance, it may seem that it is very difficult, but over time, the conquered peaks will seem to you a plain, and even greater heights will rise in front. The main thing is not to stop there! Go for it, and you will succeed!

We hope this information will be useful and clear for you.

It is with this verb that you need to start learning English grammar. Verbs in English do not change by person, but the verb to be is an exception. With the help of this verb, we will learn how to make simple sentences that do not contain a verb in Russian, for example, "I am a student", "he is at home", "this is interesting", etc. In English, it is unacceptable to compose without a verb that performs an action, and to be serves as a linking verb. For example, to say "I am a student", we must insert the necessary form of the linking verb to be and, as a result, the sentence will acquire the meaning "I am a student" - "I (am) a student."

Present tense forms of the verb to be

In the present tense, the verb to be has three forms: AM, IS, ARE:

• Remember: to be and AM, IS, ARE are not 4 different, but forms of the same verb:

(We hope our dragon will help you remember this)

Consider how the verb to be changes in the present tense

Affirmative form

• We are friends - we are friends
• They are busy - they are busy
• The book is thick - the book is thick
• It is a cat
• She is clever - she is smart

negative form

To form a negative conjugation of a given verb, you need to put a negative particle "not" after one of the required forms of the verb (am, is or are). Here are some examples of a negative sentence:

• I am not hungry
• He is not busy
• The room is not big

Interrogative form

To form an interrogative form, you need to put the corresponding form of the verb (am, is or are) at the beginning of the sentence:

• Are you Peter? - Are you Pete?
• This room? - Is this a room?
• Are you hungry? - Are you hungry?
• He is busy? - Is he busy?

• To understand how verbs live in English, let's first recall at least one verb in the Russian language in its initial form, for example, the verb "live". As you know, the verbs of the Russian language in the initial form end in "-т", and later, when conjugated, the ending changes. As far as English is concerned, the verb in its initial form is used together with the to particle, for example, we say to be - would be, find bexia, i.e. if the particle to precedes the verb, this means that the verb is in the initial form, and when the verb is used with faces, this particle is omitted. Let's give an example: "To be or not to be" - there are two verbs in the sentence - and both are in the initial form, and they must be used together with the to particle, and, accordingly, we will translate into English as "to be or not to be". If we have before us the sentence “I (am) a student”, i.e. we have changed the verb to match the subject, the to is dropped and the proper form of the verb is used, in this case am.
• Unlike the verb to be, the rest of the verbs in English are not conjugated, for example, the verbs “to live, sit, love” in the initial form in English are translated “to live, to sit, to love”, ie with particle to , and when conjugated - without to , for example, “I live, sit, love” into English will be translated as “I live, sit, love”, ie initial form of a verb in English without particletonot used, but when conjugatingtogoes down. The initial form in English is called Infinitive -Infinitive.

More about the particle tosee our video tutorial:

Verb conjugations tobe in present time

Now let's learn how the verb to be changes (conjugates) in the present tense. As mentioned above, in Russian, sentences like "I am a student, she is a doctor, we are workers" are formed without a predicate verb. But to translate these sentences into English, you need to put the appropriate form to be after the subject - “I am a pupil, she is a doctor, we are workers”.

Note the translation of the following sentences in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms into English:

Verb conjugations tobe in the past and future tense

In the past tense, the verb to be distinguishes between two forms - was and were (was, was, were)

In the future tense, the verb to be conjugated as follows

Note: In modern English, the form shall is of little use for the formation of the future tense of verbs (although its use is not a grammatical error), for all persons the form is used will... Therefore, sometimes there is a discrepancy in different textbooks.

To summarize, consider the following table:

I bring to your attention a few commonly used verb expressions to be which you should learn and conjugate yourself using the conjugation table:

• To be happy / unhappy - to be happy / unhappy
• To be glad - to be joyful
• To be hungry / to be full up– to be hungry / full
• To be fond of - to love, to be carried away by something
• To be busy - be busy
• To be late (for) - be late (for)
• To be in time for - to be on time
• To be present at - to be present at (for example, in a lesson)
• To be absent (from) - to be absent
• To be married - to be married / married
• To be single - to be single / not married
• To be lucky - to be lucky
• To be ready (for) - be ready (for, for example, a lesson)
• To be afraid (of) - to be afraid
• To be interested (in) - to be interested in something
• To be ill / well - to be ill / to feel good
• To be angry (with) - angry, angry (at someone)

Let's conjugate together the expression to be married in affirmative, interrogative, and negative sentences. What did you do?

Today we continue to study the tenses of the English language. I hope you have carefully studied the article and are already confidently making sentences with the verb to be in the present tense. Now let's learn to talk about the past tense using the forms of the verb to be - was and were.

The verb to be in the past tense, as a rule, does not cause difficulties for students, because it has a direct translation "was" (was), "were" (were). In the grammar tables below, you will get acquainted with the formation of the affirmative, interrogative and negative forms of the verb to be in the past tense. And to consolidate, as always, a little independent work.

Compare the affirmative and interrogative forms. In Russian, they differ only in intonation. But in English, the verb to be in the past tense requires a change in the order of words when forming a question. Violation of this rule will

THE PAST INDEFINITE TENSE
(THE PAST SIMPLE)
TO BE

Affirmative form
Past Simple (verb to be)
+

Interrogative form
Past Simple (verb to be)
(yes / no questions - general questions)?

Interrogative form
Past Simple (verb to be)
(WH -? - special questions)?

negative form
Past Simple (verb to be)
—

So, today we have reviewed another table - past tense verb to be... Such grammar tables really useful and easy to use. And you will come back to them more than once to refresh your knowledge. If you have any questions on the topic or need additional explanations, write in the comments. I will answer all your questions. Expect new articles in the section.

Exercises for Past Simple (verb to be):

Tenses in English.