THE VERB TO BE

TENSES:

PRESENT - PAST - FUTURE

TO BE: Present Tense

• They are...They are students.• They are –ing...They are being realistic.• They...They study every night.• They are able to...They are able to run in the marathon.

TO BE: Past Tense

• They were...They were students.• They were –ing...They were being realistic.• They ...(ed)...They studied every night.• They were able to...They were able to run in the marathon.

TO BE: Future Tense

• They will be...They will be able to study.• They will...They will study every night.• They will be able to...They will be able to run in the marathon.

TO BE: Tenses

PRESENT PAST FUTURE•It takes (them) ...to...It takes them a lot of time to pack their bags.

•It took (them) ...to...It took them a lot of time to pack their bags.

•It’ll take (them) ...to...It will take them a lot of time to pack their bags.

•They have...(ed)...for...They have studied for several days.

•They had ...(ed)...They had studied for several days.

•They will have ...(ed)...They will have studied for several days.

•They have been ...ing...They have been seeing their lawyers.

•They had been ...ing...They had been seeing their lawyers.

•They will have been ...ing...They will have been seeing their lawyers.

TO BE: Tenses

PRESENT PAST FUTURE

•There is...There is a problem here.

•There was...There was a problem here.

•There will be...There will be a problem here.

•There are...There are problems here.

•There were...There were problems here.

•There will be...There will be problems here.

•They say (that)...They say that they are in trouble.

•They said (that)...They said that they are in trouble.

•They’ll say (that)...They’ll say that they are in trouble.

TO BE: Tenses

PRESENT PAST HFUTURE

•They tell ...to...They tell us to mind our own business.

•They told (him, her)...They told him to mind his own business.

•They’ll tell (him, her)...They’ll tell him to mind his own business.

•They have to...They have to visit her.

•They had to...They had to visit her.

•They will have to...They will have to visit her.

•They are supposed to...They are supposed to pay their taxes.

•They were supposed to...They were supposed to pay their taxes.

TO BE: Tenses

PRESENT PAST FUTURE

•They are used to ...ing...They are used to traveling.

•They were used to ...ing...They were used to traveling.

•They’ll get used to ...ing...They’ll get used to traveling.

•They used to ...They used to travel.

Comparative and Superlative

• ...er than...Their car is newer than yours.• more...than...They value their families more than their careers.• The ...est...They are the smartest students in class.• The most...They are the most respected teachers in school.• Etc...

Modals

• Can: They can beat any team in basketball.• Could: They could win the competition if they

wanted to.• Must: They must join the contest.• Might: They might decide to join the interstate

competition.• Would: They would not go camping this summer.• Should: They should have their annual physical

check-up tomorrow.

Most Used

• They are going to...: They are going to study Engineering.• They are gonna...: They are gonna ride the rollercoaster later.• They think...: They think they can handle the obstacle course.• They’d like to...: They’d like to get window seats on the plane.• They want to...: They want to try that new pizza joint.• They try to...: They try to study English every night.• They wish...: They wish they could go to college someday.• They hope...: They hope to pass all their subjects this term.

Conditionals

• If ... will ...If they win the lottery, they will buy a beach house.• If ... would ...If they had the chance, they would finish their college degrees.• If ... would’ve...If they took their English classes seriously, they would’ve been

professional translators by now.

Possessive

‘s case• It’s God’s will.• It was nobody’s fault.• That is Paul’s briefcase.• That’s the Smiths’ house.• It was Moses’s fate.

Articles

• aA friend told me about you.• anAn apple a day keeps the doctor away.• theThe teacher admonished him for not turning in

his homework on time.

Plural• sFriends are treasures.• esBuses pass by this route every day.• iesThere will be two parties tonight.• man – menA lot of men courted her, but only one man was worthy.• woman – women“A woman must not accept; she must challenge.”“All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy.”• person – people“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”“People need loving the most when they deserve it the least.”