VERB TO BE AFFIRMATIVE, NEGATIVE,INTERROGATIVE AND WH-QUESTION

 VERB TO BE 

The verb "to be" in English. (to be / to be) is one of the most commonly used verbs in English and it is an irregular verb, so it is important to know well how it is conjugated and when it is used. In this article we will review some of the most common conjugations of to be, and we will see in which contexts it is used.

Verb to be affirmative

To be is an irregular verb and, in the affirmative form, it has this structure: Subject + to be + complement. 

Subject               To be          Short form     

      I                       am                   I'm 

   YOU                   are                 You're 

    HE                      is                    He's 

   SHE                     is                   She's 

     IT                       is                     It's 

   WE                     are                  We're

  YOU                    are                  You're 

 THEY                   are                 They're 

*The short form is used in spoken language or in informal     writing.

We use to be as a linking verb between other classes of words, it gives us more details about the condition of the subject.

To be is used with: 

1. Nouns 

2. Adjectives 

3. Prepositional phrases or complements 

 Example

Nouns: 

1) I am a student.

2) He is a lawyer.

3) We are doctors.

Adjectives:

1) I am tall.

2) He is polite.

3) Many people are happy.

To be, in its affirmative form, confirms characteristics of the subject, for example: age, behaviour, colour, jobs, nationality, personality, place, price, qualities, size, time, etc

 

In the negative form: The verb is conjugated normally obeying the rule of agreement.

Subject                  Negative                Short form

   I                            I am not                  I am not

YOU                      You are not              You aren't      

  HE                        He is not                   He isn't

SHE                       She is not                 She isn't

  IT                            It is not                     It isn't

 WE                        We are not               We aren't

 YOU                      You are not              You aren't

THEY                    They are not            They aren't 

Example

1.I am not busy.

2.We are not hungry

3.You are not tired

4.My mother is not lazy.

5.The children are not tired.

EXERCISES    

In the interrogative form: In its interrogative form, it asks for the characteristics of the subject and is placed before it (the sentence ends with a question mark).

This structure: to be + subject + complement + ?

To be            Subject           Question mark

Am                      I                         ...?

Are                    You                      ...?

 Is                       He                      ...?

 Is                      She                     ...?

 Is                        It                       ...?

Are                    You                      ...?

Are                     We                     ...?

Are                    They                   ...?

To be is used with:

Nouns

1) Am I student?

2) Is he lawyer?

3) Are we doctors?

Adjectives

1) Am I tall? 

2) Is he polite?

3) Are many people happy?

Prepositional phrases 

1) Is my book on the bed?

2) Is Harry Potter on the T.V?

3) Are the eggs in the box?

EXERCISE 
Wh- question 

WH-Question Words are interrogative particles that we use to ask questions in English. They tend to cause a lot of confusion for beginners as they are written very similarly. Who-Whose-What-Which-Where-When-Why-How Who- it is used to ask about someone and means "who" or "who".
Who ate the cake? - ¿Quien se comio la tarta?
Who did you see yesterday? - ¿A quien viste ayer?
Who were those men you were with? - ¿Quienes eran esos hombres con los que estabas?

Whose-
it is used to express possession in the form of a question and means "of whom" or "of whom".
Whose jacket is this? -¿De quién es esta chaqueta?
Whose jackets are these? - ¿De quienes son esas chaquetas?
What- Is used to ask about something and means "Que" "Cuàl" "Cuales".

What did you say?- ¿Qué has dicho?

What is the capital of Argentina?- ¿Cuál es la capital de Argentina?

Which- 

It is often confused with what since it also means " Qué" o "Cuál". The difference is that which is used to ask about something when there are several options. There are four jackets. Which is yours? Hay cuatro chaquetas. ¿Cuál es la tuya?) (cuál de las cuatro)

We can take bus 10, 20 or 25. Which goes to the city centre? Podemos coger el autobús número 10, 20 o 25. ¿Cuál de ellos va al centro?

EXERCISES