Basic English grammar
TO BE : ETRE
Positive Negative Questions
I am ’m am not ’m not Am I ?
You are ’re are not aren’t Are you ?
He, she, it is ’s is not isn’t Is he, she, it ?
we are ’re are not aren’t Are we ?
you are ’re are not aren’t Are you ?
they are ’re are not aren’t Are they ?
Yes/No questions - be (am, are, is)
Subject and verb change their position in statement and question.
statement You are from Germany.
1
question Are you from Germany?
We always use the short answer, not only "Yes" or "No".
If the answer is "Yes", we always use the long form.
Example: Yes, I am.
If the answer is "No", we either use the long or the contrated form (short form).
Example: No, I am not - No, I'm not.
Yes, I am.
Are you from Germany? am not.
No, I
'm not.
Is he your friend? Yes, he is.
Are Peter and John from England? Yes, they are.
Questions with question words - be (am, are, is)
Question word Verb Rest Answer
Where are you from? I'm from Stuttgart.
What is your name? My name is Peter.
How are Pat and Sue? They're fine.
TO HAVE : AVOIR, posséder
Positive Negative Questions
I have got ( ’ve got) haven’t got have I got ?
You have got ( ’ve got) haven’t got have you got ?
He, she, it has got ( ’s got) hasn’t got has he, she, it got ?
we have got ( ’ve got) haven’t got have we got ?
you have got ( ’ve got) haven’t got have you got ?
they have got ( ’ve got) haven’t got have they got ?
Has Mary got a car? Yes, she has.
Has she got an American car? No, she hasn’t. She has got a Seat. 2
Form of the Simple Present
We use the infinitive of the verb. In the 3rd person Singular (he, she, it - or a name) we put
an -s to the end of the infinitive.
infinitive - 3rd person Singular (he, she, it) infinitive + -s
Affirmative sentences:
I/we/you/they play football.
He/she/it plays football.
Negative sentences:
We use the auxiliary do.
I/we/you/they do not play football.
He/she/it does not play football. 3
NOTE: We often use short forms in negative sentences in the Simple Present:
I/we/you/they don't play football.
He/she/it doesn't play football.
Questions:
Do I/we/you/they play football?
Does he/she/it play football?
Simple Present - Spelling
Be careful with some words when using the 3rd person singular.
1) verbs ending in a sibilant [s] [z] [ʃ] [ʒ] [ʧ] [ʤ] or verbs ending in -o preceded by a
consonant
We add -es to the infinitive.
Examples:
I watch - he watches
I pass - he passes
I go - he goes
I do - he does
2) verbs ending in -y
verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u): Add -s.
Example:
I play - he plays
verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant: Change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'.
Example:
I hurry - he hurries
Special verbs in the Simple Present
1) have as a full verb
affirmative sentence negative sentence question
I, we, you, they:
I have breakfast. I do not have breakfast. Do I have breakfast? 4
he, she, it:
He has a shower in the morning. He does not have a shower. Does he have a shower?
2) be as a full verb
affirmative sentence negative sentence question
I am from Britain. I am not from Britain. Am I from Britain?
he, she, it:
He is from Britain. He is not from Britain. Is he from Britain?
we, you, they:
We are from Britain. We are not from Britain. Are we from Britain?
We often use the short forms with this verb.
3) do as a full verb
affirmative sentence negative sentence question
I, we, you, they:
I do an exercise. I do not do an exercise. Do I do an exercise?
he, she, it:
He does an exercise. He does not do an exercise. Does he do an exercise?
4) modal auxiliaries can, could, may, must, need, will etc.
affirmative sentence negative sentence question
every time (I, he, she, it, we, you, they):
I can play tennis. I cannot play tennis. Can I play tennis?
NOTE:
We can substitute don't (can't) for do not (cannot).
Modals have the same form every time regardless the subject. We do not add an -s to the
infinitive
