The use of is and are in English. The difference between the particle to and the preposition to in English

When it comes to learning any language and breaking down language barrier, polyglots always highlight their knowledge of verbs. And it’s true: knowing verbs and being able to use them in various forms, you just need to “string” other words on them and you will already have whole sentences. Given this situation, it is not surprising that most of the standard vocabulary A native speaker of Russian, English, Chinese, and another arbitrarily chosen language is precisely this part of speech. But wait, this doesn’t mean that you should immediately start chaotically memorizing any verbs that catch your eye. If this makes any sense, it will be very small. Instead, it is better to analyze in detail those English verbs, which are often and actively used in speech. This is exactly what we will do by studying the verb to be in English language.

The verb to be, which is equivalent to the Russian “to be”, “to appear”, “to be”, is one of the most universal and most commonly used verbs in the English language. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that, unlike other representatives of this part, the verb to be is conjugated, changing in persons and numbers.

In addition, to be can be used as a semantic verb or assisted by another verb, acting as an auxiliary. But let's talk about everything in order.

The verb to be belongs to irregular verbs, therefore it has 3 forms. These forms are formed independently, without being explained by rules, so they simply need to be memorized:

The verb to be in the Past Simple or simple past tense in the number of its forms is reduced to two. Their use again depends on the person and number:

This, however, was not always the case. Previously, the future tense form shall be was used for first person pronouns (I / we). Nowadays you can find it very rarely, so just knowing about its existence is enough. In all cases, use the form will.

Please note that other verbs in English are not conjugated. The fact is that there are no conjugations in this language at all, which greatly simplifies English grammar. The verb to be is an exception to the rule.

Above were the forms of this verb in Simple times. All tense forms of the verb to be can be expressed in the following table:

The verb to be may not be used in all tenses. So, in Perfect Continuous(perfect continuous) the verb to be is not used. It may also be noted that tenses continuous It is not very common to be friends with the verb to be. The use of verbs in continuous forms is possible only in certain situations.

Verb to be in English: sentence forms

Affirmative form

The affirmative form of a sentence with the verb to be is constructed in a standard way: first comes the subject, followed by the verb to be in the required form as a predicate. Study the table:

Negative form

Negative forms of sentences with this verb are formed by adding the negative particle not after to be. No auxiliary verbs are required to use the form:

In both affirmative and negative sentences, the verb to be can be shortened:

There are no shortened forms for the past tense in the statement.

I am not, unlike other verbs, is shortened as I’m not. I amn't is used only in Scotland and Ireland.

Interrogative form

The English question form depends on the type of question:

• In general questions or alternative questions, the verb be in the correct conjugation is placed before the subject. Tables for clarity :

The answer uses only the verb to be:

The answer uses an affirmative sentence:

If you want to use the future form of the verb, then will must be brought forward, while be will remain in its original place:

• IN special issues a question English word is added to the form above:

The answer is used in the affirmative form:

In your answer it is enough to use the verb to be:

• As part of a nominal predicate, which consists of a linking verb (to be) and a nominal part expressed by nouns or adjectives. In this case, the verb is translated into Russian as “is”.

Although " There is” can be used, its presence will seem inappropriate, and the proposal will turn out somehow ugly. Judge for yourself:

The Russian language does not need this verb, so it is not usually used. The English language will not allow this, because English sentences is that they are strictly ordered. In simple terms, if you, for example, are composing a complete affirmative sentence, then it must consistently use a subject and a verb, nothing else. In some way, a similar role to be can be associated with the obsolete “is”, which previously performed exactly the same function in the Russian language.

Verb to be in nominal predicate can also be used to mean "be" in imperative sentences:

1. As an auxiliary verb in Continuous and Perfect Continuous. In this case, the auxiliary verb to be is used with semantic verbs. The verb to be itself is usually not translated in such sentences. Study the examples in the table:

The verb to be can also be used to use the passive voice:

1. Besides the functions mentioned, the verb to be is also used as component in designs:

• to be going to (getting ready);

• there is / are / (there is / exists);

1. The use of the verb is also possible as a modal verb in the meaning of “should”, “agreed”, “agreed” when we are talking about obligations, orders, schedules and plans, the inevitability of events. In this case, to verb the to particle is added:

1. And also when using the verb to be in English in the following constructions:

1. Frequent uses of the verb are also associated with idioms. Here are some of them:

As you can see, the verb to be is very popular and varied, so it can be used in any situation with almost any tense. Once you understand the conjugations of this verb and its role in a sentence, you should not have any difficulty using it. Devote some time English exercises on this topic to reinforce the material, make up your own examples and most importantly - practice the language with native speakers. Because you won't find as much benefit in any exercise as you can get from people who use the language on a daily basis and can help you with any language barriers.

It is advisable to start learning verbs in English by studying the most common verb - verb to be — to be, is, appear.

Below is a table with changes in the verb to be by person (verb conjugation) in the present, past and future tense.

In Russian, the verb “to be” can be omitted in affirmative sentences. For example: “He is at home”, “He is 25 years old”. In English You can't use sentences without a verb. The obligatory presence of a verb is necessary, although it may not be clearly translated into Russian. For example, to say “I am a pilot” in English you need to add the verb be, and as a result the sentence will take on the meaning “I am a pilot” - “I am pilot". Some more examples:

• I am 45 - I am 45 (I am 45)
• I am from Moscow - I am from Moscow (I am from Moscow)
• I am married - I'm married (I am married)
• He is Mark - His name is Mark (He is Mark)

Also in sentences abbreviated forms of the verb to be are used:

• I am = I"m
• He is = He's
• They are = They"re
• He is not = He isn't
• We are not = We aren't

Let's look at another difference between the Russian and English languages. In Russian, affirmative and interrogative sentences can differ only by a question mark at the end of the sentence. For example:

• He is a writer - a statement.
• Is he a writer? - question.

In the structure of speech in Russian interrogative sentence differs from the affirmative by a special interrogative intonation. The English can say a statement with the same intonation as a question. The English get out of this situation by changing the word order in the sentence:

• He is a writer - He is a writer.
• Is he a writer - Is he a writer?

To ask a question you need to swap the subject he and auxiliary verb is(to be).

For negation in Russian the particle “ne” is used, but in English particle "not", which comes after auxiliary verb be.

• He is not at home - He Not Houses.
• They are not enemies - They Not enemies.

To consolidate the forms of the verb to be in different faces and times we conjugate the sentence “I am strong”:

Present tense:

As an independent verb ( to be) is used to denote the age of people, the size of objects, the price of goods, time, weather, characteristics of people.

As an auxiliary verb be used to form continuous tenses and the passive voice (am/is/are/was/were).

Personal verb forms

The further you delve into learning English, the more you begin to appreciate and love your familiar native Russian language. It seems to us that in Russian there are no confusing tenses, no regular/irregular verbs, no articles. Everything is simple and clear. But this, of course, is not true. And the Russian language has its own complex rules and confusing definitions. In this article we will look at the slightly confusing construction there is/are, which is quite unusual because it is at the beginning of a sentence and is usually not translated in any way.

How and when to use there is/there are?

We use this construction when we need to say about location any item. That is, that something (someone) somewhere located. You need to immediately remember that we always put it at first offers. I think you have already guessed that we use there is when we are talking about one subject, and there are- about several.

We will literally translate the first sentence as follows: "There there is (is) book on the shelf". Of course, in Russian it sounds ugly, and no one talks like that in real life. But at the first stage it is important to understand meaning what we say .

This literal translation will help you speak correctly and, most importantly, understand the logic of this construction. But when you say this phrase many times and there is no need to translate it word for word, then you can move on to a beautiful literary translation: There are two books on the shelf.

Order of words in a sentence
with there is/are

Remember to put “there is/ there are” at the beginning when you talk about the location of something. This will help your interlocutor understand from the very beginning that we are talking about finding something somewhere. In such a sentence, each word is in its specific place. Let's look at the word order in a sentence.

Negative form c there is/are

The negative form is formed by adding a particle not. It is used when you want to say that something no/wasn't/won't be anywhere. We can cut there is not = there isn't And there are not = there aren't.

Also with the construction there is/ there are the word is often used no (No). But abbreviations in such phrases are not allowed, because not is a particle that can be abbreviated, and no is a word that cannot be abbreviated.

How to ask questions with there is/are?

The construction of questions with this construction follows the standard rules of the English language. To ask a question, just move the words is/are to the beginning of the sentence, before the word there. Let's look at an example of how to affirmative proposal make a question.

Statement

Question

A positive response will look like this.

At negative answer we add the particle not.

To reinforce this, let's look at another example.

How to ask questions using question words?

With the phrases there is/there are, you can also build sentences using question words. Here are some of them:

• what - what,
• which - which,
• why - why,
• how long - how long,
• when - when.

In such questions, we put these words first, and then the sentence is built as in a simple question.

There is/are in past and future tenses

If you want to talk about something that was or will be somewhere, then for this it is enough to change form of words is/are (verb be). We will look at how this verb changes in great detail in the next article. For now, just remember that to change the tense using the construction there is/are, you need to change the verb.

Since there is/there are is mainly used to say where is this or that object, then you can easily practice using this construction. Take a look around. What do you see? Where are the things you are used to? So, There is...

To be or not to be? That is not the question... The sea deity Proteus of the ancient Greeks could (like the sea) take on any form. What are we talking about?

Moreover, the verb “to be” is known in the world not only as the most vital and always relevant, but also as the most changeable (protean) in the English language, constantly changing and accepting different shapes, sometimes not so noticeable to us.

Considering that it is used so often in English speech It's quite sad that "to be" has to be the most fickle and slippery verb in the language. Let's get to know him better. C"mon!

What is the verb to be and why is it needed?

The verb To Be (am, is, are) is the basis of English grammar. If you misunderstood or understudied this material, then your entire study of the English language will most likely be unsuccessful. Therefore, if you feel that there is a gap somewhere in this material, then it is better to stay longer on this article.

It is this verb that underlies the construction of approximately 30 percent of all English grammatical constructions and is where you should start studying English grammar.

For example, to say "I am a student" we have to insert the required form linking verb “to be” and the sentence will take on the meaning “I am a student." - “I (am) a student.”

We must choose carefully correct form verb for an object, depending on whether it is singular or plural. This is usually easy. We wouldn’t write: “The troops were moving to the border.” Well, where is this good?

However, some proposals require more close attention. For example, how would you write:

The majority of Facebook users are (or is?) upset about the increase in spam.
Most Facebook users are upset about the increase in spam.

In fact, in this sentence everything depends on your accent - if it is focused on users— put “ are", if on group of people— « is».

Plural or singular depends on your choice. If you find it difficult what exactly to focus on, then choose what sounds best to you. It is unlikely that your chosen form of “to be” will upset anyone.

By the way, “majority” is used only with countable nouns: “he ate the majority of cookies", but not "he ate the majority of the pie". instead we will say: “he ate most of the pie."

Translation into Russian of the verb To Be

“To be” is translated as “to be”, “to be”, “to exist”, “to appear” or not translated at all, and can be in Present (am, is, are), Past (was, were) and Future (will ( be)/shall (be)) tenses. The form of the verb depends on who is doing the action.

Unlike the Russian language, in English the linking verb is never omitted, due to the strictly fixed word order:

Rule To Be: subject ( subject) + predicate ( verb) + addition ( object).

• As independent verb(to be, to be, to exist or not translated):

I am at home.
I am at home.
She was at the Institute yesterday.
She was at the institute yesterday.
Not is in New York.
He (be) in New York.

• IN interrogative form of the verb “to be” is placed before subject to and does not require an auxiliary verb to form the interrogative or negative form. The same thing happens in the continuative (durative) form of the verb (Continuous).

Is he in New York?
Is he (to be) in New York?
Was she at the Institute yesterday?
Was she at the institute yesterday?

• Negative the form is formed using the negation " not", which is put after verb "to be".

She was not (wasn't) at the Institute yesterday.
She wasn't at the institute yesterday.
Not is not (isn't) in New York.
He is not (located) in New York.

In colloquial speech, "not" usually merges with "to be", forming abbreviations:

is not = isn't
are not = aren't

The verb "to be" is also shortened with personal pronoun:

I am = I"m
We are = we"re
He is = he's

• As auxiliary verb.

Used to form continuous verb forms ( Continuous) and continuous perfect tenses ( Perfect Continuous).

They are reading a book.
They are reading a book.
He is sleeping now.
He is sleeping now.
We have been working here for 10 years.
We have been working here (for) 10 years.

Auxiliary Verbs, By the way , can also be combined with the basic form of "to be" to form simple answers:

Is Jack in class this morning?
Well, he might be.
Is anyone helping Jack with his homework?
I'm not sure. Jane could be.

“to be” is also used to form the passive voice ( Passive Voice):

Active: Didn't buy a new magazine.
He bought a new magazine.
Passive: A new magazine was bought.
We bought a new magazine.

• As verb-ligaments(to be, to appear).

I am a doctor.
I am a doctor.
Not is a doctor.
He is a doctor.
Her new hat is red. Her new hat is red.

• In the design " there is/there are"(to be, to be).

There is a table in the room.
There (is) a table in the room.

In this sentence " there" is a formal subject. The active subject is the noun that follows the verb "be" (is), i.e. "table".

If this subject is in plural, then the verb “to be” must also be plural.

There are tables in the room.
There (are) tables in the room.

At time change the form of the verb changes to be»:

There was a table in the room.
There was a table in the room.
There were tables in the room.
There were tables in the room.

Translation of sentences with the construction “there is/there are” begins with translation circumstances places.

Negative form:

There is no table in the room. (There isn't a table...).
In the room there is (no) table.
There is no water in the bottle. (There isn't any water in the bottle.)
In a bottle no water.

Interrogative form:

Is there a man in the house?
In the house is there a man?
Are there(any) apples in the greengrocers?
In vegetable Are there any apples in the store?

• “To be” often works in conjunction with others verbs:

He is playing the piano
She will be arriving this afternoon.

• And sometimes “to be” will stand myself By to myself. Especially in simple answers to equally simple questions:

Who's going to the movies with me tonight?
I am.
Who's responsible for this mess?
She is.

Present:
I am to (not to) / We are to (not to) / You are to (not to);
He/she/it is to (not to) / They are to (not to).

Past:
I was to (not to) / We were to (not to) / You were to (not to) You were to (not to);
He/she/it was to (not to) / They were to (not to).

• To be ( Present) is used only With Indefinite Infinitive(indefinite infinitive).

They are to be here.
They should be here.

• "To be" ( Past) used with Indefinite Infinitive(indefinite infinitive) and with Perfect Infinitive(perfect infinitive), which means that the action was not performed:

She was(supposed) to be in the cinema.
She should have been in the movies.

• The modal verb "to be" can be used to express responsibilities, which is based on previous agreements (plan, schedule etc.)

We are to go to the cinema.
We should go to the cinema.

• We also use this modal verb to express order or instructions:

You are to go to school.
You have to go to school.

• We use "to be" if something categorically forbidden V negative form.

Children are not allowed to drink alcohol.
Children are prohibited from drinking alcohol.

• "To be" is used for urgency council or wishes:

You are to drive straight.
Drive straight.

• “To be”, in the passive voice (constructed using the infinitive “to be”) and Past Participle— 3 form irregular verb or adding the ending “- ed" to the correct one), describes opportunity:

She was not to be heard.
It was impossible to hear her.

You were to be heard very good on the concert.
You could be heard very well at the concert.

Conclusion

We have covered all the main important nuances this tricky verb. For the last time, we draw your attention to the fact that when you say a phrase and doubt whether you should put the verb be there, you can always test yourself by asking questions to the sentence: am I who/what, is where, is what?

If in translation the words “is, is, is” give the sentence a logical meaning, then in English such a sentence will be correct.

We hope this article helped you understand the verb to be, which is simple only at first glance. Cheers!

Big and Friendly family EnglishDom

Knowing English opens many doors. That is why it is actively studied in almost all countries of the world. Currently, more than a billion people around the planet use this language on a regular basis. This number includes those for whom English is their native language, as well as those who use it as a foreign language: for contacts with business partners, communication with foreign friends, entertainment various kinds and, in fact, studies. In general, the study of any of foreign languages increases mental activity, logical and abstract thinking, as well as the ability to navigate unexpected situations.

How to Master English Grammar

For many students of English, its grammatical structure poses a certain difficulty. In reality, there is nothing complicated there (especially if you compare, for example, with the Russian language!), it is enough to understand the important patterns once and remember the basic forms well. However, memorization comes through practice: doing exercises, reading, writing letters or essays, oral communication. The best way to master English grammar- do it naturally.

It often happens that a person knows a rule, but cannot apply it in his speech. Such difficulties are eliminated by practice - and the more and more varied it is (writing, reading, speaking, listening), the faster and better the result.

Remember also that each person has his own, purely individual, pace of mastering new knowledge and the ability to apply it in the practice of his own speech. For example, if you are studying in a group where some students master grammatical rules faster and more correctly than you, there is no need to lose heart. you, too, will one day begin to speak English confidently and without mistakes. The main thing is to keep training.

Verb forms “is”/“are”: use in speech

If you have recently started learning English, then you are familiar with this situation: you want to say something, but the fear of making a mistake gets in the way and causes timidity. To avoid this, try to understand the rule and, most importantly, practice the exercises more.

One of the common grammatical difficulties arises when the verb connectives “is”/“are” are confused. The use of data to be depends solely on the person of the pronoun in each specific case. We are talking about a pronoun that functions as a subject. For example:

I am a student. - I am a student.

If the subject is a noun or proper name, then you need to mentally replace it with the appropriate pronoun. Then a conjugation scheme will definitely come to mind, including the connecting verbs “is”/“are”, the use of which often causes difficulties.

Kate (?) a student -> She is a student.

To be sure which form of the verb to use, you need to firmly remember the principle of conjugation.

to be (present tense)

Statement

Negation

Question

Cases such as the use of “is” in English usually refer to descriptive situations. When we want to characterize something that is in singular(can be replaced by the pronoun it), or someone acting as “he” or “she” - then, without a doubt, you need to use the “is” form. Examples:

It is great. - (It is perfectly.

He is old. - He is old.

She is a doctor. - She is a doctor.

The main thing that needs to be firmly understood: “am”, “is”, “are”, the use of which sometimes causes difficulties, are not three different verbs, but one and the same - the verb to be (to be).

Conjugation of the verb to be (past tense)

Now let's stop at next question, which causes difficulties for some English learners, namely the rules for using “was”/“were”. This is also the same verb, and not two different ones at all. Moreover, these two verb forms are directly related to “am”, “is”, “are”. Can you guess why? That's right, it's all the same verb to be.

And now more about these correspondences. The past tense form “was” is used only in the singular and corresponds to the pronouns: I, it, he, she. The form “were” is used with the pronouns you, we, they and is most often used in the plural. For example:

I was at home. - I was at home.

It was hot. - It was hot.

They were happy. - They were happy.

There are only two situations where the predicate verb “were” in a sentence can refer to a singular subject. The first case: when the pronoun “you” implies the translation of “you” or “You” (that is, one person). Second case: the so-called subordinate clauses Conditional sentences in which the form “if I were” is possible.

Have you been to...

In communication between people, situations often arise when you need to ask a person about his past experience: where he was, what he did, whether he finished the job he started. In such cases, a special construction is used from the forms of two verbs: to have + semantic verb.

Often the already well-known “to be” appears. Depending on the subject used (and which pronoun can be replaced), there are two varieties: “have been” and “has been”. The first is used with the pronouns you, we, they, the second - with I, it, he, she. For example:

Have you been to Europe? -Have you been to Europe?

She has been on the excursion. - She was on an excursion.

As a rule, the use of has been is associated with such situations when we mean:

• some lived experience;
• completeness or result of some matter;
• the importance of the fact that the action was performed (while the time of its occurrence is not particularly important);
• the need to emphasize how long this action has been taking place.

Let's look at the last mentioned situation in a little more detail.

How long...?

In such cases, the tense is used. It is formed according to the scheme: have (has) + been + Ving, where V is a semantic verb. For example:

I have been studying English for 3 months. - I have been studying English for 3 months already (that is, I started studying in the past and have continued to do so for a certain period of time).

He hasn’t been riding a bike for a long time. - He hasn’t ridden a bike for a long time (that is, he stopped riding sometime in the past, hasn’t ridden for a long time and still hasn’t ridden a bike).

I am going to do...

In English, in addition to the usual future tense, the construction “to be going to” is actively used. The use of this grammatical construction refers to situations where you are planning or know exactly what you will do. Often this construction is used to predict what (in your opinion) should happen soon: it will rain, there will be a traffic jam on the road, whether someone will like or not like a gift given to them. “Intend”, “get together” - this is how the phrase “to be going to” is most often translated. Its use in a sentence is associated with the change to be to “am”, “is”, “are”.

For example:

I am going to learn English next month. - I intend to learn English starting next month.

We are going to visit granny at the weekend. - We are going to visit grandma this weekend.

It's going to rain. - It's going to rain.

I am used to...

In conclusion, let’s look at the use of “be used to”. This stable construction is used quite often in colloquial speech. Its meaning is “to get used to something.” For example:

It is used to Russian winter. - He is accustomed (used) to the Russian winter.

He is used to living in winter cold. - He is accustomed (used) to living in the winter cold.

However, you need to watch and listen carefully so as not to confuse “be used to” with the very similar construction “use to” (and its corresponding past tense form, “used to”).

What is the difference between these two expressions? Firstly, in the meaning: “be used to” - “get used to”, “use to” - “do something in the past, but now no longer” (analogue Past Simple). This is best understood through examples.

Be used to

I’m used to my work hours. - I'm used to my working day.

He is used to TV noise. - He got used to the noise of the TV.

I used to live here before. - I lived here before (but I don’t live here anymore).

I didn’t use to have a mobile phone 10 years ago. - I did not have mobile phone 10 years ago (but now there is).

From the examples, the second difference between these two, at first glance very similar, structures is also obvious. The one that is translated “get used to” is equipped with the verb to be (am, is, are). And the other one, accordingly, is not. Simple attentiveness, a little practice - and you will easily learn to distinguish between these two “insidious” formulations.

The same applies to any grammar. Understand the essence and practice more often: in exercises, reading, writing or oral communication. As the British say: “Practice makes perfect.” This can be translated into Russian as: “The master’s work is afraid.” So let the most difficult and tricky grammatical rules be afraid of your determination. Have a great time!