When we write am is are. What does is mean? Construction of a negative sentence

It is with this verb that you need to start learning English grammar. Verbs in English do not change for persons, but the verb to be is an exception. Using this verb, we will learn to compose 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 form without a verb that performs the action, and to be serves as a linking verb. For example, to say “I am a student,” we must insert the desired form of the linking verb to be and, as a result, the sentence will take on the meaning “I am a student” - “I (am) a student.”

Forms of the verb to be in the present tense

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 ones, but forms the same verb:

(We hope our dragon will help you remember this)

Let's look at 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 form of a given verb, you need to put the negative particle “not” after one of the required forms of the verb (am, is or are). Here are some examples of negative sentences:

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

Interrogative form

To form an interrogative form, you need to put the appropriate 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 the English language, let’s first remember at least one Russian verb in its initial form, for example, the verb “to live”. As you know, Russian verbs in the initial form end in “-т”, and later, when conjugated, the ending changes. As for the English language, the verb in its initial form is used together with the particle to, for example, we say to be – would t, find t Xia, i.e. if the particle to precedes the verb, this means that the verb is in the initial form, and when further using the verb with persons, 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 particle to, 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 suit the person of the subject, then the particle to is omitted and the proper form of the verb is used, in this case am.
• Unlike the verb to be, other verbs in English are not conjugated, for example, the verbs “live, sit, love” in the initial form are translated into English “to live, to sit, to love”, i.e. with a particle to, and when conjugated - without to, for example, “I live, sit, love” will be translated into English as “I live, sit, love,” i.e. initial form of a verb in English without a particletonot used, but when conjugatedtofalls. The initial form in English is called the Infinitive - Infinitive.

More about the particle to watch 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.”

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

Verb conjugations tobe in past and future tense

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

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

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

To summarize, consider the following table:

Here are some 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, be carried away by something
• To be busy - to be busy
• To be late (for) - to 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
• To be single - to be single / not married
• To be lucky - to be lucky
• To be ready (for) - to 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 sick / to feel good
• To be angry (with) - to be angry, angry (at someone)

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

What does the particle to mean before verbs? Do you know the answer to this question?

Most people learning English don't even think about it. That's why they make mistakes by using this particle before each verb. When should it be used?

In this article I will answer this question and explain to you when you need to put to before verbs and when not.

What does the particle to mean and when is it used?

In English we use the particle to before the initial (indefinite) form of the verb. The initial form of a verb is a form that does not tell us who will perform the actions and when.

Infinitive verbs answer the question “what to do?” and “what to do?” For example:

(what to do?) to write - write;
(what to do?) to see - to see.

In English we call the infinitive form of a verb infinitive.

How do we understand that we have an infinitive?

In Russian, we understand that we have a verb in the indefinite form at the end TH: skaz t, rice t, call t. In English, the endings of words do not change.

And here it comes to our aid particle to, which serves precisely as an indicator, which in Russian is the ending TH. That is, if we see a particle to before a verb, we can safely say that this verb is in the indefinite form: to say, to paint to call.

If you look at the particle to and pronounce it, you will see that it is VERY similar to Russian TH, but only at the beginning of a sentence.

I want to call my sister.
I want (what to do?) call t to my sister.

I forgot to give him his book.
I forgot (what to do?) yeah t him his book.

I will go to swim tomorrow.
I'll go (what to do?) swim t Tomorrow.

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When do we not put the particle to before infinitive verbs?

There are exceptions to every rule. Let's look at them:

1. When a verb is preceded in an indefinite form by a verb that expresses not an action, but a possibility, necessity, ability.

In English we call such verbs modal: can (can), may (I can), must (must), need(necessary), should(should). After them we do not use the particle to.

I can run fast.
I can run fast.

You must tell me the truth.
You must tell me the truth.

He should be more careful.
He should be more careful.

True, there are several modal verbs that must be used with the particle to: have to (need), oughtto(should).

They have to work hard.
They have to work hard.

She ought to help me.
She must help me.

2. After the verb let (give, let).

Let's me know how you are.
Let me know how you are.

Let's him say.
Let him speak.

3. After the verb make if we use it meaning "to force".

You make I think about it.
He made me think about it.

He makes me smile.
He makes me smile.

4. If in one sentence there are two verbs in the indefinite form and between them there is and or or (or), then we do not put the particle to before the second verb.

I want to sing and dance.
I want to sing and dance.

I don't know to cry or laugh.
I don't know whether to cry or laugh.

The difference between the particle to and the preposition to in English

It is very important not to confuse particle to With preposition to. Even though they sound and spell the same, they are actually two different words.

Particle to we use it with a verb in its initial form.

Preposition to we use with nouns. To this preposition we can ask the question “Where?” Let's look at a few examples.

Particle to

I like (what to do?) to read interesting books.
I like (what to do?) cheat t interesting books.

I want to meet my friends.
I want (what to do?) meet t with my friends.

Preposition to

I go (where?) to the cinema today.
I'll go (where?) V cinema today.

Every day I go to my work.
Every day I go (where?) on work.

Together now

I want (what to do?) to drink the water so I go (where?) to the kitchen.

I want (what to do?) bittern t water, so I went (where?) on kitchen.

When asking a question, we can easily determine whether it is a particle or a preposition.

Summarize

1. We put the particle to before verbs in the initial form (infinitive).

2. There are exceptions when we do not use a particle: after modal verbs (see above), after the verbs let and make, when in a sentence 2 verbs are connected by the preposition and/or (see above).

3. The particle to is used with verbs, and the preposition to is used with nouns. These are different words.

4. How to check whether the to particle should be used or not? To do this, we ask the question “what to do?”, “what to do?”. If these questions sound logical, then we put to before the verb.

Think about it.
(Do what?) Think about it.

I want to think about it.
I want to (do what?) think about it.

I hope now you won’t be confused about where you need to put the to particle and where you shouldn’t. If you have any questions, ask them in the comments below the article.

Reinforcement task

Now let's check how well you understand where the to particle should be placed and where not. Put the verb in brackets into the correct form. Don't forget about exceptions.

For example: “She will go (play) tennis. - She will go to play tennis."

1. My sister can (run) fast.
2. (Look) at this picture.
3. I want (cook) dinner.
4. Let him (help) you.
5. My friend forgot (call) me.
6. She decided (sell) her car.
7. He made me (buy) it.
8. You may (sit down) here.
9. I can (bring) your book.
10. We like (eat) sweets.
11. They should (write) it.
12. She wanted (drink) and (eat).

As always, write your answers in the comments. I'll definitely check them out.

- this is one of the cases when in the Russian language there is no direct, one hundred percent equivalent of the English construction, so its use often causes difficulties for beginners.

Meanwhile, turnover there is \there are is used quite often not only in business or scientific language, but also in ordinary everyday speech. This is one of the constructions that you need to use and understand without the slightest difficulty, fully automatically. Fortunately, its use is not difficult; the most important thing is to understand the meaning of this construction.

The meaning of the construction There is \ There are

Literally there is translates as “is/is present here”, and there are as in “there are/are present” (plural). But it would be more accurate to say that the phrase there + to be is used to denote the presence or presence of something or someone.

For example:

There is an old church in this town. – There is an old church in this city.

There are ten or eleven kids in the classroom. – There are ten or eleven children in the class.

There is always a way out. – There is always a way out.

There are two ways out of this tunnel. – There are two exits from this tunnel.

What is the difficulty of saying There is \ There are?

The difficulty is that, as can be seen in the examples above, this construction is not translated into Russian in some unique correct way - you need to select a translation according to its meaning. The words themselves there is \there are, as a rule, are not translated literally (“there is here”), their meaning is conveyed by other means.

This can be the verb “to be”, “to appear”, “to be present”.

There is a nice pizza place in this mall. - In this shopping center There is good pizzeria.

There is only one player. Where are the others? - Here present only one player. Where are the others?

But in Russian, verbs like “to be” are often omitted.

Good, now there are all four players. Deal the cards. - Okay, here now (There is) all four players. Deal the cards.

What other door? There is only one door. -What other door? Here (There is) only one door.

In general, you need to remember that if you want to say something about presence/absence object or person in some place, then you can often use the phrase there is \ there are.

There is a chair here. – There is an armchair.

There are many mirrors in this house. – There are many mirrors in this house.

Just don’t confuse presence/absence with possession, with the case when we say that a certain person possesses something. In this case, the meaning of the verb (to have) is appropriate:

I have a chair. –I have an armchair.

I have many mirrors in my house. –I have many mirrors in my house.

Using the phrase There is \ There are in tables with examples

The phrase there is \ there are can be used in the affirmative (as in the examples above), negative and interrogative forms. It can also be used in different tenses: present, past and future. The tables below provide examples of the use of there is \ there are in tenses Simple(Indefinite),

This phrase is also used in tenses Perfect(in Continuous and Perfect Continuous is not used), but much less often than in Simple, especially in colloquial speech. Examples are given in the table at the end of this article, however, this topic refers to “advanced”, and the phrases themselves are rarely used, some are practically not used at all, even in written speech.

Affirmative form

In the affirmative form, the phrase there is \ are is used as follows:

There is \there are in the affirmative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Simple	There is There is a shop here. There is a store here.	There are There are four wires. There are four wires here.
Past Simple	There was There was a statue at this place. There was a statue at this place.	There were There were a few coins on the table. There were several coins on the table.
Future Simple	There will be There will be a car in the backyard. There will be a car in the backyard.	There will be There will be two more TV’s in the room. There will be two more TVs in the room.

Sometimes a sentence lists several items, with the first being singular and the second plural (or vice versa). In this case, the turnover there + to be agrees in number with the noun that comes after it.

For example:

There is a small box and two bigger boxes. – There is a small box and two larger boxes.

The noun comes first in the singular, so the verb is also singular – there is.

There are two big boxes and one bag. – There are two large boxes and one bag.

The first in the list is the plural noun, the verb takes the corresponding form - there are.

Negative form

The negative form can be constructed in two ways:

1. Using the particle not.

In this case, abbreviations are usually used: there is not = there isn’t, there was not = there wasn’t, there were not = there werent’, there will not be = there won’t be.

There isn't a chair here. - There is no chair here.

If after not If there is a plural countable noun or an uncountable noun, then the pronoun is added - not any.

There aren't any chairs here. - There are no chairs here.

There isn't any oil here. – There is no oil here.

After no goes a noun without an article or pronoun any.

There is no chair (chairs) in the room. – There is no chair(s) in the room.

There is no oil here. – There is no oil here.

There is a slight stylistic difference between these variants, which is understandable to native speakers. In addition, some set expressions are used either with no, or with not simply because it is so accepted.

There is no point in doing this! – There is no point in doing this!

It is generally believed that negation with not more categorical, but in fact everything depends heavily on the context and situation. In my opinion, no matter how you say it, no or not, you will be understood in any case.

There is \there are in negative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Simple	There is no\isn’t There is no(isn’t a) tool in the box. There is no tool in the box.	There are no aren't There are no(aren’t any) beds in the bedroom. There are no beds in the bedroom.
Past Simple	There was no\wasn’t There was no(wasn’t an) engine in the car. The car had no engine.	There were no wasn't There were no(weren’t any) mistakes in his work There were no mistakes in his work.
Future Simple	There will be no(won't be any) help. There will be no help.	There will be no \ There won’t be any There will be no(won’t be any) corrections. There will be no corrections.

Interrogative form

To construct an interrogative form, you need to move the verb to be to the beginning of the sentence.

There is \there are in interrogative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Simple	Is there..? Is there Anyone there? Is there anyone there?	Are there..? Are there two or three exits? Are there two or three exits?
Past Simple	Was there..? Was there a bottle in the refrigerator? Was there a bottle in the refrigerator?	Were there..? Were there any losses? Were there any losses?
Future Simple	Will there be..? Will there be a new school in the neighborhood? Will there be a new school in the area?	Will there be..? Will there be more guests here? Will there be any more guests here?

Video lesson on the topic There is \ There are

The topic There is \ There are is explained in sufficient detail and very clearly in the video tutorial on Puzzle English. Let me remind you that on this service for learning English you can not only watch free video lessons, but also go through exercises (composing phrases).

Turnover There is \ There are in Perfect tenses (for advanced level)

Attention: This topic is very difficult, advanced and full of nuances. It is by no means for beginners. I provide a general overview of it for informational purposes only.

This phrase is sometimes used in Perfect tenses, although much less often than in Simple tenses, especially in colloquial speech. To complete the picture, I will add a table of the use of there is \ there are in Perfect. It makes sense to study it only if you already know what it is:, and understand the specific features of their meaning.

As in the above types of tense forms, in constructions like There has been we are talking about an action that took place before the moment of speech, the result of which is relevant at the time of speech.

Affirmative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Perfect	There has been There has been fish in the fridge. There was fish in the refrigerator.	There have been There have been some problems lately. There have been some problems lately.
Past Perfect	There had been There had been and wedding that afternoon at the church. In the afternoon there was a wedding in the church.	There had been There had been two weddings that afternoon at the church. During the day there were two weddings in the church.
Future Perfect	There will have been There will have been a lot of money in the safe. There will be a lot of money in the safe.	There will have been There will have been Anna's letters in the mail. There will be letters from Anna in the mail.
Negative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Perfect	There has been no(hasn’t been a) guest here. There was no guest here.	There has been no\hasn’t been There has been no(hasn’t been any) people in my house. There were no people in my house.
Past Perfect	There had been no\hadn’t been There had been no(hadn’t been a) key in the lock. There was no key in the lock.	There had not been There had been no(hadn’t been any) glasses on the table. There were no glasses on the table.
Future Perfect	There will have been no \ There won’t have been There will have been no(won’t have been any) profit in that. There will be no benefit in this.	There will have been \ There will have been no There will have been no(won't have been any) casualies. There will be no casualties.
Interrogative form
	Singular	Plural
Present Perfect	Has there been..? Has there been any progress with this? Is there any progress on this?	Have there been..? Have there been any obstacles? Were there any obstacles?
Past Perfect	Had there been..? Had there been a wall there? Was there a wall?	Had there been..? Had there been any mistakes? Were there any mistakes?
Future Perfect	Will there have been..? Will there have been help? Will there be help?	Will there have been..? Will there have been any new episodes? Will there be new episodes?

Notes:

1. Some of these forms, e.g. Will there have been..? theoretically possible, but in practice they are extremely rare even in written speech.
2. In the negative form, as in the case of Simple tenses, variants can be used no\not.
3. Sentences starting with Had there been... more often they are of the third type, but with a special rearrangement.

• If there had been no rain, we would have died. “If it hadn’t been for the rain, we would have died.”
• Had there been no rain, we would have died. – If it weren’t for the rain, we would have died (the meaning is the same, but there is “strengthening”).

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There are several verbs in the English language that are not very common, and their use is not always clear to people who have just begun to learn the language. One of these verbs is the verb to be, and is, in turn, is one of the forms of this verb. So what does is mean? Is is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb to be. Simply put, we can only use it after the words he (he), she (she), it (it) or words that can be replaced by this pronoun. For example: President, this word can be replaced by the pronoun he, accordingly, after it in English there will be is. But we cannot replace the word clouds with any of these pronouns; only “they” is suitable for it, which is not in this list. Therefore, we can no longer use is after it.

So, the verb to be, and therefore its form is, can be used as:

1. a semantic independent verb, i.e. a verb that carries the meaning of being or existing. For example: He is at home - He is at home. The meaning of the word is is that he IS at home, but in translation into Russian this word is superfluous, and we omit it. Or She is beautiful - She is beautiful (She IS beautiful). The fact is that in Russian a sentence can do without a verb, but in English there must be a verb;
2. auxiliary verb, i.e. a verb that helps form tense forms for other verbs. In such cases, it is not translated at all, but serves as an assistant. For example: She is writing a letter now. - She is writing a letter now. The tense is present continuous. Here it is important to remember how this or that tense is formed, and is itself will also be in the 3rd person, singular, present tense;
3. modal verb, i.e. a verb that does not itself denote any action, but expresses an attitude towards it. It expresses either a planned action or instructions and orders. And always after is in such sentences there is a particle to. In such cases, is is translated as “should,” but with different meanings. Let's look at examples that will explain everything to us. Marry is to arrive on Friday – Mary must arrive on Friday (planned action). The boss says he is to call her, because it is his job - The director says that he should call her because it is his job.

This is what is means... Of course, it cannot be studied separately, because it is closely related to other forms of the verb to be, which can only be understood together. Only when the grammatical material is mastered in the system will it be easy to master it.

In order to learn how to correctly use these common verb forms, you need to understand their origin. And they come from the verb “to be” and are translated into Russian as “to be”, “to exist”, “to be present”, etc.

It is important to know that “to be” is, that is, one of the five hundred verbs whose conjugation does not correspond to the typical paradigms of the English language. Not all, but at least two hundred of them need to be learned.

In the form of the simple past tense (), this verb does not receive the ending ed, as happens with the so-called regular verbs, but is transformed into words that are completely different in sound and spelling - was and were.

Was

In the simple past tense, using the verb “to be” is not accompanied by difficulties, even for a beginner.

• There was a terrible cry. (A terrible scream was heard).

There were, on the contrary, is used when we are talking about something that was present, existed in plural quantities.

Examples:

1. There were thirty of them. (There were thirty of them);
2. There were a lot of books. (There were a lot of books there).

Using was and were in affirmative sentences

In affirmative sentences, these appear, as in all similar cases, always after the noun to which they refer.

Examples:

1. Anna and her children were happy to see me. – Anna and her children were glad to see me;
2. John was there when I came. - John was there when I arrived;
3. Me and my brother were very close friends. - My brother and I were good friends;
4. Reading books was her favorite hobby. - Reading books was her favorite hobby.

There is another interesting construction in English - to be going to do. It means to “intend”, “plan”, “have intentions”, “to intend”, “to undertake” to do something. The use of this construction with the forms was and were in grammar is called .

In what cases it is necessary to use was, and where it is necessary to use were, as in the previous examples, completely depends on the subject. comes first, and always before the verb to be in the appropriate form.

Examples:

1. I was going to bed when someone knocked on the door;
2. He wasn't going to leave home;
3. She was going to write an autobiography.

Using was and were in negative sentences

are formed using the particle not or negative adverbs:

• abbreviation for were not - weren't;
• short for was not - wasn't.

Examples:

1. They weren't very hospitable. – They were not known for their hospitality;
2. He wasn't there when you came. - He wasn't there when you arrived;
3. We weren'tt thirsty enough. “We weren’t particularly thirsty;
4. When the trees were not tall – When the trees were not big;

Using was and were in interrogative sentences

As with any other case, with these forms of the verb to be, they are built by changing the word order. In the first place is either the verb to be in the appropriate form or a question word.

Examples:

1. Was she late for the interview? - Yes, she was. - No, she wasn’t. – Was she late for the interview? - Yes. - No;
2. Who was that man on the left from your wife? -Who was the man to the left of your wife?
3. What was the name of this nice girl? - What was the name of this sweet girl?
4. When were are you in Iceland? - When were you in Iceland?

Theoretical knowledge of grammar in itself is worthless without practical application. Therefore, when reading and watching films in English, you need to write down familiar grammatical forms and structures.

Then, in the future, intending to say a phrase in English, you will not have to conjugate and inflect separately existing members of the sentence separately and assemble them into a single whole.