LESSON 1: STATES OF VERB, VERB ‘TO BE’ and ITS 12 TENSES
Time: 50 minutes
Introduction
Time: 10 minutes
Introduction/ brainstorming
Presentation and Practice
Time: 40 minutes
States of Verb
Verb has got five different states:
a. Infinitive:
It means, originally form where a verb comes. It has ‘to’ with it.
b. Base:
It is simple form of verb. When we omit ‘to’ from infinitive, the remaining part
is called base.
c. Present:
It means present form.
d. Past:
It refers to something that is gone or that is done before.
e. Past participle:
It is the third form of verb.
Infinitive Base Present Past Past participle
1. To be be am, is, are was, were been
2. To go go go went gone
3. To come come come came come
4. To do do do did done
5. To teach teach teach taught taught
Verb doesn’t have a future form. It borrows the future form from a family. ‘Will’ came to
help him while setting two condition:
i. ‘will’ always takes a base form with it but it will be written before the base form.
ii. ‘will’ is used only in future tenses.
Let’s look at the dialogue between Sophia and Maria.
Sophia: I am Sophia Khan. Are you Maria Arshad?
Maria: Yes, I am. Are you Pakistani?
Sophia: No, I am Indian. Are you from Pakistan?
Maria: Yes, I am. Are you from New Delhi?
Sophia: No, I am from Calcutta. And you?
Maria: I am from Islamabad. Is Calcutta a big city?
Sophia: Yes, it is. What about Islamabad?
Maria: Islamabad is not big enough; it’s a peaceful city.
Sophia: That’s great.
Verb ‘to be’
Verb ‘to be’ in English basically refers to ‘is, am, are, was, were, and been.’
In Present Tenses
With singular pronouns and subjects i.e. he, she, it and any singular name, ‘is’ will be
used; while ‘I’ being a singular pronoun takes ‘am’. On the other hand, plural
pronouns and subjects i.e. you, we, they and more than one name, always take ‘are’
with them. For example,
I am an engineer.
He is a graduate.
She is my friend.
Taliha is their daughter.
We are from America.
You are a hypocrite.
They are my neighbours.
Haris and Umer are best friends.
In order to make negative, we put ‘not’ after the verb ‘to be’. For example,
I am not an engineer. (aren’t)
He is not a graduate. (isn’t)
We are not from America. (aren’t)
Haris and Umer are not best friends.
For making questions, we bring the verb at the beginning and rest of the sentence will
remain same. For example,
Is she my friend?
Are you a hypocrite?
Are they my neighbours?
In Past Tenses
In past tenses, singular pronouns and ‘I’ take ‘was’ and plural pronouns take ‘were’
with them. For example,
I was ready.
He was my school mate.
She was ten years old.
Laiba was afraid of snakes.
We were on the boat.
You were very rude then.
They were safe there.
Sidra and Mehreen were homesick.
In order to make negative, again, put ‘not’ after the verb ‘to be’. For example,
I was not ready. (wasn’t)
She was not ten years old.
We were not on the boat. (weren’t)
They were not safe there.
For making questions, bring the verb at the beginning. (do not forget to put question
mark at the end)
Was he my school mate?
Was Laiba afraid of snakes?
Were you very rude then?
Were sidra and Mehreen homesick?
12 Tenses of ‘to be’
1. Indefinite (to be)
Subject Verb Object
Present I am in the class.
Past I was in the class.
Future I’ll be in the class.
2. Progressive (to be + verb+ ‘-ing’)
Subject Verb Object
Present I am being in the class.
Past I was being in the class.
Future I’ll be being in the class.
3. Perfect (to have + verb past participle)
Subject Verb Object
Present I have been in the class.
Past I had been in the class.
Future I’ll have been in the class.
4. Perfect Progressive (to have + to be (3rd form) + verb + ‘-ing’)
Subject Verb Object
Present I Have been being In the class.
Past I Had been being In the class.
Future I’ll Have been being In the class.
Activity 1
be – am, is, are
A. Complete the sentences with the verb ‘to be’.
1. Where ____ you from?
2. ' _____ you from London?' 'Yes, I ____.'
3. 'How old _____ you?' 'I _____ 15.’
4. '____ your sisters married?' 'No, they _______.’
5. I like you. You ______ my friend.
6. Azam _______ from Germany; he is from Switzerland.
7. ‘_______ your mother a doctor?’ ‘No, she ______.’
8. I _______ American. I am Pakistani.
be – was, were
B. Answer these questions.
1. Were trees green or grey?
____________________________________________
2. Was it an English or French dictionary? (English)
_____________________________
3. Was it a butterfly or a bee? (bee)
___________________________________________
4. Were clouds brown or white?
_____________________________________________
5. Were you going alone? (yes)
______________________________________________
Activity 2
Build up sentences. (plus ‘+’ shows positive sentences and minus ‘- ‘shows negative
sentences)
1. Saman / drummer (-) Saman isn’t a drummer.
2. Hashim / policeman (+) _______________________________
3. Taha and Huzaifa / singers (-) _______________________________
4. Joey and Lucky / puppies (+) _______________________________
5. Islamabad, Rome, London / cities (+) _______________________________
Activity 3
Change the sentences into negatives and interrogatives.
1. I am an engineer.
a. I am not an engineer.
b. Am I an engineer?
2. Noshaba is a pretty girl.
a. _____________________
b. _____________________
3. We are good friends.
a. _____________________
b. _____________________
4. You and Usama are partners in business.
a. _____________________
b. _____________________
5. Simran and I are good swimmers.
a. _____________________
b. _____________________
Answer key
Activity 1
A. 1. Where are you from?
2. ‘Are you from London?’ ‘Yes, I am.’
3. ‘How old are you?’ ‘I am 15.’
4. ‘Are your sisters married?’ ‘No, they aren’t.’
5. I like you. You are my friend.
6. Azam isn’t from Germany; he’s from Switzerland.
7. ‘Is your mother a doctor?’ ‘No, she isn’t.’
8. I am not American. I am Pakistani.
B. 1. Trees were green.
2. It was an English dictionary.
3. It was a bee.
4. Clouds were white.
5. Yes, I was going alone.
Activity 2
1. Saman isn’t a drummer.
2. Hashim is a policeman.
3. Taha and Huzaifa aren’t singers.
4. Joey and Lucky are puppies.
5. Islamabad, Rome and London are cities.
Activity 3
1. (a) I am not an engineer.
(b) Am I an engineer?
2. (a) Noshaba isn’t a pretty girl.
(b) Is Noshaba a pretty girl?
3. (a) We aren’t good friends.
(b) Are we good friends?
4. (a) You and Usama aren’t partners in business.
(b) Are you and Usama partners in business?
5. (a) Simran and I aren’t good swimmers.
(b) Are I and Simran good swimmers?
