Page 13 - HIP@SESMA E-bulletin Vol 1

The verb ‘to be’ in the simple present is a verb of state. It is used for facts/truths
Verb construction in the present tense
AFFIRMATIVE: subject + am/are/is + remaining part of sentence.
• I am late for work. You are very friendly. John is tall. Mary is beautiful. It is hot, today. We are
young. These are our friends John and Mary Brown.
NEGATIVE: Subject – am/are/is + not (n’t) + remaining part of sentence.
• I’m not late this morning. You aren’t very friendly. It isn’t hot. Those shoes aren’t yours.
QUESTION: Am/Are/Is + subject + remaining part of sentence.
• Am I late? Yes, you are. Is Mary a student at Birmingham university? Yes, she is.
Are those books John’s? No, they aren’t.
COMBINED WITH A QUESTION WORD: (Interrogative adverbs)
• How tall is John? He is 5’8”. (How + adjective)
• What is he like? (tell me something about his character). He is very kind.
• Who is she? She is my sister. (Who is subject, but with be + noun/pronoun, the standard
interrogative form is used).
• Whose book is this? Whose is this? It’s Mary’s (book). (Whose is the indicator of
possession/subject of the sentence)
• Who are you with? I am with my sister. (Who is object pronoun and uses the standard
interrogative form)

‘Be’ combined with a past participle is used to form the present tense passive voice .

• They are building a hotel in the village. (Present Continuous – this is happening)
A bridge is being built in the village. (someone is building it. The object have become the subject
of the sentence because the bridge is more important than the people building it) – Passive form of the
present Continuous.
• They produce computers in this factory. (Simple present)
Computers are produced in this factory. (Passive form of the simple present)

Simple present of verb ‘have got’

We use ‘have got’ to talk about situations or state. It indicates possession, relationship, qualities or
features. It is considered informal and is not commonly used in written English. Its use is very common in
spoken British English but is less common in American English. It is not usually used in any tense other
than the present. The abbreviated form of ‘have’ is usually used.

AFFIRMATIVE: Subject + have got/has got + remaining part of sentence
• I’ve got two brothers. Mary’s got a headache. We’ve got plenty of time.
The Simpsons have got a new car. John has got/John’s got a bad temper.

NEGATIVE: Subject + haven’t got/hasn’t got + remaining part of sentence
• They haven’t got a big house. John hasn’t got a sister. It hasn’t got a good reputation.
I haven’t got backache. Susan hasn’t got time to wash her car today.

QUESTION: Have/Has + subject + got + remaining part of sentence
• Have you got any brothers or sisters? Yes, I have. I’ve got one brother and two sisters.
Has he got time to help us? No, he hasn’t. Has it got two drawers or three? It’s got two.

All other ‘simple’ verbs used to indicate the present time