Page 27 - BB_Textbook
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They are teenagers. They are books. We are teenagers. You are a teenager. You are teenagers.
Basic Sentence Pattern using the verb “to be”
SUBJECT + BE + NOUN (a) I am a teenager.
A noun or pronoun that begins a sentence is the “subject” of a sentence. All the sentences above with the pictures have a subject pronoun.
In all these sentences, “be” is the verb. In English, almost all sentences have a subject and a verb.
Sentence patterns that use subject + be (verb) are completed in three ways:
with a noun as in sentence (a)
with an adjective as in sentences (b) and (c)
with an expression of place as in (d), (e) and (f). In sentence (d), the place is one word: here. In sentences (e) and (f), the place is expressed with a preposition: in and from.
SUBJECT
(b) We (c) She
+
BE + are
is
ADJECTIVE
young. shy.
(d) (e) (f)
SUBJECT
You They I
+ BE are
are am
+
A PLACE
here.
in class. from Can Tho.
What is a Sentence?
How many years have you studied English? Of course, you know what a sentence is. You have spoken in English sentences, you have studied the grammar of English sentences, and you have written English sentences. A sentence is where we must now begin.
A sentence is a grammatical unit that has at least a subject and a verb: I write. The bird sings.
A sentence in English begins with a CAPITAL letter. It ends with a period (.), or a question mark (?), or an exclamation mark (!).
We communicate in sentences. When we have something to communicate, we say or write a sentence. When we want to understand communication, we hear or read a sentence. When we say something to communicate, we make sentences. When we listen to someone speak, we understand the communication by decoding sentences. When we write to communicate, we construct sentences. When we read, we de-construct sentences to get the meaning.
BENDING BAMBOO IDENTITY | CHAPTER 1 27