8 U N I T 1 l e s s o N a

g R A M M A R F O R S p E A K I N g Simple Present and Past of Be

Be is the most common verb in english and has many forms. Contractions are common when speaking.

Simple Present Contractions

subject + be (not) affirmative Negative

I am (not) from Saudi Arabia. He/She/It is (not) friendly. You/We/They are (not) Japanese.

I’m She’s We’re

I’m not She’s not/She isn’t We’re not/We aren’t

Simple Past Contractions

I/He/She/It was (not) in the room. You/We/They were (not) cold.

He wasn’t You weren’t

A 1.7 Complete the information. Use the simple present or simple past of be. Write contractions when you hear them. Then listen and check your answers.

Speakinga

MEET CHRIS BASHINELLI

there many National Geographic

explorers. this Chris Bashinelli. His

nickname “Bash.” He

born in New York. His parents his

heroes. they taught him to travel and learn about

the world.

In the past, Chris an actor, but he

(not) an actor now. It was fun, but it (not) the job

for him. He wanted to travel and see the world, so he went to tanzania. many people

in tanzania very poor, but they (not) unhappy.

Chris learned that you don’t need to have a lot of money to have a good life.

the trip changed his life. Now he a storyteller. He has a show on

tv (National Geographic Channel). Chris’s show is Bridge the Gap. It

on tv in over 100 countries around the world!

1

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87

11

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5

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are

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