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Lesson 4

Simple Sentences with "To Be"

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Hello! Welcome back to your English course.

In our last lesson, you learned the building blocks of English sentences: subject pronouns (I, you, he, etc.) and how to connect them with the verb 'to be' (am, is, are) to make positive statements like "I am a student."

Today, we're going to expand on that. You will learn how to form simple positive and negative sentences. This is a very important skill. It allows you to not only say what is true ("She is a doctor") but also what is not true ("He is not from here"). This is essential for clear communication in everyday conversations.

1. A Quick Review of Positive Sentences

Let's start with a quick reminder of what we learned last time. Positive sentences with 'to be' tell us what something is. The structure is:

Subject + am/is/are + Description

For example:

  • I am a student.
  • She is happy.
  • They are friends.

Remember, in conversation, we often use short forms called contractions (I'm, she's, they're).

To refresh your memory and practice the pronunciation, let's watch a short video.

The verb, "to be" (am, is, are) - Positive and Negative Forms

This video, from Teachers Mark and Matt, gives clear examples of positive sentences. Listen to how the speaker connects the subject and the verb.

Watch from the beginning (00:00) until 01:53. Pay attention to which form of 'to be' (am, is, are) goes with which subject (I, you, he, she, etc.).

2. Making Sentences Negative with 'Not'

Now, what if you want to say that something is not true? It's very simple. You just add the word not after the verb am, is, or are.

The structure is:

Subject + am/is/are + not + Description

Let's look at our examples again, but this time make them negative:

  • I am not a teacher.
  • She is not sad.
  • They are not enemies.

This next part of the video explains this simple rule.

The verb, "to be" (am, is, are) - Positive and Negative Forms

The video continues by explaining how to make sentences negative by adding 'not'. It also introduces the negative contractions we will look at next.

Watch from 01:53 to 03:30. Notice where the word 'not' is placed in each sentence.

3. Using Negative Contractions

Just like with positive sentences, we use contractions to speak more naturally and quickly. For negative sentences, there are two common types of contractions.

Let's look at the rules in a clear table format from a helpful grammar website.

To Be in Present Tense

This webpage from Grammar.cl provides very clear tables that show how to form negative sentences and their contractions. It is a great reference.

First, find the heading 'To Be - Negative Sentences' and look at the table of examples. Then, read the next section, 'To Be - Negative Contractions', to see the two ways to make short forms.

As you saw in the resource, here is a summary of the negative contractions:

Full Form Contraction 1 (subject + verb) Contraction 2 (verb + not)
He is not He's not happy. He isn't happy.
She is not She's not a doctor. She isn't a doctor.
It is not It's not cold. It isn't cold.
You are not You're not late. You aren't late.
We are not We're not tired. We aren't tired.
They are not They're not from here. They aren't from here.

Both contraction types are correct and very common. You can choose which one you prefer to use.

Important Note: For I am not, there is only one contraction:

  • I am not → I'm not. (I amn't is not correct English).
Test your understanding!

Change these positive sentences into negative sentences. Try to use a contraction (isn't or aren't).

  1. He is my brother.
  2. We are from the same city.
  3. She is a student.
  4. They are at home.
Show answer
  1. He isn't my brother. (or He's not my brother.)
  2. We aren't from the same city. (or We're not from the same city.)
  3. She isn't a student. (or She's not a student.)
  4. They aren't at home. (or They're not at home.)

4. Practice in a Conversation

Now you know how to make both positive and negative sentences. This is perfect for introducing yourself and giving basic information, which is key to your goal of making friends.

For example, you can say:

  • "My name is Ahmed. I am from Egypt. I am not from Turkey."
  • "This is my friend, Maria. She is a student. She is not a teacher."

The final part of the video you watched shows a great example of how to use these sentences to introduce yourself.

The verb, "to be" (am, is, are) - Positive and Negative Forms

Let's watch the last part of the video. The speaker gives a short self-introduction using the grammar we have just practiced. This is a perfect model for you.

Watch from 03:30 to the end (04:38). Listen to how the speaker introduces himself. Try to make similar sentences about yourself: 'My name is... I am from... I am a...'.

Conclusion

Great job today! You have now mastered how to make both positive and negative statements, which is a huge step in learning to have conversations.

Here are the key takeaways from our lesson:

  • To make a positive sentence, use: Subject + am/is/are + ... (e.g., "You are right.")
  • To make a negative sentence, add not: Subject + am/is/are + not + ... (e.g., "You are not wrong.")
  • In conversation, use contractions to sound more natural. For negatives, you can often choose between two forms, like He's not or He isn't.
  • Remember the special form for "I": I'm not.

In our next lesson, we will learn how to talk about things that belong to us and other people. We will study possessive adjectives like my, your, his, and her, so you can say things like "My name is..." and ask "What is your name?". See you then