English Grammar- Am, Is, Are, Was, Were: Patterns and Examples

Book excerpt: This Book Covers The Following Topics: Verb ‘To Be’ Verb ‘To Be’ -- Negative Patterns Verb ‘To Be’ -- Interrogative Patterns 1A. English Grammar – ‘Am’ 1B. AM + -ING Form of Verb 1C. AM + Being + Past Participle 1D. AM + Past Participle 2A. English Grammar – ‘Is’ 2B. IS + -ING Form of Verb 2C. IS + Being + Past Participle 2D. IS + Past Participle 3A. English Grammar – ‘Are’ 3B. ARE + -ING Form of Verb 3C. ARE + Being + Past Participle 3D. ARE + Past Participle 4A. English Grammar – ‘Was’ 4B. WAS + -ING Form of Verb 4C. WAS + Being + Past Participle 4D. WAS + Past Participle 5A. English Grammar – ‘Were’ 5B. WERE + -ING Form of Verb 5C. WERE + Being + Past Participle 5D. WERE + Past Participle Useful Notes (1): Question Tags (2): Short Answers (Ellipsis] (3): Addition to Remarks (4): There Is/Was and There Are/Were (5): Subjunctive Mood – ‘Were’ (6): Be + Going To + Verb Word (7): ‘Used to’ Vs. ‘Be + Used to’ (8): Be + To + Verb Word (9): Be + ‘Being”+ Adjective (10): Mixed Sentences Exercises: 1(A) and 1(B) Exercises: 2(A) to 2(E) Sample This: Verb ‘To Be’ The Verb ‘to be’ is used to represent the following English verbs: ‘Am’, ‘Is’, ‘Are’, ‘Was’, ‘Were’ The verb ‘to be’ is used as both a linking verb and an auxiliary verb. LINKING VERB: A verb that connects a subject with the complement (adjective or noun) that describes it. Example: He is an engineer. [In this sentence, the subject (he) and noun (engineer) are connected by linking the verb ‘is’. There is no main verb in this sentence.] Some more examples: I am happy. [linking verb – am] Is he a good boy? [linking verb – is] We are very proud of ourselves. [linking verb – are] She was intelligent. [linking verb – was] They were not late by half an hour. [linking verb – were] AUXILIARY VERB: A verb that is used with the main verb to show tenses, etc. Example: He is going to the office. [In this sentence, -ing form of the main verb ‘go’ has been used with the auxiliary verb ‘is’. Some more examples: I am studying a book. [auxiliary verb – am | main verb – study (-ing form)] He is working on his project [auxiliary verb – is | main verb – work (-ing form)] We are not expected to tell the secret. [auxiliary verb – are | main verb – expect (past participle form)] She was taught by me. [auxiliary verb – was | main verb – teach (past participle form)] Were they burdened by high taxation [auxiliary verb – were | main verb – burden (past participle form)] IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT THE VERB ‘TO BE’ ‘AM’ – Singular Verb Used In Present Tense Used with Subject ‘I’ ‘IS’ – Singular Verb Used In Present Tense Used with Subject ‘He’ ‘She’, ‘It’ and other Singular Subjects ‘ARE’ – Plural Verb Used In Present Tense Used with Subject ‘We’, ‘You’, ‘They’ and other Plural Subjects ‘WAS’ – Singular Verb Used In Past Tense Used with Subject ‘I’, ‘He’, She’, ‘It’ and other Singular Subjects ‘WERE’ – Plural Verb Used In Past Tense Used with Subject ‘We’, ‘You’ and other Plural Subjects