<level3 class="lesson" id="xyz">
<pagenum page="normal" id="p112">112</pagenum>
<p>Unit 3: Verbs</p>
<h3 id="xyz">Grammar/Usage<br />
7. The Special Verb <em>be</em></h3>
<level4 class="activity" id="xyz">
<h4 id="xyz">One-Minute Warm-Up</h4>
<p id="xyz">How many sentences can you make out of the two lists of words below?</p>
<dl>
<dt>List 1</dt> <dd>Father, bumpy, good, we, the, car, it, my, excited, a, bored children, rainy, I, summer, road, baby</dd>
<dt>List 2</dt> <dd>is, are, was, am, were</dd>
</dl>
<ul>
<li>- The verbs <em>am</em>, <em>is</em>, <em>are</em>, <em>was</em>, and <em>were</em> are forms of the verb <em>be</em>. They do not show action. They tell what someone or something is or was.</li>
<li>- <em>Am</em>, <em>is</em>, and <em>are</em> show present time. <em>Was</em> and <em>were</em> show past time.</li>
</ul>
<table id="xyz">
<tbody>
<tr><td>I am sleepy now.</td><td> I was tired last night.</td></tr>
<tr><td>Today we are in Maine.</td><td>Friday we were in Vermont.</td></tr>
<tr><td>It is a four-hour drive.</td><td>It was a long trip.</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table id="xyz">
<thead>
<tr><th>Subject</th><th>Present</th><th>Past</th></tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>I</td> <td>am</td> <td>was</td></tr>
<tr><td>you</td> <td>are</td> <td>were</td></tr>
<tr><td>he, she, it</td> <td>is</td><td>was</td></tr>
<tr><td>singular noun (John)</td> <td>is</td><td>was</td></tr>
<tr><td>we, they</td> <td>are</td><td>were</td></tr>
<tr><td>plural noun (dogs)</td><td>are</td><td>were</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</level4>
<level4 class="activity" id"xyz">
<h4 id="xyz">Try it Out</h4>
<p id="xyz"><strong>Speak Up</strong> Choose the correct verb for each sentence. Does the verb show present time or past time?
<ol id="xyz">
<li>1. The porch light (was, were) on.</li>
<li>2. I (is, am) in the front seat of the car.</li>
<li>3. My brothers (is, are) in the back.</li>
<li>4. We (was, were) ready for our vacation.</li>
</ol>
</p>
</level4>