Positive and Negative Forms

I	am	from Russia	I’ m = I am
He/She/It	is	He ’s /She ’s /It ’s = He/She/It is
We You They	are	We ’re = We are You ’re = You are They ’re = They are

I	am	not	from Russia	I’ mnot = I am not
He/She/It	is	He/She/It isn’t = He/She/It is not
We You They	are	We aren’t = We are not You aren’t = You are not They aren’t = They are not

NOTE: Look at the negative forms: She isn’t married. You aren’t British.

BUT: I ’m not a schoolboy.

Exercise 1. Write the short form (she’s/ we aren’t, etc.).

1. He is	4. I am not
2. They are	5. It is
3. She is not	6. You are not

Exercise 2. Write the full form (she is/ we are not, etc.).

 

1. We aren’t	4. They aren’t
2. I’m	5. It isn’t
3. You’re	6. She’s

Exercise 3. Put in am/am not/is/isn’t/are/aren’t.

1. I ___ from Russia.
2. Debbie and Mark ___ British. They ___ German.
3. My friends ___ interested in computers.
4. His parents ___ around 40.
5. How old ___ you? I ___ 18.
6. London ___ situated on the river Evans. It ___ situated on the river Thames.
7. I ___ keen on sports. But I ___ rather good at basketball.
8. Her name ___ Jane. It ___ Helen.

Exercise 4. Write true sentences, positive or negative. Use am/am not/is/isn’t/are/aren’t.

1. I/keen on Biology.
2. Rome/in Spain.
3. We/Russian.
4. Football/a popular sport in Britain.
5. The “Beatles” and “Deep Purple” famous British groups.
6. American English/different from British English.
7. My hobbies/art and music.

 

General questions

Am	I	a student?	—Yes, I am. / No, I am not.
Is	he/she/it	a student?	—Yes, he/she/it is. / No, he/she/it isn’t.
Are	we you they	students?	—Yes, we are. / No, we aren’t. —Yes, you are. / No, you aren’t. —Yes, they are. / No, they aren’t.

Exercise 5. Make general questions with these words. Give short answers.

1. your mother/at work?

2. her children/at home?

3. he/from Italy?

4. I/good at English?

5. you/interested in books?

6. I/right?

7. this subject/difficult?

Exercise 6. Give short answers (Yes, I am/No, he isn’t, etc.).

1. Are your parents old?
2. Are all your school friends students now?
3. Is English difficult?
4. Is your home town small?
5. Are you interested in music?
6. Is your friend good at languages?

Alternative questions

Am	I	your friend	or	not?	—Yes, you are/No, you aren’t.
Is	he/she	Spanish	or	Italian?	—He/She is Italian.
it	difficult	or	easy?	— It’s difficult.
Are	we	in the city centre	or	on the outskirts?	— You are on the outskirts.
you	a student	or	a schoolboy?	— I’m a student.
they	at home	or	at work?	—They are at work.

 

Exercise 7. Ask alternative questions with the following words. Give answers.

Example: You/a student/a schoolboy? — Are you a student or a schoolboy? — I’m a student.

 

1. He/ in Moscow /in Kiev?
2. Alan and Henry/ students /teachers?
3. Your new friends/ sociable /not?
4. His daughter/17/ 18?
5. Your parents/old/ young?
6. Russia/ a big /a small country?
7. They/ designers /artists?