Verbo Essere (TO BE)
L'argomento grammaticale affrontato in questa pagina è il Verbo Essere (in inglese TO BE), in particolare di questo verbo:
- come si costruisce una frase affermativa, negativa, interrogativa e interrogativa-negativa - il presente semplice (Simple Present)
- il passato semplice (Simple Past) - le risposte brevi (Short Answers) - il participio passato (Past Participle) - alcune espressioni idiomatiche
Forme Affermativa, Negativa e Interrogativa
AFFERMATIVA:Soggetto + TO BE
Es: (Present): Mark is American (Mark è americano) Es: (Past): They were here (Loro sono stati qui) NEGATIVA:Soggetto + TO BE + NOT
Es: (Present): Mark is not American (Mark non è americano) Es: (Past): They were not here (Non sono stati qui)
INTERROGATIVA:TO BE + Soggetto
Es: (Present): Is Mark American? (Mark è americano?) Es: (Past): Were they here? (Sono stati qui?)
INTERROGATIVA-NEGATIVA:TO BE + NOT + Soggetto Es: (Present): Isn't Mark American? (Mark non è americano?) Es: (Past): Weren't they here? (Non sono stati qui?)
S. Present: affermativa S. Present: interrogativa
Soggetto TO BE Contratta Sogg TO BE NOT Contratta
I am I'm I am not I'm not you are you're You are not You’re not
he is he's He is not He’s not she is she's She is not She’s not it is it's It is not It’s not we are we're We are not We’re not you are you're You are not You’re not they are they're They are not They’re not
S. Present: interrogativa
TO BE Soggetto
am I
are you
is he
is she
is it
are we
are you are they
Le forme estese sono usate prevalentemente nella lingua scritta e hanno un'accezione più formale rispetto alle forme contratte, che sono usate nella lingua parlata corrente. La forma contratta della prima persona singolare della forma interrogativa-negativa aren't I...? è usata nella lingua parlata.
S. Past: affermativa S. Past: negativa
Soggetto TO BE Sogg TO BE NOT Contratta I was I was not I wasn't you were you were not you weren't he was he was not he wasn't she was she was not she wasn't it was It was not it wasn't we were We were not We weren’t you were You were not You weren’t they were They were not They weren’t
S. Past: interrogativa
TO BE Soggetto
was I ? were you ? was he ? was she ? was it ? were we ? were you ? were they ?
Risposte Brevi + Participio Passato
Nelle risposte brevi (Short Answers) dopo YES o NO si usa sempre il pronome personale e nelle negazioni si usa la forma contratta.
Esempi:
- Are you English? (Sei inglese?) - Yes, I am. / No, I'm not. (Sì / No)
- Is Sheila nice? (E' carina/simpatica Sheila?) - Yes, she is. / No, she isn't. (Sì / No) - Are you tired? (Siete stanchi?) - Yes, we are./ No, we aren't. (Sì / No)
- Were you in London last year? (Sei stato a Londra l'anno scorso?) - Yes, I was. / No, I wasn't. (Sì / No) - Was Rudy at home? (Era a casa Rudy?) - Yes, he was. / No, he wasn't. (Sì / No)
- Were you tired? (Eravate stanchi?) - Yes, we were./ No, we weren't. (Sì / No)
Il Participio Passato (Past Participle) del verbo essere è been (“stato”).
Esempio: I have been to London this week (Sono stato a Londra questa settimana).
Espressioni Idiomatiche
Il verbo To Be traduce in inglese il verbo italiano "Essere", tuttavia vi sono dei casi in cui le frasi con il verbo To Be corrispondono ad espressioni italiane con il verbo "Avere" ovvero quando il verbo "Avere" non viene utilizzato per indicare possesso bensì uno stato o una condizione.
Esempi:
Ho 37 anni. = I am 37 (years old) Ho fame = I am hungry
Ho freddo = I am cold Ho caldo = I am hot / warm Ho ragione = I am right Ho torto = I am wrong Ho sonno = I am sleepy Ho paura = I am scared Ho fretta = I am in a hurry
Avere ragione / torto = to be right / to be wrong He’s right / He’s wrong (ha ragione / ha torto) Avere vergogna = to be ashamed He isn’t ashamed (non ha vergogna)
Esprimere lo stato di salute: how are you? I’m very well, thanks (come stai? Sto molto bene, grazie)
Esprimere provenienza: Where are you from? What is your nationality? I’m from Canada (da dove vieni?
Sono del Canada)
Esprimere la distanza: How far is the station? It’s about two kilometres (Quanto è lontana la stazione? E’ a circa due chilometri)
esoprimere il prezzo: How much are the pears? They’re 2,00 € a kilo (Quanto costano le pere? Sono 2 euro al chilo)
Esercizi
Inserisci la voce del verbo TO BE al Presente Semplice (puoi usare anche le forme contratte) Hi, my name…...Patrick. I…….from Dublin. Do you know where Dublin…….? It…….in Ireland.
I've got a brother, his name…….Louis. We…….teachers at a high school. My hobbies…...tennis and swimming.
I…….27. I've got a dog, his name…...Droopy. It…...a fox terrier.
Trasforma le frasi dalla forma affermativa a quella interrogativa 1) Mr Crowe is an actor
2) They are your parents 3) This is an American book 4) You are from Rome
5) There are five eggs in the fridge
Scrivi la domanda adeguata alla risposta data, utilizzando lo stesso verbo della domanda nello stesso tempo e gli interrogativi tra parentesi
1) Her name is Lucy. (What)
2) We are at school in the evening. (When) 3) He is a doctor. (What)
4) She is 30. (How)
5) I'm from Milan. (Where)
Scegli la forma corretta del Simple Past di TO BE
1) _____ your sister at work yesterday?
Were Was Weren't
2) We _____ with Mark last night, because he _____ well.
wasn't - weren't weren't – wasn't was – were
3) _____ the train on time?
Were Was Weren't
4) I _____ at school last Monday because I _____ ill.
wasn't - was was - was were – were
5) It _____ very cold last winter.
was weren't were
