Hvad er det?
Verbet to be bruges til at beskrive personer, ting, steder, følelser, aldre, job og situationer.
Nutidsformerne er:
- am
- is
- are
Brug am med I.
- I am tired.
Brug is med he, she og it.
- He is at home.
- She is a teacher.
- It is cold.
Brug are med you, we og they.
- You are ready.
- We are friends.
- They are busy.
Hvornår bruges det
Brug to be til at tale om:
- identitet: I am Daniel.
- job: She is a nurse.
- alder: He is twenty years old.
- følelser: We are happy.
- beskrivelser: The room is small.
- steder: They are at work.
- nationalitet: She is Canadian.
- vejr og tid: It is cold. It is six o’clock.
Brug negative former for at sige, at noget ikke er sandt.
- I am not tired.
- He is not at home.
- They are not ready.
Brug spørgsmål til at spørge om identitet, tilstand, sted, alder eller beskrivelse.
- Are you tired?
- Is she at work?
- Are they students?
Struktur
Bekræftende sætninger
Brug:
grundled + am/is/are + omsagnsled
| Grundled | Form | Eksempel |
|---|---|---|
| I | am | I am ready. |
| he / she / it | is | She is busy. |
| you / we / they | are | They are outside. |
Almindelige sammentrækninger er:
| Fuld form | Kort form |
|---|---|
| I am | I’m |
| he is | he’s |
| she is | she’s |
| it is | it’s |
| you are | you’re |
| we are | we’re |
| they are | they’re |
Negative sætninger
Brug:
grundled + am/is/are + not + omsagnsled
| Grundled | Fuld form | Kort form |
|---|---|---|
| I | am not | I’m not |
| he / she / it | is not | isn’t |
| you / we / they | are not | aren’t |
Eksempler:
- I’m not hungry.
- She isn’t at home.
- We aren’t late.
Formerne he’s not, she’s not, you’re not og they’re not er også korrekte.
Spørgsmål
Sæt am, is eller are foran grundleddet.
am/is/are + grundled + omsagnsled?
| Udsagn | Spørgsmål |
|---|---|
| You are tired. | Are you tired? |
| She is at work. | Is she at work? |
| They are ready. | Are they ready? |
| I am late. | Am I late? |
Korte svar
Brug am, is eller are i korte svar.
- Are you ready? — Yes, I am.
- Is he at home? — No, he isn’t.
- Are they busy? — Yes, they are.
- Is she a doctor? — No, she isn’t.
Brug normalt ikke bekræftende sammentrækninger i korte svar.
- Korrekt: Yes, I am.
- Forkert: Yes, I’m.
Eksempler
- I am a software developer.
- She is very tired today.
- They are at the bus stop.
- I’m not hungry.
- He isn’t at work.
- We aren’t ready yet.
- Are you from Canada?
- Is your brother at home?
- Are the children tired?
- Why is the door open?
Undtagelser
Brug am I not? i formelle spørgsmål.
- Am I not invited?
I dagligdags engelsk er aren’t I? almindeligt i negative spørgsmål og spørgsmålsvedhæng.
- Aren’t I invited?
- I’m late, aren’t I?
Brug ikke do, does eller did med to be.
- Korrekt: Is she tired?
- Forkert: Does she be tired?
Verbet to be bruger ikke et separat hovedverbum i simple beskrivelser.
- She is happy.
- They are at home.
Almindelige fejl
-
Forkert: I is tired. Korrekt: I am tired. Forklaring: Brug am med I.
-
Forkert: They is at home. Korrekt: They are at home. Forklaring: Brug are med they.
-
Forkert: She not is ready. Korrekt: She is not ready. Forklaring: Sæt not efter is.
-
Forkert: I don’t am hungry. Korrekt: I am not hungry. Forklaring: Brug ikke do med to be.
-
Forkert: Does he be at work? Korrekt: Is he at work? Forklaring: Sæt is foran grundleddet for at danne et spørgsmål.
-
Forkert: Are she tired? Korrekt: Is she tired? Forklaring: Brug is med she.
-
Forkert: Is they ready? Korrekt: Are they ready? Forklaring: Brug are med they.
-
Forkert: Yes, I’m. Korrekt: Yes, I am. Forklaring: Brug normalt ikke en bekræftende sammentrækning i et kort svar.