Sein | Business English Training

Written by Business English Training January 23, 2012 No Comments »

Today I put together a simple timeline diagram for English students to see where everything fits in place. Obviously it isn’t so in reality because real life is more complex but it will give learners of the English language a feel for using the right grammar at the right...

Business English Training Essen

Written by Business English Training January 16, 2012 No Comments »

Welcome to Business English Training Essen. Nigel Nix is my name and I have been teaching Business English in Essen for 11 years. I only teach in companies/businesses. My students include all types of business people from auto mechanics to company CEOs and from secretaries to...

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Written by Business English Training January 16, 2012 Comments Off

English For Managers/Small Business Owners: English for Meetings English for Negotiations Telephone English Correspondence English (Letters and Emails) Business Vocabulary Small Talk Social English (for visiting restaurants, shopping, doctor etc.) Grammar...

Posts Tagged With 'sein'

English Grammar – To Be

Posted by Business English Training February 19, 2012 No Comments »

“To be” is the most basic form of English grammar.

It is used with a personal pronoun (I, he, she, it, they, we, you) ,an auxiliary verb (am, is, are) and an adjective/noun. This may also include an article (a/an).

Pronoun	Aux. verb	Adjective
I	am	German.
She	is	tired.
They	are	happy.

Here it is used with a noun.

Pronoun	Aux. verb	Article	Noun
You	are	a	Genius.
He	is	an	idiot.
I	am	a	pilot.

To make questions the Aux. verb and the Pronoun change places.

Aux. verb	Pronoun	Adjective
Are	you	American?
Is	she	intelligent?
Am	I	late?

Aux. verb	Pronoun	Article	Noun
Are	you	a	doctor?
Am	I	a	genius?
Is	she	a	cook?

Pronoun	Aux. verb	Article	Adjective	Noun
She	is	a	good	teacher.
He	is	a	great	singer.
I	am	a	fast	runner.

Aux. verb	Pronoun	Article	Adjective	Noun
Is	he	a	good	teacher?
Am	I	a	happy	man?
You	are	a	beautiful	woman?

With plurals (they, we, you) an article is not used except in “you” singular.

Pronoun	Aux. verb	Adjective	Noun
They	are	happy	people.
You	are	good	dancers.
We	are	super	students.

Aux. verb	Pronoun	Adjective	Noun
Are	you	hard	workers?
Are	we	good	students?
Are	they	French	teachers?

To speak about objects/concepts we use the pronoun “it”.

Pronoun	Aux. verb	Adjective
It	is	cold.
It	is	beautiful.
It	is	expensive.

To make questions the Pronoun and Aux. verb change places.

Aux. verb	Pronoun	Adjective
Is	it	big?
Is	it	nice?
Is	it	old?

And now with a noun.

Pronoun	Aux. verb	Article	Adjective	Noun
It	is	a	new	car.
It	is	an	expensive	ring.
It	is	a	beautiful	country.

Aux. verb	Pronoun	Article	Adjective	Noun
Is	it	a	nice	country?
Is	it	a	fast	car?
Is	it	an	expensive	city?

To make a negative sentence we use the word “not” for all the above form.

Pronoun	Aux. verb	Adverb	Article	Adjective	Noun
I	am	not	a	good	singer.
She	is	not	a	French	woman.
He	is	not	an	English	teacher.

And without an article for the plural forms.

Pronoun	Aux. verb	adverb	Adjective	Noun
They	are	not	fast	cars.
We	are	not	great	golfers.
You	are	not	German	students.

We normally use the contracted (short) form in spoken English.

Full Form	Contracted Form (Short)
I am	I’m
He is	He’s
She is	She’s
It is	It’s
They are	They’re
We are	We’re
You are	You’re

I’m	a	fast	runner.
You’re	an	excellent	student.
She’s	a	beautiful	lady.
He’s	an	intelligent	man.

They’re	good	students.
We’re	German	dancers
You’re	good	workers.
We’re	happy	men.

Be careful with “you” singular and plural.

The use of here, there and that will be covered with possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, yours).

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This is a simple guide for my students and is meant as a visual aid to be used alongside standard course material. It is in no way complete and is targeted towards students learning English as a second language.

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