1. TDC 1
Pedagogical Grammar
Class 14

2. To Be
- One of the first grammar points in any ESL/EFL book.
- It allows practice of a lot of new vocabulary (nouns,
adjectives and prepositional phrases).
- Many inflections: 1) be, am, is, are, 2) was, were, 3)
being, been.
Typical ELL Errors
- I have hungry now.
- Joseph and Mark no are in the car.
- India and Pakistan two countries in Asia.
- Mrs. Williams is a good store manager. Is my friend.
- Does the weather is hot in your country?

3. To Be
Simple Present Simple Past
Singular Plural Singular Plural
I am we are I was we were
you are you are you were you were
he/she/it is they are he/she/it was they were
What ELLs Should Know
- Subject – Verb Agreement (Joseph and Mark are in the kitchen.)
is
- Irregular Omition. (India and Pakistan are countries in Asia.)
- Have ≠ Be. (The author of the book has 49 years old.)
is
- Subjects are always needed.
(My brother’s name is Kirk. He is 47 years old.)
Is

4. To Be
Negative Form
Present Past Present Past
I am not I was not we are not we were not
you are not you were not they are not they were not
he/she/it is not he/she/it was not
Negative Form
Contractions - Affirmative
- Add not after the form of be.
Present Past - Different negative form.
I am – I’m I was - -----
you are – you’re you were - ----
he is – he’s he was - ----- Contractions - Affirmative
she is – she’s she was - ---- - More common in spoken
it is – it’s it was - ---- language, making the speaker
we are – we’re we were - ---- sound more friendly.
they are – they’re they were - ----
- Only possible in the Present.

5. To Be
Contractions - Negative
Present Past
I am not – I’m not I was not – I wasn’t
you are not – you’re not / you aren’t you were not – you weren’t
he is not – he’s not / he isn’t he was not – he wasn’t
she is not – she’s not / she isn’t she was not – she wasn’t
it is not – it’s not / it isn’t it was not – it wasn’t
we are not – we’re not / we aren’t we were not – we weren’t
they are not – they’re not / they aren’t they were not – they weren’t
Contractions - Negative
- More common in spoken language, making the speaker sound more
friendly.
- Two different forms in the present. One form in the past.

6. To Be
Forming Questions
yes-no wh-
Statement Mark is from Canada. Mark is from Canada.
Question Is Mark from Canada? Where is Mark from?
Short Answer Yes, he is. // No, he isn’t. Canada.
Forming Questions
- To form questions with be, just invert the subject and the verb.
- In short answers, contractions with the negative form are
possible, not with the affirmative form.
- ELL books normally start by presenting the students with yes/no
questions. Only later do they introduce information questions.
- Both types of questions follow the rule above.

7. To Be
Portuguese Interference Common Errors
In Portuguese, there are two different
verbs for to be – ser and estar.
Students might get confused.
Telling somebody’s age in Portuguese 1. “She has five years old.”
is done with the verb to have, not the
verb to be.
Portuguese speakers normally use 1. “I have hungry.”
phrases with to have to express hunger 2. “He has thirsty.”
and thirst.
In Portuguese, verb forms frequently
change according to the subject.
Students might get confused.

8. To Be
Portuguese Interference Common Errors
Negation in Portuguese is limited to 1. “He no is a doctor.”
putting não (no) in front of the verb.
In Portuguese, questions with to be do 1. “You are American?”
not use invertion. There is only
intonational change.
In Portuguese, subject pronouns are 1. “__ Is raining outside.’
sometimes omitted. 2. “__ Is five o’clock.”

9. To Be – Lesson Plan
Objective - Students will be able to tell their friends where they are from, as
well as to ask and to tell each other about where famous people are from,
using the correct form of the verb to be in the present.
Steps
1. The students will explore a picture of two people (a boy and a girl
wearing a t-shirt with “Colombiana” written on it).
2. The students will listen to a dialog and answer some comprehension
questions.
3. The students will complete a similar dialog with the forms of be,
looking for the words in the first dialog.
4. The students will match the cards with photos of famous people to the
corresponding cards with flags.
5. The students will pretend they are the famous people and have
conversations similar to the one in the second dialog.
6. The students will have conversations about themselves.
7. In the debriefing stage, the teacher will ask the students about their
friends (to force the use of 3rd person singular and plural).

10. Picture Exploration
Questions
1. How many people can you see?
2. Where are they?
3. Look at her t-shirt. What can you
read?
Listening – Comprehension Questions
Questions
1. What is the boy’s name? 4. Where is Ana from?
2. What is the girl’s name? 5. Where is Hyun from?
3. What is their teacher’s name?

11. Tapescript
Hyun: Excuse me? Are you in this class?
Ana: Yes, I am.
Hyun: Who’s the teacher?
Ana: It’s Mr. Allen.
Hyun: Oh... Hi, I’m Hyun.
Ana: Hi, Hyun. I’m Ana.
Hyun: Your shirt is cool. Are you from Colombia?
Ana: Yeah.
Hyun: Where in Colombia?
Ana: Bogota. And you? Where are you from, Hyun?
Hyun: Korea.
Ana: Oh? Which city?
Hyun: Seoul.

12. Controlled Activity
Mark: Where ___ you from?
Joanne: I ___ from England. What about you? ___ you from the
U.S.A.?
Mark: Yes, I ___. But my parents ___ from Brazil.
Joanne: My favorite soccer player, Kaká, ___ from Brazil, too. Which
city is he from?
Mark: He and I ___ from Brasília. We ___ great players...
Cards
The names of the famous
people and the countries will
be read on the back of the
cards... (just in case)

13. Homework
• Read Grammar Key 1: to be (pages 90-99)
• Read Grammar Key 2: verb tenses to
express present time (pages 100 – 113)
• Close the Verb Tense discussion in the
moodle platform. (We might have a quis
next class!!!)