Conjugating the verb to be
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Conjugating the verb to be
To be是最不规则的助动词，它的变位形式有五种:
| 现在时 | 简单过去时 |
| I am | I was |
| You are | You were |
| He/She/It is | He/She/It was |
| We are | We were |
| You are | You were |
| They are | They were |
经常使用缩合形式:
I'm, you're, it's, they're,等等。
缩合形式更多地使用在一个代词后面，而不是一个名词后面:
The table is blue ↔ It's blue桌子是蓝色的；它是蓝色的。
练习 1
'Our production manager, Kevin Connors very comfortable negotiating with foreign clients. In fact, as we speak, he to Malaysia to look into some leads. Don't worry though, he should here by next Monday, so you can reach him then.'
'Our production manager, Kevin Connors is 1 very comfortable negotiating with foreign clients. In fact, as we speak, he is flying 2 to Malaysia to look into some leads. Don't worry though, he should be 3 here by next Monday, so you can reach him then.'
1 is: 'Kevin is very comfortable' is the correct form of 'to be'.
1 are: We must use the third person conjugation here. 'You are' is the second person form of the verb 'to be'.
2 is flying: This is the correct way to finish this sentence. We must use the third person auxiliary and the 'ing' form of the verb.
2 was flying: There is no need to use the past progressive form here, because the action is current.
2 flies: Unfortunately, Kevin himself cannot fly. We must use the 'ing' form and say that Kevin is flying.
3 be: We should leave 'be' in the infinitive form here, without the 'to'.
3 is: In this sentence 'be' should be left in its infinitive form. There is no need to conjugate the verb in this case because of the auxiliary 'should' which precedes it.
练习 2
Icarus reading some files yesterday morning, when Horatio stopped by his office. 'How you doing today Señor Quincy? Everything going well, I hope.'
Icarus was 1 reading some files yesterday morning, when Horatio stopped by his office. 'How are 2 you doing today Señor Quincy? Everything is 3 going well, I hope.'
1 was: In the past tense, 'was' is the correct form of the verb 'to be' in the third person singular.
1 is: Because of the phrase 'yesterday morning' we know that this incident took place in the past, therefore we must use the third person form of the verb 'to be' in the past tense.
2 are: This is the correct choice. In the present tense, the second person form of 'to be' is 'are'.
2 were: Because of the word 'today' in this question, we must use the present tense form of the verb here.
2 is: 'Is' is the third person form of the verb 'to be'. Because Horatio is speaking directly to Icarus, we must use 'are', the second person form.
3 is: This is the best choice here. In the phrase 'I hope everything is going well', the subject 'everything' is considered a third person subject, and so the verb 'to be' is conjugated as 'is'.
3 are: We cannot use 'are' in this sentence because 'everything' is treated like the third person form, and takes 'is' rather than 'are'.
练习 3
Today, Philip Cheeter one of the most important members of the Delavigne team. Nearly ten years ago, when he first joined us, Philip voted the employee of the year. Since then, he won several sales awards. And only last week, the Bull Street Journal said they going to write an article about him.
Today, Philip Cheeter is 1 one of the most important members of the Delavigne team. Nearly ten years ago, when he first joined us, Philip was 2 voted the employee of the year. Since then, he has 3 won several sales awards. And only last week, the Bull Street Journal said they were 4 going to write an article about him.
1 is: This sentence requires a present tense verb, as indicated by the term 'today', which places this action in the present tense.
1 was: Because we are speaking about 'today' we must use a present tense verb here.
1 will be: Because we are speaking about 'today' we must use a present tense verb here.
2 was: In the past tense, the third person singular form of 'to be' is was. This sentence uses a verb in the passive voice (was voted).
2 were: 'Were' is the past tense conjugation of the verb 'to be' only in the 'you', 'we' and 'they' forms.
2 is: The phrase 'nearly 10 years ago' places this this action in the past tense, we cannot use a present tense verb form here.
3 has: 'Has' is the appropriate auxiliary in this case.
3 was: The auxiliary 'to be' is never used to create perfect tenses, the auxiliary 'have' is used to do this.
3 is: The auxiliary 'to be' is never used to create perfect tenses, the auxiliary 'have' is used to do this.
4 were: When reporting what someone said in the past, the verbs in the statement normally 'go back one tense'. This means that verbs in the present become verbs in the past. We need to use 'were' here because we are reporting speech.
4 will: We cannot use 'will' to precede the verb 'going to', because it already implies the future action.
4 be: The verb 'to be' needs to be conjugated in this case. It is grammatically incorrect to use the infinitive form.
4 are: Last week the Bull Street Journal would have said 'we are going to write an article about Philip Cheeter'. But as this is a reported statement, verbs in the present become verbs in the past. Therefore, 'are' becomes 'were'.
练习 4
I trying to reach Bruno all day, but he always so busy. I remember when we best friends, but now that his business so huge, he never free.
I have been 1 trying to reach Bruno all day, but he is 2 always so busy. I remember when we were 3 best friends, but now that his business is 4 so huge, he is 5 never free.
1 have been: We use the present perfect form of 'to be' (I have been) to show a continuous action from past to present (the present perfect progressive tense). Using this tense here tells us that the speaker has been continuously trying to reach Bruno for a while and continues to try to do so.
1 am: The present progressive form (I am trying) only shows a current state or action. It cannot indicate an action which began in the past and continues into the present.
2 is: We must conjugate the verb 'to be' in the present tense here in order to show a habitual state or action.
2 be: Unless you are reading Shakespeare, you will not be using the infinitive form 'be' following the pronoun 'he'.
3 were: Because the context refers to a past state, we must use the past tense form of the verb here.
3 are: 'Are' is a present tense form of the verb 'to be'. It cannot indicate a past tense action.
4 is: The word 'now' tells us that we need to use the present form of the verb 'to be'.
4 was: 'Was' is the past tense of the verb 'to be'. It cannot be used here because this phrase requires a present tense of the form of the verb.
5 is: 'Is' is the best choice here. We need the third-person form of the verb 'to be' in this case.
5 are: 'Are' is the present tense form of the verb 'to be' in the 'you', 'we' and 'they' forms.
练习 5
Icarus: Hello, sir. I bother you for a moment?
Bruno: No, Icarus. You not.
Icarus: Oh. I guess I'll leaving then.
Bruno: No, Icarus. You not.
Icarus: Oh. I guess I'll leaving then.
Icarus: Hello, sir. May 1 I bother you for a moment?
Bruno: No, Icarus. You may 2 not.
Icarus: Oh. I guess I'll be 3 leaving then.
Bruno: No, Icarus. You may 2 not.
Icarus: Oh. I guess I'll be 3 leaving then.
1 May: 'May' is often used to replace 'can' or 'could' in polite interrogative constructions. It is the best choice here.
1 Am: 'Am' is not grammatically correct in this case. However, we could say, 'Am I bothering you?'.
2 may: 'May' is often used to replace 'can' or 'could' in polite interrogative constructions. It is the best choice here.
2 are: Although this sentence is grammatically correct, it does not make any sense in this context.
3 be: We must use the auxiliary 'be' here to link 'will' and 'leaving'. The construction 'will be leaving' expresses the imminent departure of Icarus from Bruno's office.
3 may: We cannot use 'may' as part of this construction, it is grammatically incorrect.
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