This document discusses the uses of the verb "to be" in English. It is used to express concepts like existence, identity, possession, location, conditions, age, professions, nationalities, and states of being such as being tired, hot, or hungry. Examples are provided for each use case. Exercises at the end reinforce using "to be" correctly in different contexts like identifying objects, fruits, animals, and describing a picture. The conclusion notes that "to be" has two meanings in Spanish - "ser" and "estar" - but only one in English, and lists its conjugations.

1. Verb “to Be”
We use the verb “to Be” when we express the idea of SER o
Estar in Spanish.
e.g: Mary is my best friend.
Mary is here, in Providencia.
And we also use it to express some conditions like: To Be hot,
To Be cold, To Be hungry, To be thirsty, To be sleepy, etc.
e.g: The air is hot. Can you open the window, please?
It’s cold in here!. Can you turn on the heater, please?

2. We also use the verb “to Be” when we talk about the age of a
person.
e.g: Mary is 15 years old.
Important: When we talk about a profession or activity, we
add “a” or “an” before the profession:
e.g: George is a dentist / Phillip is an engineer.
Note: When we are referring to someone
or something (a noun) that begins with a
vowel sound, we use “an” before that
noun.
e.g: Shrek is an ogre.

3. We use the verb “to Be” to describe states of affairs:
• To Be tired = Estar cansado
• To Be hot = Tener calor
• To Be cold = Tener frío
• To Be thirsty = Tener sed
• To Be hungry = Tener hambre
• To Be angry = Estar enojado
• To Be good at = Ser bueno para...
• To Be sure = Estar seguro
• To Be interested in = Estar interesado en...
• To be afraid of = Tener miedo de...
• To be fond of = Ser aficionado a...

4. We use the verb “to Be” to determine nationalities:
We are Chilean.
Evo Morales is Bolivian.
George Bush is American.

5. Exercises
When we have something that exists in our real world or in any
other world we use the verb “to Be”. Use the correct expresions
in each of the corresponding cases.
This object... a) ...is a sofa
b) ...are cats
c) ...is a telephone
Good!! c) ...It is a telephone.

6. These sour fruits :
• ... is an orange
• ... are onions
• ... are lemons
Good!! c) These sour fruits are
lemons.
This:
a) ... is a glass
b) ... is a piece of pizza
c) ... is a piece of bread
Good!! c) This is a piece of bread.

7. This object: a) ...are apples
b) ... is books
c) ...is a glass
Good!! c) This object is a glass.
This animal:
b) ...is a tiger
c) ...is an elephant
d) ...are dogs
Good!! a) This animal is a
tiger.

8. Use the form ‘get married’ plus the Present Continous to
describe the situation this picture evokes you.
bride

9. Conclusion:
The verb “to Be” is of great importance in
English. It is used in many times and, as opposed to
Spanish, the verb “to Be” has two meanings, that is, ser o
estar.
The conjugations are the following:
I = am Verb “to Be”
You= are
He/She/It = is
We = are
You = are
They = are