Lesson 8 of 46

Be, have, and do

Use the three most common verbs correctly.

The rules

  1. 1.Be: I am, you/we/they are, he/she/it is. Use it for age, jobs, feelings, and states: "I am 25." "She is a doctor."
  2. 2.Have: I/you/we/they have, he/she/it has. Use it for possession: "She has a car." Do not use "have" for age.
  3. 3.Do: I/you/we/they do, he/she/it does. Do/does/did make questions and negatives with other verbs: "Does she work here?"
  4. 4.Use there is (singular) and there are (plural) to say something exists: "There is a problem." "There are two options."

Common mistakes and fixes

Incorrect: I have 25 years.

Correct: I am 25 years old.

Age uses "be".

Incorrect: He have a laptop.

Correct: He has a laptop.

Third person: has.

Incorrect: It depend on the budget.

Correct: It depends on the budget.

Third person -s.

Watch out: Age, feelings, and jobs use be, not have.

Quick quiz

1. She ___ two brothers.
2. I ___ 30 years old.
3. ___ you like tea?

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