"To be," "to have," and "to go" are irregular verbs. Their forms in the present tense are as follows:
TO BE: TO HAVE: TO GO:
I am I have I go
he, she, it is he, she, it has he, she, it goes
we are we have we go
you are you have you go
they are they have they go
Note that there is no personal form for "you" as there is in most other languages. You will use "you" to refer both to close friends and to strangers.
SINGULAR AND PLURAL FORMS OF NOUNS
All English nouns are either singular or plural. Most words form the plural by adding an "-s" to the end of the singular form:
month-->months
visa-->visas
airport-->airports
Other words, already referring to more than one person or thing, do not normally add an "-s."
--the people, the fish, the mice, etc.
INDEFINITE AND DEFINITE ARTICLES
There is no need to worry about whether a noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter in English. Normally, a noun is preceded by a definite article (THE) or an indefinite article (A, AN) as follows:
DEFINITE ARTICLE INDEFINITE ARTICLE
the tourist a tourist
the area an area
the card a card
the hotel a hotel
the restaurant a restaurant
the people some people
the signs some signs
Note that definite articles refer to something specific, while indefinite articles refer to something non-specific. Use "an" in front of words beginning with vowels and "some" with plural nouns.
CONTRACTIONS
You will want to learn how to use contractions as soon as possible. Contractions are used constantly in informal English. Examples of contracted subject/verb forms are:
TO BE: TO HAVE:
I am-->I'm I have-->I've
he is-->he's
we are-->we're we have-->we've
you are-->you're you have-->you've
they are-->they're they have-->they've
Contractions are frequently used with compound forms of verbs, especially the progressive or continuous form of the present tense ("I'm going."/ "We're leaving.") and the present perfect forms ("I've received the letter. / "They've already left.")
A later lesson will deal with the compound forms of verbs in greater length.
