STARTER UNIT LANGUAGE FOCUS REFERENCE

be: singular affirmative Subject pronouns

We use the verb be for names and ages:
I am Carlos.

Hello, I’m Emma. This is Daniel and this is Claire. You are eleven.
I’m ten. They’re fourteen. He is a teacher.

She is a student.

It is a cat.

We are from Argentina.

You are fifteen.

They are friends.

Emily is from Great Britain. →

She ’s from Great Britain.
Ricardo and Isabel are new students. →
They ’re new students.

We often use short forms. We can’t leave out I, you, he, she, it, we or they.
I’m twelve years old.
Long form Short form
Am twelve years old. ✗
I am Yasmin. I’m Yasmin.

You are eleven. You’re eleven.

there is, there are, some, a lot of
She is from the USA. She’s from the USA.
We use there is with singular nouns and there are
He is thirteen. He’s thirteen. with plural nouns.
It is a dog. It’s a dog. There is a poster. There are two posters.

There is a car. There are a lot of cars.

be: plural affirmative
There is a pen. There are some pens.
Long form Short form
We often use the short form of there is.
We are from Oxford. We’re from Oxford.
There is a computer in the room. →
You are Tom and Ed. You’re Tom and Ed. There’s a computer in the room.
They are seventeen. They’re seventeen. There is no short form for there are.
We use a for one thing or person.
There’s a book.
There’s a girl.
We use some for more than one thing or person.
There are some books.
There are some girls.
We use a lot of for a big number of things or
people.
There are a lot of books. (50 books!)
There are a lot of girls. (50 girls!)

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 UNIT 1 LANGUAGE FOCUS REFERENCE

be: negative In questions we change the order of the words.

You are twelve. He is from Brazil.

I’m not from Brazil.
Are you twelve? Is he from Brazil?
I’m from the USA.
In short answers we use the long form for the
affirmative.
Is he eleven years old?
He isn’t an actor. Yes, he’s. ✗ Yes, he is.
He’s a singer.
Question Affirmative Negative
Am I in this
Yes, I am. No, I’m not.
club?
They aren’t teachers.
They’re students. Are you John? Yes, you are. No, you aren’t.

Is he ten? Yes, he is. No, he isn’t.

We often use short forms.
Long form Short form Is she Ann? Yes, she is. No, she isn’t.

I am not Anna. I’m not Anna. Is it a cat? Yes, it is. No, it isn’t.
You are not nine. You aren’t nine.
Are we in your
Yes, we are. No, we aren’t.
She is not Eva. She isn’t Eva. class?

He is not Sam. He isn’t Sam. Are you from

Yes, you are. No, you aren’t.
the USA?
It is not a dog. It isn’t a dog. Are they
Yes, they are. No, they aren’t.
We are not from Paris. We aren’t from Paris. popular?

You are not teachers. You aren’t teachers.

They are not boring.
be: questions and short answers
Are you eleven?
Prepositions: on and at
They aren’t boring.
Monday Climbing club 5.00
Tuesday Music concert 4.00
No, I’m not.

We use on and at for days and times.

We use on with days.
The climbing club is on Monday.
The music concert is on Tuesday.

Yes, she is. We use at with times.

The climbing club is at five o’clock.
The music concert is at four.

Is she good at
sport?

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 UNIT 2 LANGUAGE FOCUS REFERENCE

there is, there are, some and any: there is, there are: questions and short
affirmative and negative answers
We use there is and there are to describe things, We use Is there a / an … ? to ask about one thing
for example, a town. and Are there any … ? to ask about more than one
In the affirmative, we use there is a / an with thing.
singular nouns and there are some with plural Is there a shopping centre?
nouns.
Are there any restaurants?
We use How many … are there? to ask about the
number of things.
There’s a café.
‘How many restaurants are there?’ ‘Five.’
In questions we change the order of the words.
There is a shoe shop in this town.
There are three shops.
There are some shops. Is there a shoe shop in this town?
In short answers we use the long form for the
affirmative.
In the negative, we use there isn’t a / an with Is there a good café in your town?
singular nouns and there aren’t any with plural
Yes, there is.
nouns.
Yes, there’s. ✗
There isn’t a museum.
There aren’t any parks. Question Affirmative Negative
Is there a bus
Yes, there is. No, there isn’t.
Affirmative station?
Are there any No, there
Long form Short form Yes, there are.
parks? aren’t.
There is a café. There’s a café. How many
Singular There is an There’s an parks are There are two.
airport. airport. there?

There are three

shops. Prepositions of place
Plural
There are some
We use in, on, under, next to, opposite and near to
shops.
say where things are:
Negative ‘Where’s the pen?’ ‘It’s on the table.’
Long form Short form ‘Where are the books?’ ‘They’re next to the phone.’

There is not a There isn’t a

Singular
cinema. cinema.

There are not There aren’t

Plural
any hotels. any hotels.

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 UNIT 3 LANGUAGE FOCUS REFERENCE

have got: affirmative Question Affirmative Negative

We use have got to talk about possessions. Have I got a

Yes, I have. No, I haven’t.
new teacher?
They’ve got a nice house.
Have you got a No, you
She’s got a blue bag. Yes, you have.
sister? haven’t.

We also use have got to talk about families. Has he got a

Yes, he has. No, he hasn’t.
brother?
I’ve got two sisters.
Has she got a
He’s got a cousin. Yes, she has. No, she hasn’t.
twin?
We often use short forms. Has it got a
Yes, it has. No, it hasn’t.
ball?
Long form Short form Have we got a
Yes, we have. No, we haven’t.
cousin?
I have got a brother. I’ve got a brother.
Have you got No, you
You have got a sister. You’ve got a sister. Yes, you have.
an aunt? haven’t.
He has got an uncle. He’s got an uncle. Have they got No, they
Yes, they have.
an uncle? haven’t.
She has got an aunt. She’s got an aunt.

It has got a ball. It’s got a ball. Possessive s

We have got a cousin.
You have got a twin.
They have got a son.
We’ve got a cousin. We use ’s to show possession and to talk about
family.
You’ve got a twin.
It’s Maria’s phone.
They’ve got a son.
This is Charlie’s mother.

have got: negative We add ’s to names and singular nouns.

Katya’s mother
We often use short forms for the negative.
I have not got a cat. → I haven’t got a cat. We add ’ to plural nouns.

She has not got any cousins. → my grandparents’ house

She hasn’t got any cousins.
I haven’t got a brother.
You haven’t got a sister.
He hasn’t got an uncle.
She hasn’t got an aunt.
Possessive adjectives
It hasn’t got a ball.
We use possessive adjectives to talk about
We haven’t got a cousin. possession.
You haven’t got a twin. This is Oscar’s pen. → This is his pen.
This is Rachel’s cat. → This is her cat.
They haven’t got a son.
Subject pronoun Possessive adjective

have got: questions and short answers I my friend

In questions we change the order of the words. you your book

He has got a twin brother. he his pen

she her computer

Has he got a twin brother?
it its ball

we our teacher

you your phone

they their dog

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 UNIT 4 LANGUAGE FOCUS REFERENCE

Present simple: affirmative We use the base form of the verb with I, you, we
and they.
We use the present simple:
1 to talk about routines and habits, for example, We decorate the street.
the things we usually do, or the things we do I cook a big meal.
every day or week. You eat special food.
With he, she and it, we add -s to the verb.
He decorates the street.
She cooks a big meal.
The dog eats special food.

Present simple: negative

Monday ✓ Tuesday ✓ Wednesday

✓ ✓ Thursday ✓ Friday
I walk to school every morning.

I don’t go to festivals. It doesn’t go to festivals.

5.00 Tuesday ✓ 5.00 Thursday ✓
You don’t go to festivals. We don’t go to festivals.
Rudi plays tennis at five o’clock on Tuesdays
He doesn’t go to festivals. You don’t go to festivals.
and Thursdays.
She doesn’t go to festivals. They don’t go to festivals.
2 to describe things that are always true.
I live near my school. We use don’t with I, you, we and they.
My father speaks English. We don’t like music.
We study drama.
We use doesn’t with he, she and it.
I understand German.
He doesn’t cook.
3 to talk about what we think, feel or like.
We often use short forms for the negative.
We think the festival is exciting.
I do not ski → I don’t ski.
I feel happy.
He does not dance. → He doesn’t dance.
She likes music.
We do not sing. → We don’t sing.
I walk in the park. It walks in the park.

You walk in the park. We walk in the park.

He walks in the park. You walk in the park.

She walks in the park. They walk in the park.

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 UNIT 5 LANGUAGE FOCUS REFERENCE

Adverbs of frequency Present simple spelling rules

We use adverbs of frequency to say how often we a We add -s to most verbs with he, she and it.
do something. he understands
We always revise before a test. she revises
I often use a dictionary. it plays
He sometimes watches DVDs in English. b When a verb ends in a consonant (e.g. b, d, g) +
y, we leave out the y and add -ies.
always ■■■■■
carry → carries
usually ■■■■
copy → copies
often ■■■
study → studies
sometimes ■■
never  c When a verb ends in -o, -sh, -ch, -x or -ss, we
add -es.
Adverbs of frequency go before the verb.
go → goes
She never reads German magazines. finish → finishes
Do you usually study before a test? watch → watches

But they go after the verb be. Present simple: question forms
They’re usually happy.
Question Affirmative Negative
He’s never at home.
Do I speak
Yes, I do. No, I don’t.
French?
Object pronouns Do you speak
Yes, you do. No, you don’t.
French?
Subject pronoun Object pronoun Does he speak
Yes, he does. No, he doesn’t.
French?
I me
Does she speak No, she
Yes, she does.
you you French? doesn’t.
Does it speak
he him Yes, it does. No, it doesn’t.
French?
she her Do we speak
Yes, we do. No, we don’t.
French?
it it Do you speak
Yes, you do. No, you don’t.
French?
we us
Do they speak
Yes, they do. No, they don’t.
you you French?
What languages I speak French
they them
do you speak? and English.

We like our French teacher. → We like her.
I’m interested in French. → I’m interested in it.
I sit with Tom. → I sit with him.
We use our dictionaries. → We use them.
We use do to make questions with I, you, we and
they.
Do you ask questions in class?
When do they study?
We use does to make questions with he, she and it.
Does she like English?
Where does she sit?
We use do or does in affirmative short answers
and don’t or doesn’t in negative short answers.
‘Do you like music?’ ‘Yes, I do.’
‘Does she like pizza?’ ‘No, she doesn’t.’

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 UNIT 6 LANGUAGE FOCUS REFERENCE

Present continuous: affirmative and c When a verb ends in one vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
negative + one consonant (e.g. n, m, t), we double the
consonant and add -ing.
We use the present continuous to talk about
run → running swim → swimming
things happening now.
get → getting shop → shopping

Present continuous: questions

Is Freddie doing No, he isn’t. He’s
his homework? playing tennis.

‘Where’s Georgia now?’ ‘She’s walking on the beach.’

‘Where are Luke and Adam now?’
‘They’re swimming in the sea.’
Question Affirmative Negative
Affirmative Negative
Am I playing? Yes, I am. No, I’m not.
I am swimming. I am not swimming.
Are you
You are eating. You are not eating. Yes, you are. No, you aren’t.
playing?
He is camping. He is not camping.
Is he playing? Yes, he is. No, he isn’t.
She is cycling. She is not cycling.
It is running. It is not running. Is she playing? Yes, she is. No, she isn’t.
We are sunbathing. We are not sunbathing.
Is it playing? Yes, it is. No, it isn’t.
You are shopping. You are not shopping.
They are walking. They are not walking. Are we playing? Yes, we are. No, we aren’t.

We make the present continuous with be (am, is, Are you

Yes, you are. No, you aren’t.
are) and the -ing form of the verb. playing?
I am reading. Are they
Yes, they are. No, they aren’t.
playing?
You are not listening to music.
Where are they They’re playing
We often use the short forms. playing? on the beach.
He is cooking. → He’s cooking.
In questions we change the order of the words.
We are studying. → We’re studying.
He is swimming in the sea.
I am not camping. → I’m not camping.
She is not sunbathing. → She isn’t sunbathing. Is he swimming in the sea?

Spelling rules for -ing forms They are visiting the museum.
a We add -ing to most verbs.
Are they visiting the museum?
visit → visiting fly → flying
watch → watching eat → eating We make the short answers with the affirmative
or negative form of be.
b When a verb ends in e, we leave out the e and
add -ing. ‘Are you working?’ ‘Yes, I am.’
practise → practising make → making ‘Is she cooking?’ ‘No, she isn’t.’

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