A new instructional guide focusing on the verb "to be" has highlighted the unique challenges that young and bilingual students face when learning English. Because of its highly irregular conjugation, teaching this verb requires more than just standard classroom drills. By examining how children naturally absorb language patterns, educators and parents can develop more effective strategies to build strong writing and speaking skills.
What Happened
Language platform Duolingo recently released a comprehensive conjugation guide that explains the roles of the verb "to be" in English. The guide focuses on the present, past, and negative forms of the verb, explaining how it functions as both a main verb to describe people and locate things, and as an auxiliary verb. To assist struggling learners, the authors highlight memory cues, such as the fact that third-person singular forms like "is" and "was" consistently end in the letter "s." The resource also covers the mechanics of forming pronoun-verb contractions like "I'm" and "they're" in everyday speech.
The Bigger Picture
For students learning English as a second language, mastering "to be" can be a massive adjustment. For instance, in present-tense Arabic, the verb "to be" does not exist at all, requiring learners to navigate a zero-copula sentence structure that lacks a linking verb entirely. For young children, natural language acquisition relies less on grammar worksheets and more on daily exposure to caregiver speech within their specific social environment. Longitudinal research tracking bilingual heritage children confirms that complex English grammatical features, such as past-tense realizations, are acquired gradually through natural communication over time.
In fact, cognitive experts argue that the traditional method of memorizing translation codes is highly inefficient. Relying on rote memorization of grammar rules creates a slow mental bottleneck because human brains naturally process meaningful patterns rather than formulaic rules. Modern educators are shifting away from rigid conjugation tables and toward communicative language teaching. This approach prioritizes common grammar structures and active recall exercises, while viewing errors as natural steps toward oral fluency.
What This Means for Families
To bridge the gap between speaking and formal writing, children must learn the mechanics of contractions early. Language resources designed for elementary school spelling lessons introduce simple contraction rules to students as early as the first through third grades. However, writing these words correctly requires explicit practice.
Grammar experts recommend using hands-on techniques, such as having children write out full phrases and physically cross out dropped letters to show exactly where the apostrophe belongs. Visual training is essential to prevent common errors. Without it, students frequently struggle with the notorious confusion between the contraction "it's" and the possessive "its". They also mistakenly use apostrophes to make words plural.
What You Can Do
To help your child, focus on usage over memorization. Avoid forcing kids to memorize dry conjugation tables. Instead, practice using "to be" in everyday conversation by asking them to describe objects and identify family members.
You can also use visual tricks for contractions. Have your child write a phrase like "it is" on paper, cross out the "i" in "is," and draw an apostrophe directly above the crossed-out letter. This builds physical muscle memory.
Finally, teach the substitution test to help your child master "it's" versus "its." Tell them to say "it is" out loud in place of the word. If the sentence still makes sense, they should use the apostrophe. If not, they should leave it out.