Present simple forms of ‘to be’: am/is/are

Exercises

Explanation

It has:

• 3 forms in Present → am, is, are

• 2 forms in Past → was, were

Present Simple Forms

• I am = I am happy.

• He / She / It is = She is smart.

• We / You / They are = They are tall.

Affirmative – Negative – Question

Important Notes

• am - only with I

• I am 20.

• I’m at home.

• is - with he, she, it or singular nouns

• He is tall.

• It is on the table.

• are - with we, you, they and plural nouns

• We are in London.

• You are my best friend.

• They are students.
  
  

Short Forms (Contractions)

• I am = I’m

• You are = you’re

• He is = he’s

• She is = she’s

• It is = it’s

• We are = we’re

• They are = they’re
  
  

Examples:

• I’m at the park.

• She’s a singer.

• They’re tired.
  
  

Negatives

We add not after be.

• I’m not ready.

• She isn’t here.

• They aren’t American.

In informal English, you may also hear ain’t (spoken English only):

• I ain’t ready.

• He ain’t here.

Questions with be

We move be to the beginning of the sentence:

• Am I late?

• Is he at school?

• Are you ready?

• Where are they?

• What day is it today?

Uses of be

We use be to talk about many things:

• Who we are: I’m Anna, this is my brother, Max.

• Age: I’m 22. My mother is 50.

• Job: I’m a teacher. My sister is an engineer.

• Nationality: He is from Brazil. She is from Italy.

• Feelings: I’m tired. He is excited.

• Colors: The car is red. His shirt is blue.

• Prices: It’s five euros. This coat is 40 dollars.

• Weather: It’s sunny today. It is cold tonight.

• Time: What time is it? It’s three o’clock.

• Descriptions: She is tall and friendly. The chairs are old.