https://youtu.be/KRyK79yP0oA?si=R11lYF6ltE1BpsIy.
Present simple – verb 'to be'
How to use it
My name is Alice and I'm 8 years old. I'll gives some examples about verbs to be.
I'm a girl. or I am a girl.
She's good at drawing. or She is good at drawing.
They're my friends. or They are my friends.
She's not young. or She is not young. or She isn't young.
To Be - Affirmative
| Subject | To Be | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| I | am | I am from New Zealand. |
| You | are | You are Chilean. |
| He | is | He is twenty years old. |
| She | is | She is a nurse. |
| It | is | It is a big dog. |
| We | are | We are intelligent. |
| You | are | You are students. |
| They | are | They are married. |
To Be - Contractions
Contractions of To Be are very frequent when we are speaking.
| To Be | Contraction | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| I am | I'm | I'm from New Zealand. |
| You are | You're | You're Chilean. |
| He is | He's | He's twenty years old. |
| She is | She's | She's a nurse. |
| It is | It's | It's a big dog. |
| We are | We're | We're intelligent. |
| You are | You're | You're students. |
| They are | They're | They're married. |
To Be - Negative Sentences
The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb.
| Subject | To Be | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| I | am not | I am not from Spain. |
| You | are not | You are not Australian. |
| He | is not | He is not thirty years old. |
| She | is not | She is not a secretary. |
| It | is not | It is not a small cat. |
| We | are not | We are not stupid. |
| You | are not | You are not teachers. |
| They | are not | They are not single. |
To Be - Negative Contractions
There are two ways of forming contractions of To Be in negative sentences. One is with a contraction of the subject and the verb (e.g. I am = I'm) OR a contraction of the verb and not (e.g. are not = aren't)
| I'm not from Spain. | --- | --------------* |
| You're not Australian. | OR | You aren't Australian. |
| He's not thirty years old. | OR | He isn't thirty years old. |
| She's not a secretary. | OR | She isn't a secretary. |
| It's not a small cat. | OR | It isn't a small cat. |
| We're not stupid. | OR | We aren't stupid. |
| You're not teachers. | OR | You aren't teachers. |
| They're not single. | OR | They aren't single. |
* Notice that the only possible contraction for I am not is I'm not.
To Be - Questions
To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.
| Affirmative | You | are | happy. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | Verb | ||
| Question | Are | you | happy? |
| Verb | Subject | ||
| Affirmative | Question |
|---|---|
| I am intelligent. | Am I intelligent? |
| You are a student. | Are you a student? |
| He is a pilot. | Is he a pilot? |
| She is from Spain. | Is she from Spain? |
| It is a big house. | Is it a big house? |
| We are ready. | Are we ready? |
| You are doctors. | Are you doctors? |
| They are rich. | Are they rich? |
To Be - Short Answers
In spoken English, we usually give short answers in response to questions.
Are you a student? - Yes, I am (a student). The last part (a student) is not necessary. We use shorts answers to avoid repetition, when the meaning is clear.
| Question | Short Answers** | Short Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Am I intelligent? | Yes, you are. | No, you aren't. |
| Are you a student? | Yes, I am. | No, I am not. |
| Is he a pilot? | Yes, he is. | No, he isn't. |
| Is she from Spain? | Yes, she is. | No, she isn't. |
| Is it a big house? | Yes, it is. | No, it isn't. |
| Are we ready? | Yes, we are. | No, we aren't. |
| Are you doctors? | Yes, we are. | No, we aren't. |
| Are they rich? | Yes, they are. | No, they aren't. |
** With To Be, We don't use contractions in affirmative short answers unless there is additional information after it (in which case they are no longer considered short answers).
Summary Chart
