Basic Introductions – am/is/are ?Questions? What …? Who …?
To be is the most common verb in the English language, but it doesn’t always look like “be”, it changes – a lot.
| Singular = 1 | Plural = 1+ | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| I | am | You | are |
| You | are | We | are |
| He/she/it | is | They | are |
Uses
To be can be used as an auxiliary or a main verb.
Am/Is/Are
| Question ? | Positive Statement + | Negative Statement – | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Written Form or spoken for emphasis | Contracted Form (spoken) |
Written Form or spoken for emphasis | Contracted Form (spoken) |
|
| Am I? | I am | I’m | I am not | I’m not | |
| Are you? | You are | You’re | You are not | You’re not or You aren’t |
|
| Is he? Is she? Is it? |
He is She is It is |
He’s She’s It’s |
He is not She is not It is not |
He isn’t She isn’t It isn’t or He’s not She’s not It’s not |
|
| Plural | |||||
| Are we? | We are | We’re | We are not | We aren’t or We’re not |
|
| Are you? | You are | You’re | You are not | You’re not or You aren’t |
|
| Are they? | They are | They’re | They are not | They aren’t or They’re not |
Examples
The verbs am / is / are are used with:-
| Am/Are | Is | |
|---|---|---|
| a noun group | Are you an English teacher? | Mr Bean is an English teacher. |
| an adjective | I‘m tired. | She‘s English. |
| an expression of place or time | They‘re at home. | It‘s nine o’clock. |
| an expression of age | I‘m 44. | He‘s two years old. |
| when forming the present continuous tense | We‘re learning English. | She‘s teaching English. |
| Am/Are | Is | |
|---|---|---|
| Question – ? | “Am I disturbing you?” | “Is this your coat?” |
| Positive Answer + Yes | “Yes you are. We’re very busy.” | “Yes, it is” |
| Negative Answer – No | “No you’re not. We aren’t very busy.” | “No, it isn’t” |