Learn about the verb "BE"
Be (am, is, are)
In the present, be changes to am, is or are:
I am happy.
He is happy.
They are happy.
We use the verb BE with adjectives and nouns:
I am a teacher. (be + noun)
I am hungry. (be + adjective)
When we speak or write informally, we use contractions. This means that am, is and are change to 'm, 's and 're.
I am happy. => I'm happy.
He is tired. => He's tired.
They are late. => They're late.
Positive sentences, negative sentences and questions are made like this:
Positive: You are late.
Negative: You aren't late.
Question: Are you late?
| Positive | |
|---|---|
| I | am |
| You | are |
| He | is |
| She | is |
| It | is |
| We | are |
| They | are |
| Negative | |
|---|---|
| I | 'm not |
| You | aren't |
| He | isn't |
| She | isn't |
| It | isn't |
| We | aren't |
| They | aren't |
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Am | I ...? |
| Are | you ...? |
| Is | he ...? |
| Is | she ...? |
| Is | it ...? |
| Are | we ...? |
| Are | they ...? |
Be (was, were)
In the past, BE changes to was or were.
He was tired.
They were late.
| Positive | |
|---|---|
| I | was |
| You | were |
| He | was |
| She | was |
| It | was |
| We | were |
| They | were |
| Negative | |
|---|---|
| I | wasn't |
| You | weren't |
| He | wasn't |
| She | wasn't |
| It | wasn't |
| We | weren't |
| They | weren't |
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Was | I...? |
| Were | you...? |
| Was | he...? |
| Was | she...? |
| Was | it...? |
| Were | we...? |
| Were | they...? |
We also use am/is/are to make the present continuous. We also use was/were to make the past continuous.
Exercises with BE Next Lesson: Present Simple