The street is called Montagu Street. This car was made in Japan. 3. with a prepositional phrase: John and his wife are f
the verb be The verb be has the following forms:
Present simple:
I am You are He/She/It is Am I? Question form: Are you? Is he/she it? Affirmative
Negative:
Past simple The past participle: Present perfect: Past perfect:
I am not/ I’m not You are not/ aren’t He/She/It is not/ isn’t I was You were He/She/It was been. has/have been had been
The verb be is used in the following patterns: 1. with a noun: My mother is a teacher. Bill Clinton was the president of the US. 2. with an adjective: This soup is very tasty. The children were good. 2.1 with the -ing form to make the continuous aspect We were walking down the street. Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours. 2.2 with the -ed form to make the passive voice
We are You are They are Are we? Are you? Are they? We are not/aren’t You are not/aren’t They are not/aren't We were You were They were
The house was built in 1890. The street is called Montagu Street. This car was made in Japan. 3. with a prepositional phrase: John and his wife are from Manchester. The flowers are on the table.
The simple present of the verb to be This page will present the simple present of the verb to be:
its form and its use
The verb to be
The verb to be is the most important verb in the English language. It is difficult to use because it is an irregular verb in almost all of its forms. In the simple present tense, to be is conjugated as follows: Affirmative forms of the verb to be Subject Pronouns Full Form Contracted Form I
am
'm
you
are
're
he/she/it
is
's
we
are
're
you
are
're
they
are
're
Interrogative forms of the verb to be: Am I? Are you? Is
he/she/it?
Are we? Are you? Are they?
Negative Forms of the verb to be: Subject Pronouns Full Form Contracted Form I
am not
'm not
you
are not
aren't
he/she/it
is not
isn't
we
are not
aren't
you
are not
aren't
they
are not
aren't
Examples:
Is Brad Pitt French? No, he isn't. He's American. What about Angelina Joli? Is she American, too? Yes, she is. She is American. Are brad Pitt and Angelina Joli French? No, They aren't. They are American.
Use of the simple present of to be
The principal use of the simple present is to refer to an action or event that takes place habitually, but with the verb "to be" the simple present tense also refers to a present or general state, whether temporary, permanent or habitual.
I am happy. She is helpful.
The verb to be in the simple present can be also used to refer to something that is true at the present moment.
She is 20 years old. He is a student.
Remember:
I, you, he, she, it, you, they are subject pronouns (also called personal pronouns, a term used to include both subject and object pronouns.) am, are, is are forms of the verb to be in the simple present. 'm, 're, 's are short (contracted) forms of am, are, is 'm not, aren't, isn't are short (contracted forms) of am not, are not, is not.
Fill in the blanks with the right subject / personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Angelina Joli is American. She isn't French. Brad Pitt is American, too. He isn't German. Brad and Angelina aren't French. They are American. My friend and I are high school students. We aren't primary school students. The Statue of Liberty is in New York. It isn't in Washington.
Fill in the blanks with the right form of to be (am, are or is): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Are you the new student? Yes, I am. Leila and Nancy are students. Nancy is Australian. My sister and I are students. The girls are tired. These women are beautiful. The tea is delicious. Nadia and Leila are friends. The newspaper is cheap.
Choose the correct answer (negative or affirmative form of to be): 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Is Julia Robert French? No, she is not French. What about Robert de Nero? Is he an American actor? Yes, he is. Are New York and Los Angeles Spanish Cities? No, they are not Spanish cities. Is Big Ben in Paris? No, it is not in Paris. Is Mount Everest in Africa? No, it is not in Africa. It is in Asia.
The Simple Past of the Verb "to be" The simple past tense of the verb to be:
This page will present the simple past tense of the verb to be:
its form and its use.
The affirmative form: I, he, she, it
was.
you, we, they were.
Examples:
I was in London in 1999. Pam was in London in 1999, too. We were together. She was my girlfriend.
The interrogative form: Was
I, he, she, it?
Were you, we, they?
Examples:
Were you in London last year? Was Pam with you?
Were you together?
The negative form: was not. I, you, he, she wasn't. were not. You, we, they weren't.
Examples:
I wasn't in Paris in 1999. Pam wasn't in Paris in 1999. We weren't in Paris.
Use of the simple past
The simple past is used principally to describe events in the past. Remember:
1. wasn't is the short form of was not. You can say either:
I was not in Paris, or I wasn't in Paris.
2. weren't is the short form of were not. You can say either:
we were not in Paris, or we weren't in Paris.
Present Tense Verb ‘To Be’ Table
Positive Form
Question Form
Negative Form
Negative Question
I am smart.
Am I smart?
I am not smart.
Am I not smart? Aren't I smart?
You are smart.
Are you smart?
You are not/aren't smart.
Are you not smart? Aren't you smart?
He is smart.
Is he smart?
He is not/isn't smart.
Is he not smart? Isn't he smart?
She is smart.
Is she smart?
She is not/isn't smart.
Is she not smart? Isn't she smart?
It is smart.
Is it smart?
It is not/isn't smart.
Is it not smart? Isn't it smart?
We are smart.
Are we smart?
We are not/aren't smart.
Are we not smart? Aren't we smart?
You are smart.
Are you smart?
You are not/aren't smart.
Are you not smart? Aren't you smart?
They are smart.
Are they smart?
They are not/aren't smart.
Are they not smart? Aren't they smart?
The Forms of “To Be” Present Tense I am
We are
You are
You are
He/She/It is
They are
Past Tense I was
We were
You were
You were
He/She/It was
They were
Perfect Form (past participle)
Progressive Form (present participle)
I have been, etc.
I am being, etc.
