Present Simple of "be"

1. What Is the Verb “Be”?

The verb “be” is very common in English. We use it to talk about a person’s name, job, age, feelings, location, nationality, the weather, the time, and other basic information.

In this lesson, we focus on the verb “be” in the present simple tense.

In the present simple, “be” has three forms:

• am
• is
• are

The verb “be” is special because it changes with the subject:

• I am
• he/she/it is
• you/we/they are

2. When Do You Use the Present Simple of “Be”?

You use am / is / are to talk about:

• Job — what someone is
  • “I am a teacher.” / “They are doctors.”
• Name — saying your name
  • “I am Sam.”
• Feelings — how someone feels
  • “She is happy.”
• Description — describing people or things
  • “Our car is white.” / “She is nice.”
• Age — saying how old someone is
  • “He is 10 years old.”
• Place — where someone or something is
  • “We are at home.”
• Weather — talking about the weather
  • “It is sunny today.”
• Time — saying the time
  • “It is four o’clock.”
• Nationality / origin — where someone is from
  • “He is from Spain.”

After be, we often use a noun (a teacher), an adjective (happy), or a place phrase (at home).

3. Choosing the Correct Form: am / is / are

The form of “be” depends on the subject.

• Use am only with “I”
  • “I am tired.” → I’m tired.
• Use is with he / she / it
  (one person or one thing, singular)
  • “He is my brother.” → He’s my brother.
  • “The weather is nice.” → The weather’s nice.
• Use are with you / we / they
  • “You are welcome.” → You’re welcome.
  • “We are ready.” → We’re ready.
  • “They are friends.” → They’re friends.

Note: you uses are for one person and for more than one person.

4. Positive Sentences with “Be”

Sentences with “be” are simple and clear. You must always have a subject before the verb “be”.

Basic structure:

• Subject + am / is / are + information

Examples:

• “I am hungry.”
• “He is hungry.”
• “She is hungry.”
• “It is cold.”
• “You are hungry.”
• “We are hungry.”
• “They are hungry.”

5. Negative Sentences with “Be”

To make a sentence negative, add not after am / is / are.

Basic structure:

• Subject + am / is / are + not + information

Examples:

• “I am not hungry.” / “I’m not hungry.”
• “He is not hungry.” / “He’s not hungry.” / “He isn’t hungry.”
• “She is not hungry.” / “She’s not hungry.” / “She isn’t hungry.”
• “It is not cold.” / “It’s not cold.” / “It isn’t cold.”
• “You are not hungry.” / “You’re not hungry.” / “You aren’t hungry.”
• “We are not hungry.” / “We’re not hungry.” / “We aren’t hungry.”
• “They are not hungry.” / “They’re not hungry.” / “They aren’t hungry.”

Short forms:

• I am not → I’m not (there is no standard short form for am not alone)
• is not → isn't
• are not → aren't

6. Questions with “Be”

Basic structure:

• Am / Is / Are + subject + information?

Examples:

• “Am I hungry?”
• “Is he hungry?”
• “Is she hungry?”
• “Is it cold?”
• “Are you hungry?”
• “Are we hungry?”
• “Are they hungry?”

Short Answers

• “Is he hungry?” — Yes, he is. / No, he isn’t.
• “Are they ready?” — Yes, they are. / No, they aren’t.

A Helpful Way to Remember

Think of be as a verb that gives information about the subject.
Remember: I am, he/she/it is, you/we/they are.