Affirmative
In the Indicative form, this verb has 3 forms... "Am – Is – Are". Each form belongs to different Pronouns.
PRONOUN |
TO BE |
CONTRACTION |
I |
Am |
I'm |
You |
Are |
You're |
He |
Is |
He's |
She |
Is |
She's |
It |
Is |
It's |
We |
Are |
We're |
They |
Are |
They're |
That is to say that, when the Personal Pronoun "I" appears in a sentence, we must use "Am".
When the Pronoun is "He - She - It" we use "Is".
When the Pronoun is "You - We - They" we use "Are".
The short form (or contraction) is often used in conversations or informal texts.
Examples
I am interested.
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American
She is tall and pretty.
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They are students.
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Emily is my sister.
Personal Pronoun "She (Emily)".
Add Verb "Is" = Emily "is" my sister.
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Tom and Emily are friends.
Personal Pronoun "They (Tom and Emily)".
Add Verb "Are" = Tom and Emily "are" friends.
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I'm 23 years old.
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Manny is 3 years old.
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American
Negative
To negate the "Verb To Be" we do not need an auxiliary.
PRONOUN |
TO BE |
CONTRACTION |
I |
Am not |
I'm not |
You |
Are not |
You aren't |
He |
Is not |
He isn't |
She |
Is not |
She isn't |
It |
Is not |
It isn't |
We |
Are not |
We aren't |
They |
Are not |
They aren't |
That is to say that, to write the negative form of the "Verb To Be", we add "Not" after the verb (or the short form or contraction).
Examples
My mum isn't a good singer.
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They aren't my classmates.
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He is not guilty.
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The baby isn't crying.
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I'm not 25 years old.
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American
INTERROGATIVE
In the Interrogative form, the "Verb To Be" is written before the Pronoun or Subject of the sentence and it can't be contracted.
TO BE |
PRONOUN |
Am |
I |
Are |
You |
Is |
He |
Is |
She |
Is |
It |
Are |
We |
Are |
They |
Examples
Is he tired?
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Are you at home?
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Is Tom your boyfriend?
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Are they interesting?
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Am I your best friend?
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Affirmative
Conjugated in the Simple Past, the form of the verb changes.
PRONOUN |
TO BE |
I |
Was |
You |
Were |
He |
Was |
She |
Was |
It |
Was |
We |
Were |
They |
Were |
Examples
She was at school yesterday.
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They were friends.
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She was engaged.
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Richard was ill.
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My parents were angry.
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Negative
In the Simple Past, the Negative form of the "Verb To Be" can be contracted.
PRONOUN |
TO BE |
CONTRACTION |
I |
Was not |
Wasn't |
You |
Were not |
Weren't |
He |
Was not |
Wasn't |
She |
Was not |
Wasn't |
It |
Was not |
Wasn't |
We |
Were not |
Weren't |
They |
Were not |
Weren't |
Examples
They weren't speaking.
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Kate was not pregnant.
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I wasn't in Paris last year.
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You weren't driving too fast.
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INTERROGATIVE
Like in the Present, the "Verb To Be" is written before the Pronoun or Subject of the sentence.
TO BE |
PRONOUN |
Was |
I |
Were |
You |
Was |
He |
Was |
She |
Was |
It |
Were |
We |
Were |
They |
Examples
Was he smoking?
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American
Were you married?
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Was she watching tv?
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Was it raining?
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1 The Verb To Be hasn't got a negative form.
2 Bob _____ my doctor.
3 _____ she at work yesterday?
4 My grandparents _____ driving home.
5 I _____ going with you.
6 The Verb To be has 3 forms in the Present Tense.
7 The Past form of the Verb To be is only "Was".
8 The Past Participle of the Verb To be is "Been".
9 She _____ so pretty!
10 They _____ my parents.
11 I _____ as tall as you.
12 Emily _____ studying yesterday.
13 Tom and Peter _____ friends.
14 My mom _____ at work.
15 _____ she your sister?
