Home / Learn English / Grammar / The verb "To be"

The verb To be (Present tense)
Download this explanation in PDF
The Simple Present Tense of the verb To be:
Affirmative form

Subject

To be

Contraction

I

am

I’m

You

are

You’re

He / She /It

is

He’s / She’s / It’s

We

are

We’re

You

are

You’re

They

are

They’re

 

EXAMPLES
  • I am here now. - Yo ya estoy aquí.
  • You are a doctor. - Tú eres médico.
  • He is 17 years old. - Él tiene 17 años.
  • She is beautiful. - Ella es hermosa.
  • It is a big book. - Es un libro grande.
  • We are friends. - Somos amigos.
  • You are married. - Tú estás casado. 
  • They are from Colombia. - Ellos son de Colombia.
Click here for "To be" - Affirmative Online Exercise
Negative form
The negative form of simple present tense with “To be” can be made by adding not after the verb.

Subject

To be

Two ways of forming contractions

I

am not

I’m not

-

You

are not

You’re not

You aren’t

He

is not

He’s not

He isn’t

She

is not

She’s not

She isn’t

It

is not

It’s not

It isn’t

We

are not

We’re not

We aren’t

You

are not

You’re not

You aren’t

They

are not

They’re not

They aren’t

 

EXAMPLES
  • I’m not happy. - Yo no estoy contento.
  • Kevin’s not my neighbor. - Kevin no es mi vecino.
  • That’s not right. - Eso no está bien.
  • Susan and Leo aren’t married. - Susan y Leo no están casados.
  • My wife and I are not interested in Facebook. - A mi esposa y a mí no nos interesa Facebook.
Click here for "To be" - Negative Online Exercise
​Interrogative form and answers
The question form of simple present tense with “To be” can be made by putting the verb before the subject.

To be

Subject

 

Am

I

happy?

Are

you

happy?

Is

he / she / it

happy?

Are

we

happy?

Are

you

happy?

Are

they

happy?

 

EXAMPLES
  • Am I early?                   Yes, you are.    / No, you aren’t
  • Are you happy?        Yes, I am.            / No, I’m not.
  • Is he French?               Yes, he is.           / No, he isn’t
  • Is she from France? Yes, she is.         / No, she’s not.
  • Is it a small house?   Yes, it is.             / No, it’s not.
  • Are we ready?             Yes, we are.     / No, we aren’t.
  • Are you engineers?  Yes, we are.     / No, we’re not.
  • Are they angry?          Yes, they are. / No they aren’t.
You can add a question word (why, where, how, who, etc.) before the verb to be (am, is or are) to ask for more information.
EXAMPLES
  • Why am I hungry? - ¿Por qué tengo hambre?
  • Where are you? - ¿Dónde estás?
  • How is he? - ¿Cómo está él?
  • Who is she? - ¿Quién es ella?
  • How is the weather today? - ¿Cómo está el clima hoy?
  • Where are we? - ¿Dónde estamos?
  • How are you? - ¿Cómo estás?
  • Why are they angry? - ¿Por qué están enojados?
Click here for "To be" - Questions 1 Online Exercise
Click here for "To be" - Questions 2 Online Exercise
Click here for all the verb "To be" Exercises
Related