We use the Simple Present of verb to be to give personal information or to talk about other people, we also use it to talk about objects, places, time and the weather.
When we use the verb to be in the Simple Present, it becomes am, is or are.
We usually use the short forms of am,is,are. (e.g. I am =I'm, she is = she's, etc.)
Let’s see some uses of verb to be in simple present.
We use verb to be in the present tense to talk about:
People’s name
People’s nationality
People’s age
People’s job
Marital Status
People’s favourite color/song/sports, etc.
People’s feelings and emotions
People’s appearance and personality
Objects and possessions
Places of the objects (with prepositions)
Times and dates
The weather
The present simple of the verb to be is, am,is,are.
To form a positive sentence with verb to be, we simply add am,is,are after I,you,we,they,he,she,it.
I am a student.
You are beautiful.
He is Italian.
She is 15 years old.
It is sunny.
We are married.
You are tired.
They are happy.
NOTE:
We can also use the short form of am,is,are.
Contractions(Short forms)
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
Let’s see some examples:
To form a negative sentence with verb to be, we add am,is,are + not after I,you,we, they,he,she,it.
I am not a doctor.
You are not late.
He is not sad.
She is not ill.
It is not cold.
We are not Spanish.
You are not a football player.
They are not angry.
In negative sentences you can use the short forms with different subjects as below:
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
You are not - you aren't
They are not - they aren't
Let’s see some examples:
To form questions with verb to be, we use am,is,are at the beginning of the sentence, before I, you, we, they, he, she, it.
Am I late?
Are you nervous?
Is he 25?
Is she tall?
Is it sunny?
Are we the winners?
Are they Chinese?
Let’s see some examples:
Yes, I am.
Yes, you are.
Yes, he is.
Yes, she is.
Yes, it is.
Yes, we are.
Yes, you are.
Yes, they are.
No, I am not.
No, you are not.
No, he is not.
No, she is not.
No, it is not.
No, we are not.
No, you are not.
No, they are not.
NOTE: We can also use the short forms in our answers.
Contractions (Short forms)
No, I’m not 35. (We cannot use I amn’t as the short form of I am not.)
No, you aren’t late.
No, she isn’t my sister.
No, he isn’t a painter.
No, we aren’t in the office.
No, they aren’t hungry.
To form wh- questions with verb to be, we use wh- questions words at the beginning of the sentence before am,is,are.
Who are you?
What is it?
Where is she?
How is he?
Where are we?
Who are they?
Let’s see some examples: