To Be
To Be (or Not to Be)
“To Be” is an important verb in English. Look at this table to see the conjugation for different persons in the present simple tense.
| Person | “To Be” form (Present simple) | Contraction |
|---|---|---|
| I | am | I’m |
| You | are | you’re |
| he / She / It | is | He’s / She’s / it’s |
| we | are | we’re |
| They | are | They’re |
These pictures show examples of “to be” in context.
We can use this verb for a lot of things:
- I am English. (Nationality)
- I am 45. (Age)
- I am a teacher. (Job / Profession)
- I am tired. (Feelings)
- I am tall. (Characteristics)
Negative
| Negative form | Negative with contraction | Negative example |
|---|---|---|
| I am not | I’m not | I’m not Brazilian. |
| You are not | You’re not | You’re not old. |
| He / She / It is not | He’s not / she’s not / it’s not He isn’t / She isn’t / it isn’t | It isn’t difficult. |
| We are not | We aren’t / we’re not | We’re not interested. |
Here you can see some examples of this verb used in a negative form.
Questions
To form questions, just invert the order of the subject and the verb, as shown below:
| Statement with “to be” | Question with “to be” |
|---|---|
| I am here. | Am I here? |
| You are here. | Are you here? |
| He / She / it is here. | Is he / she / it here? |
| We are here. | Are we here? |
| They are here. | Are they here? |
Examples of Questions with “to be”
Am I here?
Are you here?
Is he / She / it here?
Are we here?
Are they here?