"He IS my friend", "they WEREN'T at school", "the t-shirt WAS made in China". In these examples we can see different conjugations of the verb "to BE", a very important verb in English. Follow the lesson below to learn more.
The verb “to be” is both the most important verb in the English language and the most complicated. It is used as both a principal verb and an auxiliary verb and is irregular in both the present and past tenses.
| Subject | Present Simple | Short Form |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Subject | Present Simple | Short Form |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | we’re not/we aren’t |
| they | are not | they’re not/they aren’t |
Note: In questions with the verb “to be”, the subject and verb change position.
| Present Simple |
|---|
| Am I? |
| Are you? |
| Is he? |
| Is she? |
| Is it? |
| Are we? |
| Are they? |
1. We use “to be” as a principal verb to show the status or characteristics of somebody or something (as a stative verb). It can also be used with prepositions of place to indicate where something is located.
Examples:
With a noun:
| I am a teacher. |
| You aren’t a student. |
| Is he a doctor? |
With a preposition of place + a location:
| She is in New York. |
| They aren’t at home. |
| Is the book on the table? |
With an adjetive:
| We are happy. |
| He isn’t sad. |
| Are you tired? |
2. “To be” is used as an auxiliary verb to form the present continuous verb tense and the passive voice which will be introduced in later lessons. For more information on auxiliary verbs, see the verbs lesson.
2. “To be” is used as an auxiliary verb to form the present continuous verb tense and the passive voice which will be introduced in later lessons. For more information on auxiliary verbs, see the Verbs lesson.
3. To show that something exists, we combine “is” or “are” with “there”. See the lesson on There be for more information.
3. To show that something exists, we combine “is” or “are” with “there”. See the lesson, There Be, for more information.
4. “To be”, like many other verbs, can be used with a prepositional phrase. See the lesson on Phrasal and Prepositional Verbs.
4. “To be”, like many other verbs, can be used with a prepositional phrase. See the lesson Phrasal and Prepositional Verbs for more information.
