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The verb to be — am, is, are
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Describe people and places with be
- Outcome: describe a person or place with present be, make a negative, ask a question and give a short answer. No earlier grammar lesson is needed; use the subject chart as your starting point.
- This lesson practises the present forms of be: am, is, are. The verb has other forms too, such as was and been. We use present be for descriptions, identity and location.
- I am Tom. She is happy. They are here.
I am a student. The cat is a teacher. The cat disagrees.
Three forms
- I → am; he / she / it → is; you / we / they → are. “You” uses “are” for one listener or several. A singular noun subject uses “is”; a plural noun subject uses “are” in these descriptions.
- I am a student. He is my friend. We are ready. Short forms: I'm, he's, she's, we're, they're.
- “Nadia is here” describes one person. “Nadia and Ben are here” describes two, like “they”. Choose for the whole subject, not just its last word.
- “You are a student” can address one person; “You are students” can address a group. The form “are” stays the same with “you”.
Match the subject to am / is / are
I → am; he / she / it → is; you / we / they → are.
Choose the correct word: She ___ happy.
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he / she / it → is: “She is happy.”
Complete: They ___ from China.
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you / we / they → are: “They are from China.”
Translate into English: 我是一名学生。
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“I” pairs with “am”. In this translation, “a student” names one student: I am a student. The contraction “I'm a student” also works. Other singular noun phrases can use words such as my or the instead of a.
Choose am, is or are for the complete subject: Lina and Omar ___ here.
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Lina and Omar are two people, like they. Use “are”. Do not choose is just because Omar is the last name before the blank.
Negatives
- Put not after the matching be form: I am not; he is not; they are not.
- Short forms include isn't, aren't, I'm not. She isn't at home.
- “We are at home” becomes “We are not at home”. Keep “are” with “we” and place “not” after it. “We aren't at home” and “We're not at home” are also possible.
- For “I”, the usual standard negative is “I am not” or “I'm not”. The contractions practised here do not include “I amn't”.
Make “We are tired” negative while keeping the same people and verb pattern.
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Put not after the matching be form: “We are not tired”. “We aren't tired” is another possible negative form.
Questions
- In a neutral yes/no question in this pattern, put be before the subject: Are you ready? Is he a teacher?
- In a positive short answer, keep the final be form full: Yes, I am. Yes, they are. Negative short answers can use No, I'm not. No, he isn't.
- “The bus is here” becomes “Is the bus here?” Move “is” before the whole subject “the bus”; do not add “do” or “does”.
- If a friend asks “Are you ready?”, answer about yourself with “Yes, I am” or “No, I'm not”. The question’s “you” becomes “I” in your reply.
Is this correct? “He are a teacher.”
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“he” takes “is”, not “are”: “He is a teacher.”
Turn “She is ready” into a neutral yes/no question.
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Put is before the subject she: “Is she ready?” Do not add does to this present-be question.
Sam asks you “Are you new here?” You want a positive short answer about yourself. Choose it.
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The speaker changes from you in Sam’s question to I in your answer. Keep am full at the end: “Yes, I am”. “Yes, I'm” is incomplete as this short answer.
Common mistakes
- ❌ “He busy” → ✓ “He is busy” — this full statement needs “is”. A short reply such as “Very busy!” can work in conversation.
- ❌ “I am go to school” → ✓ “I go to school” for a routine. “I am going to school” is a different, grammatical pattern with “-ing”; “am go” is not that pattern.
- ❌ “I am agree” → ✓ “I agree” — “agree” is already the main verb. ❌ “Yes, I'm” → ✓ “Yes, I am” — a positive short answer keeps “am” full; a negative can use “No, I'm not”.
Match each mistake to its correction.
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These full statements need the matching verb form. I agree has no am; a positive short answer uses Yes, I am, while a negative answer may use No, I’m not or No, he isn’t.
Which sentence is correct?
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he / she / it → is: “He is busy today.” The others should be “I agree” and “They are”.
You want to say that you share someone’s opinion. Choose the complete statement.
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“agree” is already the main verb in “I agree”. Do not add am before it. This does not ban be from other patterns, such as “I am working”.
Say it about you
- Write three true English sentences, or use an imaginary profile: I am …; My friend is …; We are …. Give a name naturally with I am … or My name is ….
- Now make one negative and one question: I am not tired. Are you ready? You can read your sentences aloud if useful; these written activities do not assess your speaking or pronunciation.
Introduce yourself or an imaginary person speaking as “I”. Write one English sentence using present be: give a name, an age or a place of origin.
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Example: “I am from Beijing.” or “I am twelve years old.”
New faces, same verb
- Look at a photo of people and write descriptions: He is tall. They are at school. She is my sister.. Check the subject in each sentence rather than copying one be form into all of them.
- Tomorrow, before reopening the explanations, introduce yourself or an imaginary person and ask one “Are you …?” question. If a form is uncertain, return to Three forms and explain your choice.
- Next lesson: pronouns and possessives. You can also save an expression from Daily English for later review. Try the fresh practice below before leaving.
- Present be here: I am; he / she / it is; you / we / they are. With noun subjects, choose for the whole singular or plural group.
- Negative: put “not” after be. Neutral question: put be before the subject. Keep be full at the end of a positive short answer; negative contractions can work.
- Usage reference rechecked 21 October 2026: British Council: present simple be. Local teaching examples; independent language, answer and learner review remain pending.
Choose for the whole subject
- The next written items use new people, objects and places. Find the complete subject before choosing am, is or are.
- A later word in the sentence may name a place or another object. It does not replace the subject that controls the verb.
Choose am, is or are: I ___ at home today.
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“I” takes “am” in this present description: “I am at home today”. Is and are do not agree with I here.
Choose am, is or are: The door ___ open.
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The door names one object, like it. Use “The door is open”.
Complete the statement: Anna and Tom ___ neighbours.
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Anna and Tom form a plural subject. Use are, as with they: “Anna and Tom are neighbours”.
Choose the present form for this complete sentence: You ___ welcome here.
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“You” takes “are” even when speaking to one person: “You are welcome here”. Do not choose is from the number of listeners.
Choose am, is or are: We ___ in the right room.
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“We” takes “are” in “We are in the right room”. The singular word room describes the place; it is not the subject.
Complete the statement: Your friend ___ outside.
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Your friend names one person, so use is. “Your” is not the subject pronoun “you”; choose for the noun phrase “your friend”.
Choose am, is or are: One cat ___ under the chair.
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One cat is a singular noun subject: “One cat is under the chair”.
Complete the statement: Two books ___ on the table.
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“Two books” is a plural subject, so use are. The singular table is part of the location and does not control agreement.
Make “He is late” negative without changing the person or be form.
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Keep “is” with “he” and place not after it: “He is not late”. Changing to are creates an agreement error.
Make this statement negative by adding one word after be: She is ___ at work.
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Place not after is: “She is not at work”. The verb still agrees with she; the added word changes the meaning to negative.
Keep the intended meaning
- Decide whether you need a description, a negative, a neutral question or a short answer. A grammatical sentence can still give a different meaning from the one requested.
- In a reply, think who is speaking and whether they speak for one person or a group. Keep positive short-answer be forms full.
Choose a complete negative statement using they and hungry.
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“They” needs “are” before not in this pattern: “They are not hungry”. The first option omits be; the third mismatches they and is.
Choose the usual standard written negative for one speaker saying they are not ready.
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“I'm not ready” contracts I am and keeps not. The standard form practised here does not use amn’t, and ready is not a main verb for don’t.
Turn “The train is early” into a neutral yes/no question.
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For this neutral be question, put is before the complete subject the train: “Is the train early?” A rising-tone statement can ask for confirmation in conversation, but it is not the neutral order requested here.
Choose am, is or are to begin this neutral question: ___ they ready?
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“They” takes “are”, and the neutral question places it first: “Are they ready?” Capitalisation does not change which form agrees.
You ask a friend directly for their location. Choose the ordinary complete question.
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Put are before you after where: “Where are you?” “where you are” can occur inside a larger sentence, but it is not the complete direct question requested.
Choose the neutral question about whether the children are here.
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“The children” is a plural subject. Use are before the whole subject in “Are the children here?”
Someone asks “Are you busy?” You want a negative short answer about yourself. Choose a standard complete answer.
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“No, I'm not” is a grammatical negative short answer. No with an affirmative I am does not give the requested negative meaning; this pattern does not use I’mn’t.
Someone asks your group “Are you students?” Answer positively for the whole group using we.
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“We” takes “are”, and a positive short answer keeps are full: “Yes, we are”. A contraction such as we’re needs following material in an affirmative statement.
Choose the contraction that keeps this statement’s meaning: “They are from Canada”.
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“They're” contracts they are. “their” is a different word, and is does not agree with they.
Your group shares an opinion. Choose the complete statement using agree.
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“We agree” uses agree as the main verb. Adding are or is before agree does not make this statement grammatical.
Transfer: join a new group
- A subject containing a name and “I” can name more than one person. Choose for the whole group rather than the last word.
- Use the imaginary profile in the writing task to introduce someone in English. Write first, then compare with the model; other complete sentences can preserve the same facts.
You and Mina are both at the library. Choose the complete statement naming you both.
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Mina and I names a group including you, like we. Use are for that whole subject; the final word I does not make the complete subject singular.
You ask Noor about Noor and a friend. They are both ready. Choose a neutral question and Noor’s positive short answer for the pair.
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You can address more than one person. Noor answers for the pair with we, and keeps are full in “Yes, we are”. Both question agreement and short-answer form matter.
Use this imaginary profile, speaking as the person: name Noor; from Egypt; a new student. Write three English sentences with present be.
Compare the meaning, subject and be form. Revise a mismatch. The model is one possible response; this is supported written practice, not an automatic speaking or proficiency result.
Return and repair
- Tomorrow, describe a different person or object, ask a neutral question about it, and give a short answer. Try the recall view before rereading; it contains familiar practice, not a fresh proficiency test.
- Repair the last pair of sentences and compare your response. Continue with pronouns and possessives. Study can be split across sessions; the planning range is provisional until learner timing is observed.
As a complete positive short answer to “Is he ready?”, is “Yes, he's.” correct in the standard pattern practised here?
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Keep is full at the end: “Yes, he is”. “He's ready” is a grammatical full statement, and “No, he isn't” is a grammatical negative short answer.
Repair these two English sentences without changing who they refer to: They is in room 4. Is you ready?
Compare the meaning, subject and be form. Revise a mismatch. The model is one possible response; this is supported written practice, not an automatic speaking or proficiency result.