A1BeginnerTo be

Verb to be

Am, is and are for who you are, where things are, how you feel and how old you are.

Not sure A1 is your level? Find out in 8–40 questions, no account needed.

To be is the most common verb in English. In the present it has three forms: am, is, are. Many sentences need it even when other languages have no verb there.

Positive: am, is, are

The form depends on the subject. In speech and messages we usually use the short forms.

Subject	Full form	Short form
I	I am	I'm
he, she, it	she is	she's
you, we, they	they are	they're

I'm a teacher, and my wife is a nurse.
We're from Poland.
Incorrect: I student.
Correct: I'm a student.
English sentences need a verb. Here it is am.

Negative: not

Put not after am, is, are.

Subject	Full form	Short forms
I	I am not	I'm not
he, she, it	he is not	he's not, he isn't
you, we, they	we are not	we're not, we aren't

The bank isn't far from here.
They aren't at school today.
I'm not hungry, thanks.

Questions and short answers

Put am, is, are before the subject. Don't use do. In short yes answers, use the full form.

Question	Yes	No
Am I late?	Yes, you are.	No, you aren't.
Is he at work?	Yes, he is.	No, he isn't.
Are they from Spain?	Yes, they are.	No, they aren't.

Is your flat big? No, it isn't.
Are you ready?
Incorrect: Are you like pizza?
Correct: Do you like pizza?
Like is a verb, so the question needs do, not are.
Incorrect: Yes, I'm.
Correct: Yes, I am.
Don't use a short form at the end of a short answer.

Who and where: jobs, countries, places

Use be to say who someone is, where they are from and where things are.

My mother is an engineer.
The keys are on the table.
We're in the kitchen.
Incorrect: She is work in a bank.
Correct: She works in a bank.
Don't put is before a verb with no ending. Use is before a job, a place or an adjective: she is a doctor, she is at work.

Feelings, descriptions and age

Use be + an adjective for how people feel and what things are like. We also use be for age.

Are you cold?
The flat is small but nice.
My brother is twenty-five.
I'm thirty years old.
Incorrect: I have twenty years.
Correct: I'm twenty.
We say our age with be, not have.

Be or have?

We say our age, feelings and jobs with be, and what we own with have or have got.

I'm thirty, and I've got two sisters.
Incorrect: I have cold.
Correct: I'm cold.
For how you feel, use be + adjective. (I've got a cold means you are ill.)

Practise this rule

Where this rule sits

All A1 rules Tenses: all rules