1.

1 The verb to be

1 We use the verb to be to describe something or someone, or to talk about age.

The verb to be is an irregular verb and has different forms for each person.

to be positive to be negative
I am hungry. am not thirsty.
’m hungry. ’m not thirsty.
He/She/It is German. is not Swiss.
’s German. isn’t Swiss.
You/We/They are married. are not single.
’re married. aren’t single. contraction

contraction
2 Notice how we use contracted forms where the ’ indicates a missing letter. These
are common in informal writing and everyday conversation.

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 1.1 The verb to be

1 When we ask a question with the verb to be, we change the order of the subject
and the verb.
You are British. They are interesting.

Are you British? Are they interesting?

2 We do not use contractions in positive short answers.

Question Positive short answer: full

forms
Am I early? Yes, I am.
Is he/she/it late? Yes, he/she/it is.
Are you/we/they Chinese? Yes, you/we/they are.

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 1.1 The verb to be

We can use contractions or full answers in negative answers.

Question Negative short answer: Negative short answer:

contractions full forms
Am I early? No, I’m not. No, I am not.
Is he/she/it late? No, he/she/it isn’t. No, he/she/it is not.
Are you/we/they Chinese? No, you/we/they aren’t. Yes, you/we/they are not.

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 1.1 The verb to be

Correct the sentences.

1 You from where?

Where are you from?
2 He aren’t German.
He isn’t German.
3 They is from Spain?
Are they from Spain?
4 It aren’t Friday today.
It isn’t Friday today.
5 A You are early?
B No, I amn’t.
A Are you early?
B No, I am not/I’m not.

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