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PRESENT SIMPLE FORMS OF ‘TO BE’ – AM/IS/ARE

Grammar » A1 Grammar lessons and exercises » Present simple forms of ‘to be’ – am/is/are » Page 2

Exercises Explanation Downloads

The present simple of be – FORM

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The present simple of the verb be has three forms:

I am.
He/She/It is.
We/You/They are.

They= people and things

We use he for a man, she for a woman, and it for a thing.
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He‘s a little boy.
She‘s beautiful.
I like this TV. It‘s very big.

We use they for people and for things.

I love Sara and Jonas. They are my friends.

I love these chairs. They are very beautiful.

Don’t forget the subject

We always need a subject before the verb.

It is cold.
Is cold.
Sally is a wonderful woman.
Is a wonderful woman.

Contractions or short forms

We use ‘m, ‘s and ‘re with personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc.)

I’m sad.
You’re tired.
She’s from Scotland.

But we can also use ‘s with names.

Laura’s beautiful.
London’s an expensive city.

Contractions in short answers

We can only use contractions in negative short answers. Not in positive short
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answers.

Yes, I am.
Yes, I’m.
Yes, she is.
Yes, she’s.
Yes, they are.
Yes, they’re.

The present simple of be – USE

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We use the verb be to talk about:

Who we are: I‘m Steven, and this is Isabella. And this is my daughter, Alicia.
Age: I‘m 24 years old, and my father is 50.
Job: I‘m a teacher, and my wife is a doctor.
Nationality: Alex is from Ireland, and Sonia is from Spain.
Feelings: I‘m scared. She is very tired.
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Colour: Our dog is black. His eyes are blue.
Prices: It‘s seven pounds. This T-shirt is twenty dollars.
The weather: It‘s sunny today. It is very cold this morning.
The time: What time is it? It‘s ten past four.
Descriptions in general: He is very short and thin. The cars are old and cheap.

Related tests:

Present simple – I do, I don’t, Do I?

Was/were – past simple of ‘be’

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