A1Present tenses

Present simple of be: am / is / are

Use am, is, and are to say who or what someone is, describe people and things, give ages and locations, and talk about how someone feels.

Overview

What this grammar does

Use am, is, and are to say who or what someone is, describe people and things, give ages and locations, and talk about how someone feels.

Form and rules

How it works

Use am with I, is with he/she/it and singular nouns, and are with you/we/they and plural nouns.

After be, we often use a noun, adjective, age, nationality, or place: She is a doctor. He is tired. They are at home.

Make negatives with not: I am not, he/she/it isn't, you/we/they aren't.

For yes/no questions, put am/is/are before the subject: Are you ready? Is Maria here?

Short answers use be too: Yes, I am. No, she isn't. Do not answer Yes, I do to a be question.

A closer look

Meaning and use

Use be before nouns, adjectives, ages, nationalities, places, prices, times, and many basic descriptions.

In questions, am/is/are comes before the subject. In short positive answers, use the full form: Yes, I am; Yes, she is; Yes, they are.

Examples

See the pattern in complete sentences

I'm 25 years old.

My parents are Brazilian.

The coffee isn't hot.

Is your teacher from Canada?

Yes, she is.

Common mistakes

What to avoid

She are tired.

She is tired.

She takes is, not are.

Is very cold today.

It is very cold today.

English normally needs an explicit subject before be.

Ready to practise?

The test combines multiple choice, gap completion, error correction, and sentence building so students have to recognise and produce the grammar, not simply reread the rule.

Next topic Present simple: I do / I don't / Do I?