The Simple present of the verb to be

The simple present of the verb to be

This page will present the simple present of the verb to be:

• its form
• and its use

The verb to be

The verb to be is the most important verb in the English language. It is difficult to use because
it is an irregular verb in almost all of its forms. In the simple present tense, to be is conjugated
as follows:

Affirmative forms of the verb to be

Subject Full Contracted

Pronouns Form Form
I am 'm
you are 're
he/she/it is 's
we are 're
you are 're
they are 're

Interrogative forms of the verb to be:

Am I?

Are you?

Is he/she/it?

Are we?

Are you?

Are they?
Negative Forms of the verb to be:

Subject Pronouns Full Form Contracted Form

I am not 'm not
you are not aren't
he/she/it is not isn't
we are not aren't
you are not aren't
they are not aren't

Examples:

• Is Brad Pitt French?

• No, he isn't. He's American.
• What about Angelina Joli? Is she American, too?
• Yes, she is. She is American.
• Are brad Pitt and Angelina Joli French?
• No, They aren't. They are American.

Use of the simple present of to be

The principal use of the simple present is to refer to an action or event that takes place
habitually, but with the verb "to be" the simple present tense also refers to a present or
general state, whether temporary, permanent or habitual.

• I am happy.
• She is helpful.

The verb to be in the simple present can be also used to refer to something that is true at the
present moment.

• She is 20 years old.

• He is a student.

Remember:

• I, you, he, she, it, you, they are subject pronouns (also called personal pronouns, a
term used to include both subject and object pronouns.)
• am, are, is are forms of the verb to be in the simple present.
• 'm, 're, 's are short (contracted) forms of am, are, is
• 'm not, aren't, isn't are short (contracted forms) of am not, are not, is not.
Exercises:

Feel in the blank with the correct verb to be:

Ex: I ___ excited to see my friend. -> I am excited to see my friend.

1. Dinner ___ on the table.

2. It ___ seven in the morning.
3. I ___ very tired today.
4. My mother ___ calling me.
5. Where ___ you from?
6. We ____ in Spain..
7. José ___ happy.
8. We ___ in the office today.
9. They ___ happy to see you.
10. Parents ___ proud of their children.
11. I ___ hoping that you would remember my birthday.
12. Ana ___ upset that Carlos never came back to see her.
13. The children ___ having fun playing in the backyard.
14. They ___ very tired.
15. We ___ all great friends!

II. Choose the correct answer:

1. Anne ____ happy to be home. [is/are]

2. We ____ excited to see the play tonight. [is/are]
3. Today ___ my birthday. [is/are]
4. How old ___ you? [am/are]
5. ___ it raining outside? [Am/Is]
6. When ___ the wedding ? [are/is]
7. ___ you going to work out tonight? [Are/Am]
8. Who ___ the actor from that movie? [is/are]
9. How ____ we gonig to do here? [is/are]
10. They ___ leaving for the movies right now. [is/are]
 The Indefinite Article

We use “a” o “an” in the same way and they are used to indicate
something or someone in the singular. We will never use them to refer to
more than one thing.

Grammatical Rules

1. “A” is used before a consonant.

Ex:

a book
a pen
a chair
a girl

2. “An” is used before a vowel. s

Ex:

an animal
an ice cream
an example
an orange
an umbrella

Remember:

We use "a" before words that begin with the letters "u" or "eu" when these are
pronounced as the figurative sound "yu".
Ex:
a university
a euro

“An” it is used with words that begin with "h", but only when it is not pronounced.

Ex:
an hour
a hospital
Fill in the blanks with the correct artcle:

1. I have ___ car.

2. She is ___ engineer.

3. We need ___ big house.

4. He is ___ nice guy.

5. They are buying ___ apple.

6. You need ___ umbrella.

7. I work at ___ university.

8. This is ___ hotel.

9. I want a hamburger.

10. She will be here in ___ hour.