Simple Present Tense — When to Use To Be and When to Use a Verb
One of the biggest problems for beginners is:
“Do I need to use am, is, or are?”
For example:
✅ She is angry.
But:
✅ They buy a car.
So, when do we use am / is / are, and when do we use a normal verb?
🔤 1. What is “to be”?
To be is a verb.
In the present tense, to be becomes:
| Subject | To be |
|---|---|
| I | am |
| He | is |
| She | is |
| It | is |
| You | are |
| We | are |
| They | are |
We use to be to say:
- who someone is
- what someone or something is
- how someone or something is
- where someone or something is
Examples:
I am Rina.
He is a teacher.
She is happy.
They are at home.
📘 2. When do we use to be?
Use am / is / are when you are giving information such as a description, job, identity, or place.
Description
She is angry.
He is tall.
They are happy.
The cats are hungry.
Job or identity
I am a student.
She is a teacher.
John is a doctor.
They are students.
Place
I am at home.
She is at school.
They are in the kitchen.
Think:
am / is / are + information
🧩 3. When do we NOT use to be?
We do not normally put am / is / are before a normal verb in the simple present.
Normal verbs include:
- eat
- buy
- like
- play
- study
- work
- understand
- know
- want
- need
- watch
- read
- go
Examples:
They buy a car.
She likes coffee.
He works here.
We study English.
I understand you.
Not:
❌ She is like coffee.
❌ He is work here.
❌ We are study English.
🔍 4. The most important difference
Compare these:
She is angry.
Angry describes her.
She is angry.
She likes coffee.
Likes tells us what she does.
She likes coffee.
So:
She is angry. → description
She likes coffee. → normal verb
🧠 5. An easy question to ask yourself
When you make a sentence, ask:
“Am I describing the subject, or am I saying what the subject does?”
Describing → use am/is/are
He is tired.
They are happy.
My sisters are students.
Saying what they do → use a normal verb
He works every day.
They play football.
My sisters like coffee.
🗂️ 6. Be careful with -ing
This is an important shortcut:
am / is / are + verb-ing = present continuous
So if you see -ing after am/is/are, you are usually looking at the present continuous tense, not the simple present tense.
Examples:
She is studying.
They are playing.
He is working.
I am eating.
These are examples of the present continuous.
Compare:
She studies English. → simple present
She is studying English. → present continuous
They play football. → simple present
They are playing football. → present continuous
For now, just remember:
am/is/are + verb-ing → present continuous
So don't think that every sentence with am/is/are is simple present.
🎯 7. Two important patterns in the simple present
There are two main patterns.
Pattern 1: To be
Subject + am/is/are + information
She is happy.
They are students.
I am at home.
Pattern 2: Normal verb
Subject + normal verb
She likes coffee.
They play football.
I study English.
Remember:
To be → am/is/are
Normal verb → play, like, study, work, etc.
And:
am/is/are + verb-ing → present continuous
💬 8. Pay attention to the subject
The subject tells you which form to use.
With to be
My sister is happy.
My sisters are happy.
Why?
My sister = she → is
My sisters = they → are
🔤 9. Plural subjects
Plural means more than one.
Examples:
- cats
- my sisters
- John and Paul
- my friends
- the students
Plural subjects usually work like they.
To be
The cats are hungry.
My sisters are happy.
John and Paul are tired.
Normal verb
The cats eat fish.
My sisters like coffee.
John and Paul play football.
Not:
❌ My sisters likes coffee.
❌ John and Paul plays football.
📘 10. “My sister and I” = we
When you see:
My sister and I
there are two people, so we use we.
To be
My sister and I are happy.
Normal verb
My sister and I study English.
Not:
❌ My sister and I studies English.
Think:
My sister and I = we
🧩 11. “John and Paul” = they
Two names together are plural.
John and Paul are friends.
John and Paul play football.
Think:
John and Paul = they
So we use:
are
play
Not:
❌ John and Paul plays football.
🔍 12. Negative with to be
For to be, use:
- am not
- is not / isn't
- are not / aren't
Examples:
I am not tired.
She isn't angry.
He isn't a teacher.
They aren't happy.
We aren't at home.
🧠 13. Negative with normal verbs
For normal verbs, use:
- don't with I/you/we/they
- doesn't with he/she/it
Examples:
I don't like coffee.
They don't play football.
We don't understand.
She doesn't like coffee.
He doesn't work here.
Remember:
don't / doesn't + basic verb
So:
✅ She doesn't like coffee.
✅ He doesn't work here.
🗂️ 14. “He isn't play” or “He doesn't play”?
This is a very common mistake.
Play is a normal verb.
So use doesn't:
He doesn't play football.
But:
He isn't tired.
Why?
Tired is a description, so we use isn't.
Compare:
He isn't tired. → description
He doesn't play football. → normal verb
🎯 15. Do and does
With normal verbs:
I / You / We / They → do
Do you like coffee?
Do they play football?
Do we need this?
He / She / It → does
Does he like coffee?
Does she work here?
Does it work?
Remember:
do/does + normal verb
And the normal verb goes back to its basic form:
✅ Does she like coffee?
✅ Does he work here?
💬 16. Questions with to be
When the sentence uses to be, put am/is/are before the subject.
Are you tired?
Is she happy?
Are they students?
Is he at home?
We don't use do/does here.
✅ Are you tired?
🔤 17. Questions with normal verbs
When the sentence uses a normal verb, use do/does.
Do you like coffee?
Do they play football?
Does he work here?
Does she understand?
So:
Are you tired?
Do you understand?
Both are correct, but they use different structures.
📘 18. “Are you understand?” or “Do you understand?”
This is another very common beginner mistake.
Understand is a normal verb.
So:
But:
Are you tired?
is correct because tired is a description.
Compare:
Are you tired? → description
Do you understand? → normal verb
🧩 19. “Are you...?” can be correct
Don't think that are you is always wrong.
It is correct when the next word is information or a description:
Are you tired?
Are you hungry?
Are you a student?
Are you at home?
But with a normal verb:
Do you like coffee?
Do you work here?
Do you understand?
Do you need help?
🔍 20. “Is he...” or “Does he...?”
Use is he for descriptions, jobs, identities, and places:
Is he tired?
Is he a teacher?
Is he at home?
Use does he for normal verbs:
Does he work here?
Does he like coffee?
Does he understand?
Does he play football?
🧠 21. “Are they...” or “Do they...?”
Use are they for descriptions, jobs, identities, and places:
Are they happy?
Are they students?
Are they at home?
Use do they for normal verbs:
Do they like coffee?
Do they play football?
Do they work here?
🗂️ 22. An easy decision chart
When you want to make a sentence, ask what comes after the subject.
Description / job / identity / place?
→ Use am/is/are
She is happy.
He is a doctor.
They are at home.
Normal verb?
→ Use a normal verb
She likes coffee.
He works here.
They play football.
Verb ending in -ing after am/is/are?
→ Present continuous
She is studying.
They are playing.
He is working.
🎯 23. Common mistakes
✅ She is angry.
✅ They buy a car.
✅ He doesn't play football.
✅ He isn't tired.
✅ Do you understand?
✅ Is she angry?
✅ Does she like coffee?
✅ She doesn't like coffee.
✅ Does he work here?
✅ My sisters are happy.
✅ My sisters like coffee.
💬 24. A very easy trick
If you are not sure about the subject, replace it with a pronoun.
My sister
My sister = she
So:
My sister is happy.
My sister likes coffee.
My sisters
My sisters = they
So:
My sisters are happy.
My sisters like coffee.
John and Paul
John and Paul = they
So:
John and Paul are tired.
John and Paul play football.
My sister and I
My sister and I = we
So:
My sister and I are happy.
My sister and I study English.
This trick is very useful for beginners.
🔤 25. The big picture
In the simple present, remember these two main ideas:
To be
Use am/is/are for:
- descriptions
- jobs
- identities
- places
She is happy.
He is a teacher.
They are at home.
Normal verbs
Use normal verbs for things people do, think, like, know, want, need, etc.
She likes coffee.
He works here.
They play football.
I understand.
And one more important shortcut:
am/is/are + verb-ing = present continuous
She is studying.
They are playing.
So it is not simple present.
📘 26. The most important rule
Don't add am/is/are just because the sentence is in the present.
Ask:
Is this a description, job, identity, or place?
→ Use am/is/are.
Is this a normal verb?
→ Use the normal verb.
Is there a verb ending in -ing after am/is/are?
→ That's present continuous.
Quick memory guide
💡 To be:
I → am
He/She/It → is
You/We/They → are
💡 Normal verb:
I/You/We/They → basic verb
He/She/It → verb + s/es
💡 Questions:
To be → Am/Is/Are...?
Normal verb → Do/Does...?
💡 -ing:
am/is/are + verb-ing → present continuous