To Be — Am, Is, Are
🔤 1. What does “to be” mean?
“To be” is a verb.
We use to be to talk about:
- who someone is
- what someone or something is
- how someone or something is
- where someone or something is
For example:
I am Rina. → Who am I?
He is a teacher. → What is he?
She is happy. → How is she?
They are at home. → Where are they?
So, to be is a verb that helps us give information about a person or thing.
📘 2. “To be” has different forms
In the present tense, to be has three forms:
am, is, are
We choose am, is, or are depending on the subject.
A subject is the person or thing we are talking about.
For example:
I am happy.
She is tired.
They are busy.
The subjects are I, she, and they.
🧩 3. When do we use “am”?
Use am with I.
I am happy.
I am a student.
I am at home.
💡 Remember:
I → am
Not:
❌ I are
Correct:
🔍 4. When do we use “is”?
Use is with:
he, she, it
He
He is tall.
He is a student.
She
She is happy.
She is a teacher.
It
We use it for a thing, animal, or situation.
It is cold.
It is a cat.
💡 Remember:
He → is
She → is
It → is
🧠 5. When do we use “are”?
Use are with:
you, we, they
You
You are nice.
You are my friend.
We
We are students.
We are happy.
They
They are busy.
They are at school.
💡 Remember:
You → are
We → are
They → are
🗂️ 6. The basic rule
This is the most important thing to remember:
| Subject | To be |
|---|---|
| I | am |
| He | is |
| She | is |
| It | is |
| You | are |
| We | are |
| They | are |
💡 Easy way to remember:
I am
He is
She is
It is
You are
We are
They are
🎯 7. To Be + Information
After am, is, or are, we can give different kinds of information.
A. Who or what someone is
I am a student.
She is a teacher.
They are my friends.
B. How someone is
I am happy.
He is tired.
We are hungry.
C. Where someone or something is
I am at home.
She is at school.
They are in the room.
So we can think of it like this:
Subject + am/is/are + information
I + am + happy.
She + is + a teacher.
They + are + at home.
💬 8. Positive Sentences
A positive sentence says that something is true.
The basic pattern is:
Subject + am/is/are + information
Examples:
I am a student.
He is happy.
They are at home.
🔤 9. Negative Sentences
To say that something is not true, use not after am, is, or are.
💡 Pattern:
Subject + am/is/are + not + information
Examples:
I am not tired.
She is not a teacher.
They are not at home.
💡 Remember:
am → am not
is → is not
are → are not
📘 10. Short Forms
In everyday English, we often make short forms.
Positive
I am → I'm
He is → He's
She is → She's
It is → It's
You are → You're
We are → We're
They are → They're
Examples:
I'm happy.
She's a teacher.
They're at home.
The meaning is the same.
I am happy. = I'm happy.
Negative
is not → isn't
are not → aren't
Examples:
He isn't tired.
They aren't busy.
For I am not, we normally use:
I'm not
Example:
I'm not tired.
🧩 11. Questions
To make a question with am, is, or are, put am/is/are before the subject.
Look at the difference:
Sentence
She is happy.
Question
Is she happy?
The order changes.
💡 Pattern:
Am/Is/Are + subject +...?
Examples:
Am I late?
Is he tired?
Is she a teacher?
Are you okay?
Are they at home?
🔍 12. Short Answers
We can answer a question with a short answer.
With “is”
Is she happy?
Yes, she is.
No, she isn't.
With “are”
Are they students?
Yes, they are.
No, they aren't.
With “am”
Am I late?
Yes, you are.
No, you aren't.
Notice that the answer follows the person you are talking to.
For example:
Are you tired?
→ Yes, I am.
Not:
🧠 13. “To Be” and Normal Verbs
This is an important difference.
We use am, is, or are to give information such as:
She is happy.
He is a teacher.
They are at home.
But we don't normally use am/is/are before a normal verb in a simple present sentence.
For example:
Correct:
Another example:
Correct:
We will learn this in the Simple Present Tense lesson.
🗂️ 14. Quick Review
💡 Use am with:
I am
💡 Use is with:
He is
She is
It is
💡 Use are with:
You are
We are
They are
✏️ 15. Practice — Choose Am, Is, or Are
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📝 16. Practice — Make the Sentences Negative
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🧩 17. Practice — Make Questions
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🔁 18. Practice — Choose the Correct Sentence
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🧩 19. The One Thing to Remember
If you remember only one thing from this lesson, remember:
I → am
He / She / It → is
You / We / They → are
Examples:
I am happy.
She is happy.
They are happy.