Verb To Be (Am, Is, Are) – Easy Explanation, Examples & Exercises for Beginners

Verb To Be (Am, Is, Are) – Easy Explanation, Examples & Exercises for Beginners

Learn the English verb “to be” (am, is, are) with simple use, forms, clear examples, common mistakes, and exercises. Perfect for English beginners. 

Table of Content

• Use
• Forms and examples
• Contractions
• Common mistakes
• Exercise

Use

Verb to be " am, is, are " is always followed by a noun, adjective and prepositional phrase to talk about identity, feelings or states, quality, locations or places. 

Noun : Refer to names of 

• people : teacher, dad, student, Roza
• animal : tiger, lion, fish, bird, elephant
• place : Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Siem Reap province, home
• things : car, pen, bed, website, YouTube, TikTok

Adjective : refer to quality 

• good
• bad
• kind
• large
• smart
• dangerous

Prepositional Phrase: Refer to Preposition + other words

• in : in the class, in the room, in the office
• on : on the table, on the wall, on the floor
• at : at home, at work, at school
• under : under the chair, under the table
• over : over the fence
• across : across the street

Examples

Sub + am/is/are + adjective.

• He is very smart.
• She is beautiful.
• They are friendly.
• Roza and Tom are helpful.
• Cobras are dangerous. 

Sub + am/is/are + noun.

• This is a book.
• BDM is a teacher.
• Angkor Wat is in Siem Reap province.
• They are my friends.
• Cobra is a snake.

Sub + am/is/are + adjective + noun.

• He is a good man.
• She is a cute girl.
• They are smart students.
• Cobra is an dangerous snake.
• sovathbdm.com is a good website. 

Sub + am/is/are + prepositional phrase.

• He is at home.
• They are in the classroom.
• She is from Cambodia.
• The map is on the wall.
• The hospital is across the street. 

Forms

Positive : Sub + am/is are + complement ( adj/noun/prepositional phrase).

• She is a teacher.
• He is smart.
• I am at home.
• They are my good friends.

Negative : Sub + am/is are + not + complement. 

• She is not a teacher.
• My teacher is not in the class now.
• They are not friendly.
• Some snakes are not dangerous. 

Yes/No : Am/is/are + sub + complement?

• Is she a teacher? Yes, she is. or No, she isn't. 
• Are all snakes dangerous? 
• Are your parents strict?
• Am I friendly? 

    + Short answers

• Yes, sub + am/is/are.
•  No, sub + am/is/are + not.

Wh-Question : Wh-word + am/is/are + sub + complement? 

• Who is she?
• Where is your book?
• What is the weather like?
• How are you?
• Why are you sad? Verb To Be (Am, Is, Are) – Easy Explanation, Examples & Exercises for Beginners  

Contractions

Positive Contractions

• I am - I'm
• she is - she's
• He is - he's
• It is - it's
• We are - we're
• They are - they're
• You are - you're

Negative Contractions

• I am not - I'm not 
• she is not - she's not or she isn't
• He is not - he's not or he isn't
• It is not - it's not or it isn't
• We are not - we're not or we aren't
• They are not - they're  not or  they aren't
• You are not - you're not or your aren't

Common Mistakes

• I student. > I am student.
• My parents is at home. > My parents are at home
• I is hungry. > I am hungry.
• We are go to school. >  We go to school. 

Note : We cannot use be with another verb unless we use in as present continuous tense. 

- She is eat breakfast. (wrong)

- She eats breakfast. (correct)

- She is eating breakfast. ( correct)

Past Tense of verb to be

If you want to talk about things in the past you just simple change present form of verb to be to past form like below.

• am - was
• is - was
• are - were

Examples

• I am at home now. Yesterday I was at home.
• My class is very interesting today. My class was very boring last week.
• They are very rich now. There were very poor in 1990.