To be


Introduction

We use the verb "to be" with
For example:

Present Past
I am tired. / I'm tired. I was tired.
She is a doctor. / She's a doctor. She was a doctor.
They are students. / They're students. They were students.
I am here. I was here.
We are at the hospital. We were at the hospital.

Part 1 - "be" (positive)

We use:
"am", "is", "are" / "'m", "'s", "'re"
or "was" / "were".


For example - present:

I am

(I'm)
happy.
She / He / It is

(She's / He's / It's)
You
We
They
are

(You're
We're
They're)

I am

(I'm)
an engineer.
She / He / It is

(She's / He's / It's)
You are

(You're
We're
They're)
an engineer.
engineers.
We
They
engineers.

For example - past:

I
She / He / It
was happy.
You
We
They
were
I
She / He / It
was an engineer.
You were an engineer.
engineers.
We
They
engineers.

Practice

Complete the sentences with the correct positive form of the verb "be".

Present
.
1)
I    hungry.

 
2)
My sister and I    singers.

 
3)
My dog    very young.

 

Past
.
1)
It    a dangerous mountain.

 
2)
They    late for work.

 
3)
The house    very old.

 

Part 2 - "be" (negative)

To make a negative sentence use
"am not", "is not", "are not" / "'m not", "isn't", "aren't"
or "wasn't" / "weren't".



For example - present:

I am not
'm not
happy.
She / He / It is not
isn't
You
We
They
are not
aren't

I am not
'm not
an engineer.
She / He / It is not
isn't
You are not
aren't
an engineer.
engineers.
We
They
are not
aren't
engineers.

For example - past:

I
She / He / It
was not
wasn't
happy.
You
We
They
were not
weren't

I
She / He / It
was not
wasn't
an engineer.
You were not
weren't
an engineer.
engineers.
We
They
engineers.

Practice

Complete the sentences with the correct negative form of the verb "be".

Present
.
1)
Polly    an actress.

 
2)
David and Jim    fat.

 
3)
I    a good swimmer.

 

Past
.
1)
The weather    good yesterday.

 
2)
My parents    poor.

 
3)
We    at the cinema last night.

 

Part 3 - "be" (questions)

To make questions we put
"am", "is", "are" or "was", "were" before the subject.


For example - present:

Am I happy?
Is she / he / it
Are you
we
they

Am I an engineer?
Is she / he / it
Are you an engineer?
engineers?
we
they
engineers?

For example - past:

Was I
she / he / it
happy?
Were you
we
they

Was I
she / he / it
an engineer?
Were you an engineer?
engineers?
we
they
engineers?

Practice

Complete the questions with the correct form of the verb "be".

Present
.
1)
   Pierre French?

 
2)
   the books on the shelf?

 
3)
   I late?

 

Past
.
1)
   your parents at home?

 
2)
   he a fireman.

 
3)
   I right?

 

Further practice

Choose the correct answer to complete the sentence: a, b, c or d.
.
1)
My sister ____ a famous sportswoman.
 

 

2)
The supermarket ____ open today.
 

 

3)
____ you upset?
 

 

4)
____ a dentist?
 

 

5)
We ____ excited about the trip.
 

 

6)
I ____ there.
 

 

Further reading

The verb "be" is also an auxiliary (helping) verb and is used to make continuous tenses:
Please see separate worksheets for an explanation of these tenses.

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