Present simple forms of 'to be' – am/is/are - Test-English

Present simple forms of ‘to be’ – am/is/are

Grammar » A1 Grammar lessons and exercises » Present simple forms of ‘to be’ – am/is/are
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  • Exercises: 1 2 3 4

    Present simple forms of ‘to be’ – am/is/are

    Exercise 1

    Choose the correct present simple forms of ‘to be’ for the gaps below.

    1 A: you a teacher? B: Yes, I .

    2 A: your name Marcus? B: Yes, it .

    3 A: your children here? B: No, they .

    4 A: this your suitcase? B: No, it .

    5 A: Where we? B: I think this Oxford street.

    6 A: it Saturday today? B: No, It Sunday.

    7 A: your friends from the UK? B: No, from the US.

    8 A: Hello, Maria. How you? B: fine, thanks.

    9 A: How old Peter? B: I think 30 years old.

    10 A: David and Molly here? B: Yes, next to the door.


     

    Exercises: 1 2 3 4

  • The present simple of be – FORM

    Educational chart illustrating the present simple forms of the verb 'to be' with examples in positive, negative, and question forms, alongside short answers for an elementary-level English grammar lesson.

    Download full-size image from Pinterest

    The present simple of the verb be has three forms:

    • I am.
    • He/She/It is.
    • We/You/They are.

     

    They= people and things

    We use he for a man, she for a woman, and it for a thing.

    • He‘s a little boy. 
    • She‘s beautiful. 
    • I like this TV. It‘s very big. 

    We use they for people and for things.

    • I love Sara and Jonas. They are my friends.
    • I love these chairs. They are very beautiful.

     

    Don’t forget the subject

    We always need a subject before the verb.

    • It is cold. blank
    • Is cold. blank
    • Sally is a wonderful woman. blank
    • Is a wonderful woman. blank

     

    Contractions or short forms

    We use ‘m, ‘s and ‘re with personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc.)

    • I’m sad.
    • You’re tired.
    • She’s from Scotland.

    But we can also use ‘s with names.

    • Laura’s beautiful.
    • London’s an expensive city. 

     

    Contractions in short answers

    We can only use contractions in negative short answers. Not in positive short answers.

    • Yes, I am. blank
    • Yes, I’m. blank
    • Yes, she is. blank
    • Yes, she’s. blank
    • Yes, they are. blank
    • Yes, they’re. blank

     

    The present simple of be – USE

    Infographic displaying various uses of the verb 'to be', including introducing people, age, job, nationality, feelings, color, prices, weather, time, and descriptions, with example sentences.

    Download full-size image from Pinterest

    We use the verb be to talk about:

    • Who we are: I‘m Steven, and this is Isabella. And this is my daughter, Alicia.
    • Age: I‘m 24 years old, and my father is 50. 
    • Job: I‘m a teacher, and my wife is a doctor. 
    • Nationality: Alex is from Ireland, and Sonia is from Spain.
    • Feelings: I‘m scared. She is very tired. 
    • Colour: Our dog is black. His eyes are blue.
    • Prices: It‘s seven pounds. This T-shirt is twenty dollars.  
    • The weather: It‘s sunny today. It is very cold this morning. 
    • The time: What time is it? It‘s ten past four. 
    • Descriptions in general: He is very short and thin. The cars are old and cheap. 

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