ENGLISH
LESSON
The Verb "To Be" - Present Tense
LESSON OBJECTIVES
Understand the meaning of the verb "to be" in the present tense.
Learn the affirmative and negative forms of "to be."
Practice using "to be" in sentences.
INTRODUCTION
The verb 'to be' is used to talk about existence, identity, and feelings.
In the present tense, 'to be' has three forms: am, are, and is.
am
TO BE is
are
Use 'I am' to talk about yourself
I AM
I am happy.
I’m happy.
Use 'You are' to talk to someone.
YOU ARE
You a r e m y fr ien d .
You’r e my fr ie nd .
Use 'He/She/It is'
HE/S HE/IT to talk about other people or things.
IS
He is the boss.
He’s the boss.
Use 'We are'
to talk about a group including yourself.
WE ARE
We are family.
We’re family.
Use 'They are'
THEY ARE to talk about other people.
They are kids.
They’re kids.
Summary: Affirmative Forms
AM IS ARE
I am = I’m she is = she’s you are = you’re
he is = he’s we are = we’re
it is = it’s they are = they’re
"Use 'I am not'
I AM NOT to say what you aren't.
I am not tired.
I’m not tired.
Use 'You are not'
YOU ARE NOT to say what someone isn't
You are not sick.
You’re not sick.
Use 'He/She/It is not'
HE/ SHE/ IT to say what someone isn't.
IS NOT
He is not okay.
He isn’t okay.
Use 'We are not'
to say what a group isn't.
WE ARE NOT
We ar e no t h ap py .
We ar en ’t ha pp y.
Use 'They are not'
THEY ARE to say what someone else isn't.
NOT
The y ar e no t n o isy .
The y ar en ’t no is y.
Summary: Negative Forms
AM IS ARE
I am not = I’m not she is not = she isn’t you are not= you aren’t
he is not = he isn’t we are not = we aren’t
it is not = it isn’t they are not = they aren’t
PRACTICE EXERCISE
Complete the sentences with the correct form of 'to be'
(affirmative or negative).
He ___ at home. ( is / isn't )
He is at home.
They ___ hungry. ( are / aren’t)
They are hungry.
I ___ clean. ( am / am not)
I am not clean.
He ___ listening. ( is / isn’t )
He isn’t listening.
We ___ sad. ( are / aren’t )
He ___ happy. ( is / isn’t )
He isn’t happy.
We ___ playing. ( are / aren’t )
We are playing.
We ___ playing. ( are / aren’t )
We aren’t playing.
I ___ happy. ( am / am not )
I am not happy.
GOOD JOB!
TO BE - AFFIRMATIVE
AM IS ARE
I she you
he we
it they
REVIEW
AM IS ARE
I am a girl. He is cold. We are singing.
TO BE - NEGATIVE
AM NOT IS NOT ARE NOT
I she you
he we
it they
TO BE - NEGATIVE FORMS
AM IS ARE
I am not rich. He is not poor. We are not clean.
WELL DONE!
You've learned how to use the verb 'to be' in the present tense.
Keep practicing!
