To Be

The verb to be has three forms: am, is, are.

Singular Plural
1st Person I am student. We are students.
2nd Person You are a student You are students
He is a student.
They are students.
3rd Person She is a student.
They are books.
It is a book.

Use am in a sentence about yourself.

I am a doctor.
I am hungry.
I'm a student.
I'm too hot.

Hint: Always capitalize I.

Use is in sentences about a third person or thing.

He is a doctor. He's tall.
She is a teacher. She's intelligent.
It is a book It's sunny today.
Native speakers of English
often use contractions
Hint: with to be.
I'm, You're, He's, She's,
It's, We're, They're

Use are in sentences about a second person (you) singular and all plural
subjects.
You are a doctor. You are tall.
You are doctors. You (plural) are tall.
We are students. We are too cold.
They are teachers. They are too hot.

Reminder: The pronoun you can

refer to a plural or
 singular noun. It is
sometimes difficult to
know which it is.

The verb to be can be followed by

• an adjective
• an object
• here or there

Adjective Object here/there

I'm hot. I am a teacher I am here.
You're very smart. You are a musician. You're there.
He's handsome. She's a pilot. It's there.
We're exhausted. We're the leaders. We're here.
You're finished. You're taxi drivers. You're here.
They are blue. They are new cars. They're over there.

Pactice: The verb to be

Circle the correct form of the verb to be in each sentence below.

1. I (am/is/are) a college student. 7. You (am/is/are) there.

2. You (am/is/are) hungry.
3. You (am/is/are) a pilot.
4. My new car (am/is/are) very fast.
5. My new car (am/is/are) blue.
6. We (am/is/are) here.
Answer Key
8. The television (am/is/are) broken.
9. Your shirt (am/is/are) too small.
10. John (am/is/are) exhausted.
11. You (am/is/are) a doctor.
12. You (am/is/are) doctors.

Pactice: The verb to be

Answer Key
Circle the correct form of the verb to be in each sentence below.

1. I (am/is/are) a college student. 7. You (am/is/are) there.

2. You (am/is/are) hungry.
3. You (am/is/are) a pilot.
4. My new car (am/is/are) very fast.
5. My new car (am/is/are) blue.
6. We (am/is/are) here.
8. The television (am/is/are) broken.
9. Your shirt (am/is/are) too small.
10. John (am/is/are) exhausted.
11. You (am/is/are) a doctor.
12. You (am/is/are) doctors.

Practice #2: the verb to be

Change the verbs to contractions where possible.

---------------- contraction --------------- contraction

1. You are very angry. 7. He is a mechanic.
2. She is a lawyer. 8. It is hot.
3. It is a Ford car. 9. They are hungry.
4. We are here. 10. You are intelligent.
5. You are students. 11. I am a musician.
6. I am a pilot. 12 She is here.

Practice #2: the verb to be

Answer Key
Change the verbs to contractions where possible.

---------------- contraction --------------- contraction

1. You are very angry. You're very angry. 7. He is a mechanic. He's a mechanic.
2. She is a lawyer. She's a lawyer. 8. It is hot. It's hot.
3. It is a Ford car. It's a Ford car. 9. They are hungry. They're hungry.
4. We are here. We're here. 10. You are intelligent. You're intelligent.
5. You are students. You're students. 11. I am a musician. I'm a musician.
6. I am a pilot. I'm a pilot. 12 She is here. She's here.

Practice: the verb to be

Circle the correct subject pronoun in each of the following sentences.

1. You/He is a firefighter. 7. I/You am ready for bed.

2. You/He are very tired. 8. It/They are very hungry.
3. She/I am a pilot. 9. They/He is a good actor.
4. They/It are new cars. 10. It/He is a large building.
5. We/I are very sad. 11. We/I are teachers.
6. You/She is angry with the teacher. 12. You/She is a new student.

Practice: the verb to be

Circle the correct subject pronoun in each of the following sentences.

Note: The correct answer is in red.

1. You/He is a firefighter. 7. I/You am ready for bed.

2. You/He are very tired. 8. It/They are very hungry.
3. She/I am a pilot. 9. They/He is a good actor.
4. They/It are new cars. 10. It/He is a large building.
5. We/I are very sad. 11. We/I are teachers.
6. You/She is angry with the teacher. 12. You/She is a new student.

To Be
in Yes/No Questions
In a question that can be answered with yes or no, put the verb at the beginning
of the sentence. Add a question mark.

statement I am a student You are a student He is a student

question Am I a student? Are you a student? Is he a student>

Notice where the verb moves to:

Statement: You are hungry.

Subject/verb
Question: Are you hungry?
Verb/subject

You can answer these questions with short answers.

Are you hungry? Yes, I am

Is he a doctor? Yes, he is.
Are they too hot? Yes, they are.

Negative short answers sometimes have two forms.

Are you tired? No, I'm not.

Am I fat? No, you aren't. No you're not.
Is he a teacher? No, he isn't. No, he's not.
Are home yet? No, we aren't. No, we're not.
Are they elephants? No, they aren't. No, they're not.

Note: there is only one short answer for in the first person--No, I'm not.

To Be
in Yes/No Questions
Make questions out of these statements.
 Statement Question
1. He is a dancer.
2. She's too cold.
3. You're a good student.
4. Kamal is very smart.
5. Betsy is a computer programmer.
6. My car is a Ford.
7. They are new teachers.
8. I'm tired.
9. Everett is dishonest.
10. The man is overweight.

To Be
in Yes/No Questions
Answer Key
Make questions out of these statements.

Statement Question
1. He is a dancer. Is he a dancer?
2. She's too cold. Is she too cold?
3. You're a good student. Are you a good student?
4. Kamal is very smart. Is Kamal very smart?
5. Betsy is a computer programmer. Is Betsy a computer programmer?
6. My car is a Ford. Is my new car a Ford?
7. They are new teachers. Are they new teachers?
8. I'm tired. Am I tired?
9. Everett is dishonest. Is Evertt dishonest?
10. The man is overweight. Is the man overweight?

To Be
in Yes/No Questions
Fill in the correct verb in either the question or the short answer.

Question Short Answer

1. Is Alice hungry? Yes, she ____.
2. ____ he tired? Yes, he is.
3. Are they teachers? Yes, they ____.
4. ____ it raining today? Yes, it is.
5. Is it two o'clock? Yes, it ____.
6. ____ he a doctor? No, he isn't.
7. Is it cold outside? No, it ____.
8. Is Alejandro a mechanic? No, ____ not.
9. Are they airline pilots? No, they ____.
10. Is it cold out? No, ____ not.
11. Is it snowing? No, it ____.
12. Is it late? No, ____ not. It's only six o'clock.

To Be
in Yes/No Questions
Answer Key
Fill in the correct verb in either the question or the short answer.

Question Short Answer

1. Is Alice hungry? Yes, she is____.
2. Is____ he tired? Yes, he is.
3. Are they teachers? Yes, they are____.
4. Is__ it raining today? Yes, it is.
5. Is it two o'clock? Yes, it _is___.
6. __Is__ he a doctor? No, he isn't.
7. Is it cold outside? No, it _isn't___.
8. Is Alejandro a mechanic? No, _he's___ not.
9. Are they airline pilots? No, they _aren't___.
10. Is it cold out? No, _it's___ not.
11. Is it snowing? No, it _isn't___.
12. Is it late? No, _it's___ not. It's only six o'clock.