Present simple: 'to be'

young woman studying

Do you know how to use the verb to be in the present simple? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how we use to be in the present simple. 

I'm a student.
My mum's a doctor.
They aren't very busy.
Is he a teacher?

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1

Grammar A1-A2: Present simple – to be: 1

Grammar explanation

We can use the present simple of the verb to be to talk about situations and states in the present. 

Affirmative Negative Question
I am I am not Am I?
You/we/they are You/we/they are not Are you/we/they?
He/she/it is He/she/it is not Is he/she/it?

Contractions

We can contract the verb, especially when we're speaking.

I am a shop assistant. = I'm a shop assistant.
You are a good friend! = You're a good friend!
He is my wife's brother. = He's my wife's brother.
We are very busy at the moment. = We're very busy at the moment.
They are on holiday in Italy. = They're on holiday in Italy.

Negatives

For negatives, use not after the verb. We can contract the verb or not.

I am not at work. = I'm not at work. Note: I amn't is not possible.
She is not a student. = She's not a student. = She isn't a student.
Money
is not important. = Money's not important. = Money isn't important.
We
are not hungry. = We're not hungry. = We aren't hungry.
They
are not at home. = They're not at home. = They aren't at home.

Questions

For questions, change the order of am, is or are and the person.

Are you tired?
Is she Mexican?
Is this your phone?
Are we late?
Are they your children?

Short answers

Affirmative Negative (Verb contracted) (not contracted)
Yes, I am. No, I am not. No, I'm not. No, I amn't.
Yes, you are. No, you are not. No, you're not. No, you aren't.

Yes, we are.

No, we are not. No, we're not. No, we aren't.
Yes, they are. No, they are not. No, they're not. No, they aren't.
Yes, he is. No, he is not. No, he's not. No, he isn't.
Yes, she is. No, she is not. No, she's not. No, she isn't.
Yes, it is. No, it is not. No, it's not. No, it isn't.

Note that with short answers, we only use contractions with no answers.

Questions with question words

We can also make questions by using a question word like where, when, who or what. We put the question word at the beginning.

Where are you from? I'm from Brazil.
When is the meeting? It's next Tuesday.
Who's she? She's my sister.
What time is it? It's six o'clock.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2

Grammar A1-A2: Present simple – to be: 2

Language level

Average: 4.3 (97 votes)
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Submitted by Monike.sophie10 on Tue, 27/08/2024 - 13:17

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Hello. 

Which sentence is correct? I'm interested in books or I'm interested in reading books.

Thanks in advance.

Hello Monike.sophie10,

Both sentences are correct.

In is a preposition and must have an object. The object can be a noun (like 'books') or an -ing form/gerund (like 'reading'), so both sentences are grammatically correct. The difference is that the first sentence is less specific. The speaker may be interested in books because they enjoy reading them, but could also be a collector of books or someone who enjoys studying the history of books.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by LukaX2001 on Mon, 15/07/2024 - 03:43

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Where are the worksheet for Grammar and Vocabulary in this section? Only worksheets with teens 

Hello LukaX2001,

Creating pdf worksheets is a very time-intensive process for us. Sometimes we publish a page without the pdf worksheets and try to add them when time allows.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by anafrancis on Mon, 13/05/2024 - 17:10

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hi I need help beacuse the all excersises are wrong and just the fisrt is good I dont know what doing

Profile picture for user RajithaSL

Submitted by RajithaSL on Mon, 25/12/2023 - 07:15

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Hi,
I know we can contract this - "teacher is" to "teacher's"
(But my Grammarly spell checker suggest it is wrong)
My question is can we contract - "teachers are"
If the answer is Yes, how? And if the answer is No, why?
Thanks in advance.

Hi RajithaSL,

Grammarly and similar apps are only ever rough guides. They can be useful but they are fairly blunt instruments, especially when it comes to grammar suggestions, as they do not take much context into account.

Contractions can lead to ambiguity. For example, teacher's could be teacher is or it could be a possessive form. Apps like Grammarly have problems identifying which one you intend and often correct to the unambiguous option, sacrificing variety and style in the process. Whether or not teacher's is a good choice for your text would depend on the broader context, so I can't say whether it would be a good choice in your case.

 

Generally we contract other forms of 'be' only with pronouns (I, you, he etc). Sometimes 'will' is contracted in informal writing, but it is unusual. Thus, you can contract 'are' with you, we and they, but not with full nouns.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by ashiecajlenreese on Tue, 31/10/2023 - 15:25

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hello i know this is not the right place to ask this.

I'm just really curios what is the difference between for getting and to get? when is the spesific time we use for/to?

thank you so much for answering my question 🙏

Hello ashiecajlenreese,

This depends upon the particular verbs used and the context. However, there are some tendencies.

First, we generally use for + -ing to talk about the use of an object (what the object is capable of) whereas we use to + verb to talk about the intention or purpose of the agent (what the person doing the action is trying/hoping to do). For example:

1. I need a knife for cutting bread. [i.e. the kind of knife which lets me do this]

2. I need a knife to cut bread. [I have some bread to cut and I need a knife]

The difference is subtle and there are many contexts in which both would be possible, such as when standing in a kitchen and cooking or when in a shop and buying. However, imagine a situation in which I am doing something else and need a knife. For example, I may be cutting some rope or a cable. In this case I would use the first sentence because I am asking for a particular type of knife, not telling you what I am going to do with it.

 

I hope that helps to clarify it for you a little. It is a very subtle, as I said, and in many contexts both forms are fine.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team