Am, is, are: the verb to be

The verb to be is the most common verb in English. You use it to say who you are, where you are from, how you feel and what something is like. In the present tense it has three forms: am, is and are.

Which form do I use?

• I + am: I am a student.
• he, she, it + is: She is from Brazil. It is cold today.
• you, we, they + are: We are in the same class. They are very friendly.

Use is with one person or thing (My brother is a doctor.) and are with more than one (My brothers are doctors.).

Short forms

In conversation and informal writing, we usually join the subject and the verb. These short forms are called contractions.

• I am → I'm
• you are → you're
• he is → he's, she is → she's, it is → it's
• we are → we're, they are → they're

Negative sentences

Put not after the verb. The short forms are very common.

• I'm not tired.
• He isn't at home. (is not → isn't)
• They aren't ready. (are not → aren't)

There is no short form “amn't”. Always say I'm not.

Questions

To make a question, put the verb before the subject.

• You are a student. → Are you a student?
• She is from Japan. → Is she from Japan?

Answer with a short answer. Don't use contractions in positive short answers.

• Are you a student? Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.
• Is it expensive? Yes, it is. / No, it isn't.

Common mistake: “Yes, I'm.” is not correct. Say “Yes, I am.”

Questions with question words

Put the question word first: Where are you from? What is your name? How old is she? Who are they?

In speaking, what is usually becomes what's: What's your phone number?

Try it yourself

Read this short introduction. Then write three sentences about yourself with am, is and are.

Hi, I'm Lena. I'm 24 and I'm from Hamburg. My parents are teachers and my sister is a nurse. We aren't very tall, but we're very good at basketball!