It is one of the most used verbs in English. In this lesson, we will learn about the verb forms in simple present and past tenses.
Conjugation
Verb to be is an irregular verb in English. It has more than one form that differs according to
1- The pronoun or noun used with it.
2- The tense used in a sentence.
The verb "be" in the simple present tense
|
Abbreviation |
Verb Be |
Subject pronouns |
|
I’m |
am |
I |
|
You’re |
are |
You |
|
He’s |
is |
He |
|
She’s |
is |
She |
|
It’s |
is |
It |
|
We’re |
are |
We |
|
You’re |
are |
You |
|
They’re |
are |
They |
Examples:
|
I am 22 years old. |
|
You are happy. |
|
He is sad. |
|
She is a teacher. |
|
It is a cat. |
|
We are old. |
|
You are young. |
|
They are doctors. |
Negative forms of the verb to be in simple present
When negating the sentence, we put the word (not) after the verb.
Examples:
|
Negative |
Abbreviation |
|
I am not 22 years old. |
I’m not 22 years old. |
|
You are not happy. |
You aren’t happy. |
|
He is not sad. |
He isn’t sad. |
|
She is not a teacher. |
She isn’t a teacher. |
|
It is not a cat. |
It isn’t a cat. |
|
We are not old. |
We aren’t old. |
|
You are not young. |
You aren’t young. |
|
They are not doctors. |
They aren’t doctors. |
Notes:
We can't put two abbreviations together in the same structure, we can only write one, example:
|
They'e'n't |
Wrong |
|
They're not |
Right |
|
They aren't |
Right |
The abbreviation for “I am not” is:
|
I'mn't |
Wrong |
|
amn't |
Wrong |
|
I'm not |
Right |
The verb "be" is in the simple past tense
|
Verb Be |
Subject pronouns |
|
was |
I |
|
were |
You |
|
was |
He |
|
was |
She |
|
was |
It |
|
were |
We |
|
were |
You |
|
were |
They |
Examples:
|
I was in the house. |
|
You were hungry. |
|
He was at work. |
|
She was late. |
|
It was cold. |
|
We were in Turkey. |
|
You were sick. |
|
They were at school. |
Negative forms of the verb to be in simple past
When negating the sentence, we put the word (not) after the verb.
Examples:
|
Negative |
Abbreviation |
|
I was not in the house. |
I wasn’t in the house. |
|
You were not hungry. |
You weren’t hungry. |
|
He was not at work. |
He wasn’t at work. |
|
She was not late. |
She wasn’t late. |
|
It was not cold. |
It wasn’t cold. |
|
We were not in Turkey. |
We weren’t in Turkey. |
|
You were not sick. |
You weren’t sick. |
|
They were not at school. |
They weren’t at school. |
That is all you need to know about the verb to be in simple present and simple past tense. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can share them in the comments section below.
Exercise
Put the correct form of the verb (be) in the following sentences.
1- I ... a student. (simple present)
2- They ... teachers. (simple present)
3- My cousin ... twelve years old. (simple present)
4- Her parents ... in Lebanon. (simple past)
5- She ... a doctor. (simple past)
6- You ... in school. (simple past)
Answers
1- am
2- are
3- is
4- were
5- was
6- were