Verb to Be

Master the most important verb in English: to be. Learn its forms, uses, contractions, and how to form questions and negatives.

Level A2-B1-B2-C1-C2⏱️ 40 min📋 Requires: Basic understanding of personal pronouns

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The verb to be is the most important verb in English. It is used to describe states, characteristics, locations and much more. It is the foundation of many grammatical structures.

📋 Quick Reference

1Am: I am

2Is: He/She/It is

3Are: You/We/They are

4Used to describe, identify and locate

5It is irregular - it does not follow normal rules

Full Conjugation of the Verb to Be

Pronoun	Present	Past	Meaning
I	am	was	I am
You	are	were	You are
He/She/It	is	was	He/She/It is
We	are	were	We are
You (plural)	are	were	You are (plural)
They	are	were	They are

💡

Remember: The verb to be is irregular. It does not follow the normal pattern of regular verbs like "play" → "played".

1. 🏷️ Identification (Be)

To say who or what someone or something is.

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Yo soy María

🇬🇧 English:

I am María

📝 Translation:

I am María

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Él es doctor

🇬🇧 English:

He is a doctor

📝 Translation:

He is a doctor

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Esto es un libro

🇬🇧 English:

This is a book

📝 Translation:

This is a book

2. 📍 Location (Be)

To say where someone or something is.

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Yo estoy en casa

🇬🇧 English:

I am at home

📝 Translation:

I am at home

🇪🇸 Spanish:

El libro está en la mesa

🇬🇧 English:

The book is on the table

📝 Translation:

The book is on the table

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Los niños están en el parque

🇬🇧 English:

The children are in the park

📝 Translation:

The children are in the park

3. 🎨 Description (Be)

To describe characteristics, states, or conditions.

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Ella es muy inteligente

🇬🇧 English:

She is very intelligent

📝 Translation:

She is very intelligent

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Estoy cansado

🇬🇧 English:

I am tired

📝 Translation:

I am tired

🇪🇸 Spanish:

El clima está soleado

🇬🇧 English:

The weather is sunny

📝 Translation:

The weather is sunny

4. ⏰ Age and Time

To talk about age, dates, and time.

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Yo tengo 25 años

🇬🇧 English:

I am 25 years old

📝 Translation:

I am 25 years old

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Hoy es lunes

🇬🇧 English:

Today is Monday

📝 Translation:

Today is Monday

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Son las 3 de la tarde

🇬🇧 English:

It is 3 o'clock in the afternoon

📝 Translation:

It is 3 o'clock in the afternoon

In English, it is very common to use contractions (short forms) of the verb to be, especially in informal conversation.

Present Tense Contractions

Full Form	Contraction	Pronunciation
I am	I'm	/aɪm/
You are	You're	/jʊər/
He is	He's	/hiːz/
She is	She's	/ʃiːz/
It is	It's	/ɪts/
We are	We're	/wɪər/
They are	They're	/ðeər/

⚠️

Watch out! Do not use contractions in formal writing or when you want to emphasize something.

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Yo soy estudiante

🇬🇧 English:

I'm a student

📝 Translation:

I'm a student (informal contraction)

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Ellos están aquí

🇬🇧 English:

They're here

📝 Translation:

They're here (informal contraction)

To make questions with the verb to be, we simply invert the order: we put the verb before the subject.

🇪🇸 Spanish:

¿Eres feliz?

🇬🇧 English:

Are you happy?

📝 Translation:

Are you happy?

🇪🇸 Spanish:

¿Es él doctor?

🇬🇧 English:

Is he a doctor?

📝 Translation:

Is he a doctor?

🇪🇸 Spanish:

¿Dónde está María?

🇬🇧 English:

Where is María?

📝 Translation:

Where is María?

🇪🇸 Spanish:

¿Cómo están ustedes?

🇬🇧 English:

How are you?

📝 Translation:

How are you?

✅

Easy: Questions with the verb to be are easier than with other verbs because you do not need "do" or "does".

To make negatives, we add "not" after the verb to be.

Negative Forms

Pronoun	Full Form	Contraction
I	I am not	I'm not
You	You are not	You're not / You aren't
He/She/It	He/She/It is not	He's not / He isn't
We	We are not	We're not / We aren't
They	They are not	They're not / They aren't

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Yo no soy profesor

🇬🇧 English:

I am not a teacher

📝 Translation:

I am not a teacher

🇪🇸 Spanish:

No estoy en casa

🇬🇧 English:

I'm not at home

📝 Translation:

I'm not at home (contraction)

🇪🇸 Spanish:

Ellos no están aquí

🇬🇧 English:

They aren't here

📝 Translation:

They aren't here (contraction)

❌

Error: "I are happy" ❌
Correct: "I am happy" ✅
Remember: I → am, not are

❌

Error: "He are tall" ❌
Correct: "He is tall" ✅
Remember: He/She/It → is

❌

Error: "Do you are happy?" ❌
Correct: "Are you happy?" ✅
With the verb to be we do not use "do" for questions

❌

Error: "I not am tired" ❌
Correct: "I am not tired" ✅
"Not" goes after the verb to be

← Back to Theory

Verb to Be

What is the Verb to Be?

📋 Quick Reference

Forms of the Verb to Be

Main Uses

1. 🏷️ Identification (Be)

2. 📍 Location (Be)

3. 🎨 Description (Be)

4. ⏰ Age and Time

Contractions

Questions with Verb to Be

Negatives with Verb to Be

Common Mistakes