Verb to be

The verb "be" is the most fundamental verb in English and the first verb every learner should master. Unlike other verbs, "be" changes form based on both the subject and the time—present or past. This comprehensive A1–A2 lesson with verb to be exercises online and printable PDF worksheets teaches you 3 Present Forms, 2 Past Forms, and 1 Key Rule: Match the Subject.

• The Core Concept: "Be" has different forms for different subjects in the same tense
• 3 Present Forms: am / is / are
• 2 Past Forms: was / were
• 1 Key Rule: Choose the correct form based on the subject (I, you, he, she, it, we, they)

The verb "be" is irregular—it doesn't follow the standard patterns of other English verbs. Every other verb has just one present form (e.g., "work" → "I work, you work, he works"), but "be" has three (am, is, are). This makes it unique and essential to learn separately.

Uses of "be":

• States and feelings: "I am happy" / "She is tired"
• Identity and occupation: "He is a teacher" / "We are students"
• Location: "They are at home" / "The book is on the table"
• Age: "I am 20 years old" (NOT "I have 20 years")
• Descriptions: "It is beautiful" / "The weather is cold"

Don't confuse "be" with other common verbs:

• "be" vs "do" (auxiliary verbs):
  • "Are you happy?" (be) — asking about a state
  • "Do you like it?" (do) — asking about an action or preference
• "be" as main verb vs "be" as auxiliary:
  • "I am tired" (be + adjective) — main verb expressing a state
  • "I am walking" (be + verb-ing) — auxiliary verb in present continuous (see Present Continuous)
• "be" vs "have" for age:
  • ✅ "She is 16 years old" (use "be" + age)
  • ❌ "She has 16 years" (incorrect in English)

This lesson focuses on "be" as a main verb, teaching you how to use it correctly in statements, questions, and negatives—both in present and past tenses. Practice with our interactive to be exercises online to master all forms from A1 to A2 level. For other tenses and uses of "be," see Present Simple and Past Simple.

Present Forms: I am, you are, she is

The present forms of "be" are am, is, and are. Which form you use depends on the subject of the sentence. This is called subject-verb agreement.

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules

Key pattern:

• I → always use am
• You / We / They → always use are
• He / She / It → always use is

Contractions (Short Forms)

In spoken English and informal writing, we usually contract (shorten) "be" with the subject or with "not":

Affirmative contractions:

Negative contractions:

Note: For "I am not," there's only ONE contraction: "I'm not." There is no standard contraction like *"I amn't" in modern English (see Error Hot Zone #2 below).

Uses of "be" in the Present

1. States and feelings:

• I am happy.
• She is tired.
• They are hungry.

2. Identity and occupation:

• I am a student.
• He is a doctor.
• We are teachers.

3. Location (where something is):

• You are at school.
• The book is on the table.
• My parents are at work.

4. Age:

• My sister is 16 years old.
• I am 20.

5. Descriptions:

• It is a beautiful day.
• The museum is not far from here.
• Those shoes are very expensive.

⚠️ Error Hot Zone #1: "You" Always Takes "are"

One of the most common mistakes for beginners is using "is" with "you" because "you" can refer to one person (singular) or multiple people (plural). But the rule is simple:

"You" ALWAYS takes "are"—whether you're talking to one person or many people.

Why this is confusing: In some languages, the verb changes if "you" is singular vs. plural. In English, it doesn't—"are" is correct for both.

⚠️ Error Hot Zone #2: No Contraction "amn't"

For negative sentences with "I," learners sometimes try to create a contraction similar to "isn't" or "aren't." But there is no standard contraction for "am not" like *"amn't" in modern English.

Correct negative forms with "I":

• Full form: I am not sure.
• Contraction: I'm not sure.
• ❌ NEVER: *I amn't sure. (This does NOT exist in standard English)

For "is" and "are," you have two contraction options:

• She isn't tired. / She's not tired. (both correct)
• They aren't ready. / They're not ready. (both correct)

But for "am," you can only contract the subject + am:

• I'm not hungry. ✅
• *I amn't hungry. ❌

Plural Subjects

When the subject is two or more people or things, use "are":

• Tom and Lisa are in the same class. (Tom and Lisa = they)
• My parents are at work. (my parents = they)
• The shops are not open on Sundays.

Tip: If you can replace the subject with "they," use "are."

👉 Practice am is are exercises: Affirmative & Negative →

Asking Questions: Am I? Are you? Is she?

To make questions with "be," we use inversion—we swap the positions of the subject and the verb.

Yes/No Questions

Pattern: Be + Subject + ?

How to form a yes/no question:

1. Find the "be" verb in the statement
2. Move it to the beginning (before the subject)
3. Add a question mark

Examples:

Wh-Questions (Information Questions)

Wh-questions ask for specific information using question words: What, Where, Who, How, Why, When.

Pattern: Question Word + be + subject + ?

Examples:

• What is your favourite colour?
• Where is the nearest hospital?
• Who are those people?
• How old is your sister? — She is 12.
• How many books are on the shelf?

Note: When "who" or "what" is the subject, we don't invert:

• Who is at the door? (Who = subject)
• What is on the table? (What = subject)

Short Answers

When someone asks you a yes/no question with "be," you answer with "Yes" or "No" + subject pronoun + be verb.

Pattern:

• Positive: Yes, subject + be.
• Negative: No, subject + be + not (contracted).

Examples:

Important: Notice that when answering "Am I...?" questions, the answer uses "you":

• "Am I late?" → "Yes, you are." / "No, you aren't."

This is because you're switching perspective: the person asking "Am I...?" becomes "you" in the answer.

⚠️ Error Hot Zone #3: The Short Answer Contraction Trap

This is one of the most common mistakes even at intermediate levels: You CANNOT contract positive short answers.

However, negative short answers CAN be contracted:

• "Is she at home?" "No, she isn't." ✅
• "Are they ready?" "No, they aren't." ✅

Why this rule exists: In English, we emphasize the auxiliary verb in short answers by keeping it uncontracted. Contracting it would make it too weak or unclear in speech.

⚠️ Error Hot Zone #4: "What is...like?" vs "How is...?"

English has two different patterns for asking about descriptions, qualities, or experiences—and learners often mix them up.

Pattern 1: "What is...like?" — Asking for a description

Use this pattern when you want someone to describe something:

• What is the weather like today? — It's cold and rainy.
• What is your teacher like? — She's very friendly and patient.
• What was the film like? — It was boring.

Pattern 2: "How is...?" — Asking about condition, quality, or experience

Use this pattern to ask about how something is (condition, state, or someone's experience):

• How is the weather? — It's great!
• How is your new job? — It's really interesting.
• How was your weekend? — It was wonderful!

⚠️ Common Mistake: Mixing the two patterns

Rule to remember:

• "What...like?" needs "like" at the end
• "How...?" does NOT use "like"
• Don't say "How...like?" ❌

Quick tip: If you're asking someone to describe something in detail, use "What...like?" If you're asking about quality or experience and expect a short answer like "good" or "bad," use "How?"

Special Question Patterns

"How old...?" is used to ask about age:

• How old are you? — I'm 25.
• How old is your sister? — She's 16.

"How many...?" / "How much...?" ask about quantity:

• How many people are in the room? — There are ten.
• How much is this book? — It's $15.

👉 Practice Questions & Short Answers →

Past Forms: I was, you were

The past simple forms of "be" are was and were. Which form you use depends on the subject, just like in the present.

Past Form Rules

Key pattern:

• I / He / She / It → use was
• You / We / They → use were

Note: "You" takes "were" in the past, just as it takes "are" in the present—whether you're talking to one person or many.

Negative Forms

Full forms:

• I / he / she / it was not
• You / we / they were not

Contractions:

• wasn't = was not
• weren't = were not

Examples:

• I wasn't ready for the exam yesterday.
• She wasn't at the party last night.
• The questions weren't difficult at all.
• You weren't very nice to her.

Uses of "be" in the Past

The past forms of "be" are used to talk about states, locations, and descriptions in the past:

1. States and feelings in the past:

• I was tired yesterday.
• They were very happy about the news.

2. Identity and occupation in the past:

• He was a famous actor in the 1990s.
• My grandmother was a nurse during the war.

3. Location in the past:

• We were on holiday last week.
• The hotel was near the beach.

4. Descriptions in the past:

• The weather was very cold last winter.
• The film wasn't very interesting.

Special Expression: "was/were born"

When talking about birth, always use the past tense "was born" or "were born"—even if the person is still alive.

Common mistake:

Why? Birth happened in the past, so we always use the past form "was/were born," not the present "am/is/are born."

Time Markers for the Past

These words and phrases tell you the sentence is about the past, so you should use "was" or "were":

• yesterday — I was at home yesterday.
• last (week/month/year/night) — She was ill last week.
• ago — They were here two hours ago.
• in + year — He was born in 1990.
• when I was young / a child — The weather was very hot last summer.

Plural Subjects in the Past

Just like in the present, when the subject is two or more people or things, use "were":

• The students were in the library all morning.
• My grandparents were born in a small village.
• The trains weren't on time yesterday.

👉 Practice was were exercises: Affirmative & Negative →

Past Questions: Was I? Were you?

Questions in the past follow the same inversion pattern as present questions: move the "be" verb before the subject.

Yes/No Questions in the Past

Pattern: Was/Were + Subject + ?

Examples:

Wh-Questions in the Past

Pattern: Question Word + was/were + subject + ?

Examples:

• What was the weather like yesterday?
• Where were you born?
• How was your holiday?
• Who was at the door just now?
• Why were you late this morning?
• What was your favourite subject at school?

Note: The "What is...like?" vs "How is...?" distinction also applies to the past:

• ✅ "What was the weather like yesterday?" (asking for description)
• ✅ "How was the weather?" (asking about quality)
• ❌ "How was the weather like?" (incorrect—don't mix patterns)

Short Answers in the Past

Pattern:

• Positive: Yes, subject + was/were.
• Negative: No, subject + wasn't/weren't.

Examples:

Remember: Just like in present questions, you cannot contract positive short answers:

• ❌ "Was she happy?" "Yes, she's."
• ✅ "Was she happy?" "Yes, she was."

But negative contractions are fine:

• ✅ "Were they ready?" "No, they weren't."

Common Question Patterns in the Past

Asking about experiences:

• How was your weekend? — It was great!
• How was your holiday? — It was wonderful!

Asking about descriptions:

• What was the hotel like? — It was very comfortable.
• What was your teacher like? — She was very strict.

Asking about location:

• Where were you yesterday?
• Where were you born?

Asking about reasons:

• Why were you late this morning?
• Why was he absent from class?

👉 Practice Past Questions & Short Answers →

Choosing Present or Past: Time Markers

When you're mixing present and past forms, the key is to look for time markers—words and phrases that tell you whether the sentence is about NOW (present) or THEN (past).

Present Time Markers

These words tell you to use am/is/are:

• now — I am tired now.
• right now — She is at work right now.
• today — It is very hot today.
• at the moment — They are busy at the moment.
• currently — He is currently a student.
• these days — We are very busy these days.
• usually / always / often (general time) — The shops are closed on Sundays.

Examples:

• I am tired right now. I want to sleep. (present marker: right now)
• The shops are closed on Sundays. (general fact in present)
• My parents are both teachers. They work at the same school. (present: they work)

Past Time Markers

These words tell you to use was/were:

• yesterday — She was ill yesterday.
• last (week/month/year/night/Monday/summer) — We were on holiday last week.
• ago — They were here two hours ago.
• in + year — I was born in 1990.
• when I was young/a child — I wasn't very good at maths when I was young.
• during + noun — My grandmother was a nurse during the war.

Examples:

• She wasn't at home yesterday. She went shopping. (past marker: yesterday)
• We were late for the meeting yesterday morning. (past marker: yesterday morning)
• There were a lot of people at the concert last night. (past marker: last night)

Decision Strategy: 3 Steps

Step 1: Look for time markers

• Do you see a present marker (now, today) → use am/is/are
• Do you see a past marker (yesterday, last week, ago) → use was/were

Step 2: Check the context

• Is the sentence describing something happening now or a general truth? → present
• Is the sentence describing something that happened in the past? → past

Step 3: Choose the form based on the subject

• Present: I am / you are / he-she-it is / we-they are
• Past: I-he-she-it was / you-we-they were

Special Case: Present Feeling About a Past Event

Sometimes, you express a current feeling about something that happened in the past. In this case, use the present tense for your feeling, even though the event was in the past.

Example:

• "I am really sorry about what happened yesterday."
  • Your feeling (being sorry) is now (present) → use "am"
  • The event (what happened) was yesterday (past) → but this is a separate clause

More examples:

• I am very happy about the results. (feeling now, even if the results were announced yesterday)
• We are excited about the trip. (feeling now, trip might be next week or might have been discussed yesterday)

Common mistake:

However, if you're describing how you felt at that time in the past, use past:

• "I was very happy when I got the news." (describes your feeling at that moment in the past)

Mixed Practice Examples

Let's see how to choose between present and past:

No Time Marker? Use Context

If there's no clear time marker, look at the context:

• Does the sentence describe a permanent fact, current state, or general truth? → present
• Does it describe a completed situation or specific moment in the past? → past

Examples:

• "These books are really interesting." (describing books now, no time marker but context is present)
• "Tom was ill yesterday, so he didn't come to work." (context: didn't come = past)

👉 Practice Present vs Past Mixed Review →

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Quick Summary

Complete Conjugation Table

How to Make Negatives

Step 1: Find the "be" verb (am/is/are/was/were) Step 2: Add "not" after it Step 3: Contract if appropriate: isn't, aren't, wasn't, weren't (but "am not" → "I'm not" only)

Examples:

• She is happy → She is not happy → She isn't happy (or She's not happy)
• They were ready → They were not ready → They weren't ready

How to Make Yes/No Questions

Step 1: Find the "be" verb Step 2: Move it before the subject Step 3: Add a question mark

Examples:

• You are tired → Are you tired?
• He was at home → Was he at home?

How to Make Wh-Questions

Step 1: Choose the question word (What/Where/Who/How/Why/When) Step 2: Add the "be" verb Step 3: Add the subject (unless asking about the subject)

Examples:

• Where is she? (Where + is + she)
• Who was at the door? (Who = subject, so no inversion)
• What is the weather like? (What...like pattern)
• How was your weekend? (How pattern, no "like")

Contraction Rules

Affirmative contractions:

• ✅ I'm, you're, he's, she's, it's, we're, they're

Negative contractions:

• ✅ isn't, aren't, wasn't, weren't
• ✅ "I'm not" (but NO *"amn't")

Short answer rule:

• ❌ NO contractions in positive short answers: "Yes, I am" (not *"Yes, I'm")
• ✅ Contractions OK in negative short answers: "No, she isn't"

Time Markers

Present markers → use am/is/are:

• now, right now, today, at the moment, currently, these days, usually, always

Past markers → use was/were:

• yesterday, last (week/month/year/night), ago, in (year), when I was young, during

Special Patterns

Age: "be" + age + years old

• ✅ I am 20 years old.
• ❌ I have 20 years.

Birth: Always past (was/were born)

• ✅ I was born in London.
• ❌ I am born in London.

"What...like?" vs "How?":

• ✅ What is it like?
• ✅ How is it? (no "like")
• ❌ How is it like?

Practice Tips

1. Memorize subject-verb pairings as chunks Don't think "I" + "am" separately—think "I am" as one unit. Practice saying "I am / you are / he is / she is / it is / we are / they are" as a complete sequence until it becomes automatic.

2. Listen for contractions in natural speech Native speakers almost always use contractions in casual speech (I'm, you're, isn't, aren't). Watch English videos or TV shows and notice how often you hear "I'm tired" instead of "I am tired." Practice saying these contracted forms fluently.

3. Pay attention to time markers Train yourself to spot time clues in sentences. When you see "yesterday," your brain should automatically think "was/were." When you see "now," think "am/is/are." This helps you choose the correct tense quickly.

4. Practice question formation daily Turn statements into questions as a mental exercise: "She is happy" → "Is she happy?" This builds the automatic inversion skill you need for natural English.

5. Avoid the short answer contraction trap Remember: You CAN'T contract "Yes, I am" to *"Yes, I'm." Practice short answers out loud, emphasizing the full form: "Yes, I AM." This prevents the contraction mistake.

6. Use "be" in real sentences, not just lists Don't just memorize "I am, you are, he is..." in isolation. Write or say real sentences about your life: "I am a student. I am from [country]. I am [age] years old." This helps you remember the forms in context.

7. Focus on the "you → are" rule early Since "you" taking "are" (not "is") is so common and so often wrong for beginners, practice this specifically: "You are kind. Are you ready? You aren't late." Say it until "you are" sounds natural and "you is" sounds wrong.

Practice All Exercises

Complete 100 verb to be exercises with answers across 5 progressive sets. All am is are exercises and was were exercises include detailed explanations. Available in multiple choice format for online practice, plus downloadable verb to be exercises PDF worksheets.

Total: 100 verb to be exercises with answers across 5 progressive sets, from beginner (A1) to elementary (A2) level. All to be exercises pdf worksheets available for download.

👉 Start with Set 1: Present Forms →