To Be: Positive and Negative
The verb to be is the most common verb in English. Its forms differ depending on who or what is the subject of the verb, take a look at the examples below. In (brackets), you'll find short forms (contractions) of these expressions which are also very common.
- I am (I'm) hungry.
- You are (You're) tall.
- He is (He's) really smart!
Kelly is (She's) an engineer.
It is (It's) a dog. - We are (We're) happy.
- You are (You're) here.
- They are (They're) sisters.
The rule is that:
- with I, we use am;
- with a singular subject (he, she, it, or one person or a thing), we use is;
- and with a plural subject (we, you, they), we use are.
Negative sentences
To use to be in a negative sentence, we add not after the verb. We can also use these in their short forms, you'll find them in (brackets).
- I am not (I'm not, not
I amn't) at home. - You are not (You aren't) here.
- He/She/It is not (He/She/It isn't) ten years old.
- We are not (We aren't) hungry.
- You are not (You aren't) sad.
- They are not (They aren't) busy.
