BE
Grammar - Be
The present simple of the verb be has three forms:
‣ He/She/It is.
‣ We/You/They are.
They= people and things
We use he for a man, she for a woman, and it for a thing.
- He‘s a little boy.
- She‘s beautiful.
- I like this TV. It‘s very big.
We use they for people and for things.
- I love Sara and Jonas. They are my friends.
- I love these chairs. They are very beautiful.
Don’t forget the subject
We always need a subject before the verb.
- It is cold. ✅
- Is cold. ❌
- Sally is a wonderful woman. ✅
- Is a wonderful woman. ❌
Contractions or short forms
We use ‘m, ‘s and ‘re with personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc.)
- I’m sad.
- You’re tired.
- She’s from Scotland.
But we can also use ‘s with names.
- Laura’s beautiful.
- London’s an expensive city.
Contractions in short answers
We can only use contractions in negative short answers. Not in positive short answers.
- Yes, I am. ✅
- Yes, I’m. ❌
- Yes, she is. ✅
- Yes, she’s. ❌
- Yes, they are. ✅
- Yes, they’re. ❌
We use the verb be to talk about:
Who we are: I‘m Steven, and this is Isabella. And this is my daughter, Alicia.
Age: I‘m 24 years old, and my father is 50.
Job: I‘m a teacher, and my wife is a doctor.
Nationality: Alex is from Ireland, and Sonia is from Spain.
Feelings: I‘m scared. She is very tired.
Colour: Our dog is black. His eyes are blue.
Prices: It‘s seven pounds. This T-shirt is twenty dollars.
The weather: It‘s sunny today. It is very cold this morning.
The time: What time is it? It‘s ten past four.
Descriptions in general: He is very short and thin. The cars are old and cheap.