Answer in brief
To be links a subject to what it is, where it is or what it is like. Its present forms are am (with I), is (with he, she, it) and are (with you, we, they); the past forms are was and were, and the participle is been. Negatives add not, questions swap the verb and the subject, and English never drops it: I am Anna, not I Anna.
The verb to be links a subject to what it is
The verb to be links the subject of a sentence to what it is, where it is or what it is like: I am a nurse, the keys are in the car, the soup is hot. Its present forms are am, is and are, its past forms are was and were, and after have it becomes been. English never leaves it out, so I am Anna always keeps its verb. Wikipedia’s article on the copula, the linguists’ term for such a linking word, lists eight basic forms of English be: be, am, is, are, being, was, were and been.
The same article notes that most languages have one main copula, which in English is the verb to be, while Spanish and Portuguese have two, ser and estar, and some languages have none. It also says that Russian and other North Slavic languages generally or often omit the copula in the present tense: я человек, literally I human, means I am a human. In other tenses the copula usually comes back, as Russian был does for was. The gap exists only in the present.
Am, is and are with every pronoun, plus the short forms
The British Council’s LearnEnglish page on the present simple of to be says it is used to talk about situations and states in the present. The form depends on the subject alone: am with I, is with he, she, it and any single thing, are with you, we, they and every plural. You keeps are even when it means one person. The page adds that we can contract the verb, especially when speaking: I’m a shop assistant, he’s my wife’s brother, they’re on holiday in Italy.
One short form is missing. For I am not, LearnEnglish gives I’m not and states that I amn’t is not possible. Wikipedia’s article on English auxiliary verbs explains that amn’t is standard only in some varieties, mainly Irish and Scottish English, and that in questions the gap is commonly filled with aren’t, as in aren’t I invited?
Negatives, questions and short answers built on be
For a negative, put not after the verb. LearnEnglish shows two contracted versions with the same meaning, she’s not a student and she isn’t a student, while I has only I’m not. For a question, the page says to change the order of am, is or are and the person: are you tired, is she Mexican? Wikipedia’s article on auxiliary verbs explains why no do is needed: be behaves like an auxiliary even when it is the only verb in the sentence.
Short answers repeat the verb instead of the whole sentence: are you ready? Yes, I am. Is he at home? No, he isn’t. LearnEnglish notes that contractions are used only in no answers, so yes, I’m does not work as a complete reply. A question word simply goes in front of the verb: where are you from, what time is it? A bare yes is not wrong, but short answers drill the forms.
Was and were in the past, will be and been ahead
The past has two forms instead of three. The British Council’s LearnEnglish Kids page on the past simple of to be puts the rule in two lines: was for I, he, she and it, were for you, we and they. Negatives usually contract to wasn’t and weren’t, and questions swap the verb and the person: were you tired this morning, where was he yesterday? These are the second forms that verb tables print as was or were.
The future is simpler still, because will be is the same for every person: I will be late, they will be late. The LearnEnglish page on future forms adds a route through be itself: going to is for plans decided before the moment of speaking, will for plans decided at that moment. Been, the third form, works with have: I have been to London. It belongs to the present perfect, a topic for later levels.
What English says with be: jobs, age, feelings, place and weather
Most sentences with be answer an everyday question. Who or what: I am a shop assistant, this is my phone. Where from and where: I’m from Brazil, the keys are on the table. What like: the room is small, the film was boring. The verb carries the time and the person; the rest carries the meaning.
Age and bodily states are where other languages switch to have. English says I am twenty and she is 19 years old; Spanish says tengo veinte años and French elle a 19 ans, while Russian uses no verb at all, мне двадцать лет. Hunger, thirst, cold and fear split the same way: I am hungry, I’m afraid, against tengo hambre and j’ai faim. Wikipedia’s article on auxiliary verbs uses I am hungry as a plain example of be as a copular verb.
Weather and time take an empty subject, it: it is cold today, it’s six o’clock. The it means nothing, but an English sentence needs a subject, unlike Spanish es tarde. To say that something exists, English puts there before be. The LearnEnglish page on this construction says there is tells us that something exists or is in a place, with there is for singular nouns and there are for plurals; questions turn it round, as in is there a pharmacy near the hotel?
Be as a helper verb: continuous forms, passive and going to
Be also works as a helper. Wikipedia’s article on English auxiliary verbs says that be followed by the present participle realises the progressive aspect, the continuous forms: I am working, she was sleeping. Followed by the past participle of a main verb, it realises the passive voice: the bread is baked every morning. The copula article adds that French être can express the passive in a similar way. A slip with be breaks the whole tense.
The third helper job is be going to. The LearnEnglish example is I’m going to phone Mum after dinner, and the structure never changes: am, is or are, then going to, then the verb. Learners in a hurry often lose the first part and say I going to. Without am, is or are the structure falls apart, just like the continuous forms.
Typical mistakes with the verb to be and how to fix them
The most frequent error is leaving the verb out, and it comes from languages with no present copula. She at home, I student and my brother 25 sound complete to a Russian speaker and broken to everyone else. The fix is mechanical: find the subject and put am, is or are right after it. Then reread your text looking only for that gap.
The opposite error adds be where English wants another verb. I am agree comes from languages where agreeing is a state, such as Spanish estoy de acuerdo, French je suis d’accord or Russian я согласен, but agree is a verb on its own: I agree. I am live in Madrid should be I live in Madrid. Speakers of Spanish and French also carry their have across, so I have 30 years has to become I am 30.
The last group sits around there. There is many people should be there are many people, because the noun after the verb is plural. The Purdue Online Writing Lab gives the rule behind it: in sentences beginning with there is or there are, the subject follows the verb, so look to the right before you choose. Two more slips are easy to catch: do you be ready instead of are you ready, and yes, I’m instead of yes, I am.
Practising the verb to be alone and with English in 113 Days
Much of this can be practised alone this week. Write ten true sentences about yourself with am, is and are, turn each into a negative and a question, and answer the questions aloud with short answers. The next day, move them into the past with was and were and add three sentences with there is and there are about your room. Read every line aloud.
A course adds order and repetition. VITON13 SCHOOL teaches the verb to be at the start of its course English in 113 Days: level 1 covers I am and you are, level 2 covers he, she and it is with questions, and level 20 reviews A1, with to be, the present simple, can and have got. Each daily level brings 13 new words spoken aloud with transcription and an example, three minutes of grammar ending with the mistake speakers of your language usually make, a short text with questions, dictation, sentence building, your own writing with a model answer and a mini-game.
Every word learnt joins a deck of memory cards, and the FSRS spaced-repetition algorithm brings it back when it starts to be forgotten. The levels follow the Council of Europe’s CEFR scale, with A1 covering levels 1 to 20. Explanations are in Russian, French, Spanish, German or Portuguese, and the learner picks the language in the classroom. The first three levels, both lessons on to be among them, are open without payment or sign-in, and a free placement test shows where to start.
Practical checklist
- Write ten true sentences about yourself with am, is and are, then turn each one into a negative.
- Turn the same sentences into questions and answer them aloud with short answers such as yes, I am.
- Move the sentences into the past with was and were, checking the subject of each line first.
- Describe your room in three sentences with there is and three with there are.
- Read your writing back once, looking only for a missing am, is or are after the subject.
Questions and answers
What are the second and third forms of the verb to be?
The second form is the past simple, and be has two of them: was for I, he, she and it, and were for you, we and they. The third form is the participle been, used after have in the present perfect: I have been there, she has been ill. Verb tables print the set as be, was or were, been.
How do I know whether to use am, is or are?
Look at the subject and at nothing else. I takes am. He, she, it and any single person or thing take is. You, we, they and any plural take are, and you keeps are even when you are talking to one person. The rest of the sentence never changes the choice.
Why is it wrong to say I have 20 years in English?
English treats age as a state you are in, not something you own, so the correct forms are I am 20 or I am 20 years old. Spanish tengo 20 años and French j’ai 20 ans use the verb for have, which is why speakers of those languages carry it across. Hunger, thirst and cold follow the same pattern: I am hungry.
Why do English speakers say aren’t I instead of amn’t I?
Standard English has no short form that joins am and not. LearnEnglish says I amn’t is not possible and uses I’m not instead. In questions the gap is filled with aren’t, as in aren’t I invited, and Wikipedia notes that amn’t survives as a standard form mainly in Irish and Scottish English.
Do questions with to be need do or does?
No. Be makes its own questions by swapping places with the subject: are you ready, was she at work, is there a bus. Do appears only when another main verb is involved, as in do you like it. Do you be ready is the slip of a learner who applies the rule for other verbs to be.