am, is and are: the verb be in the present

Start with the right form

Be is the name of the verb. In the present, you normally choose am, is or are. Choose the form to match the subject: the person or thing the sentence is about.

I is the person speaking. You can mean one person or more than one person: the verb is are in both cases. We includes the speaker. They can refer to people or things.

• I am near the entrance. One speaker: am.
• You are next in the queue. One listener: are.
• You are both in my group. Two listeners: still are.
• These cups are clean. They are on the shelf. More than one thing: are.

Names and other subjects

A person's name works like he or she for the verb: Rosa is my neighbour. One thing takes is: The window is dirty. More than one takes are: The windows are dirty.

Two people joined by and take are in a sentence such as Rosa and Leo are cousins. A longer subject does not change the basic choice: The small bag near the door is mine. The bag is one thing, even though several words describe it.

In an ordinary complete statement, keep the subject and the verb. Say The floor is wet or It is wet. Do not leave out is. Short notes and headlines can leave words out; they are not the statement pattern taught here.

What you can say with be

Use present be for a situation now or for a fact or description. The information after the verb can be a name, a noun, a describing word, or a phrase about place or time.

Names, identity and relationships

• My name is Karim. A name.
• That woman is our guide. Who someone is.
• Eva and Noor are sisters. A relationship.
• This is the right address. Which thing it is.

Jobs and groups

Use a or an before one person's job when you use a singular job noun. Say He is a baker, not He is baker. With a plural job noun, do not add a: They are bakers. See A, an and some for the article.

• My aunt is an engineer. One person's job.
• We are members of the same club. A group.

Age and where you are from

Use be for age in English. You can give the number alone or add years old. You do not need years in He is thirty.

• Our daughter is nine. Her age.
• I am thirty-two years old. Another way to give an age.
• My grandparents are from Greece. Where they are from.
• The guide is Greek. A nationality word.

Feelings, states and descriptions

A describing word such as cold, heavy or happy can follow be. You do not need a before that word by itself: The box is heavy.

• I am pleased with my new room. A feeling.
• The passengers are asleep. Their state now.
• This jacket is green. A colour.
• The path is narrow. A description.

The present can describe something that lasts or something that changes. The bridge is old describes its age; The bridge is closed today describes its situation today. Present be does not mean that a fact must last forever.

Place

• Your gloves are beside the sink. Where the gloves are.
• The nearest pharmacy is opposite the bank. Where a place is.
• We are upstairs. Where we are.

Compare The bicycle is outside and There is a bicycle outside. The first tells you where a particular bicycle is. The second tells you that a bicycle is there. See There is and there are: saying that something exists for that different starting pattern.

Time, dates, weather and prices

• The lesson is at half past ten. The time of an event.
• My appointment is on Thursday. The day of an event.
• It is quarter to eight. The time now.
• It is windy outside. The weather.
• These postcards are two euros each. A price.

For the time and weather, English uses it even when there is no particular object to name. Say It is windy, not just Is windy. See Dummy it and preparatory it: it's raining, it's nice to meet you, I find it strange that for more uses of this it.

Full forms and short forms

A short form, also called a contraction, joins words. An apostrophe takes the place of missing letters: I am becomes I'm; we are becomes we're. The meaning stays the same.

Use short forms in everyday speech and informal writing. Full forms also work there. For formal writing, full forms are the safer choice. Do not treat every written text as formal: a message to a friend can use I'm.

• The room is quiet. Full form.
• The room's quiet. Short form: the room is.
• Helena's on the balcony. Short form after a name: Helena is.

In this page, 's means is. In other patterns it can mean has, and after a noun it can mark possession. Do not decide from the apostrophe alone: read the words around it. See Possessive 's and of: a neighbour's garden, the end of the road for possession and Have and have got for has got.

Make a negative

A negative says that something is not true. Put not after am, is or are. Do not add do or does to make this negative.

Both she isn't and she's not work. Do not combine the two short forms into she'sn't. For I am not, learn I'm not. You may hear amn't in informal Scottish or Irish English; it is not the core form taught here.

Keep not with the right verb: The battery isn't new, not The battery doesn't new. Other present-simple verbs use don't or doesn't differently; see The present simple.

Make a question

For a neutral yes/no question, put am, is or are before the subject. A yes/no question asks whether something is true.

Keep the form that matches the subject. The children are becomes Are the children...? Do not change it to Is just because it is a question. Do not add do: Are your shoes wet?, not Do your shoes are wet?

Ask for a detail

Put a question word or phrase first when you want a detail: where for a place, who for a person, when for a time, how old for an age or how much for a price.

• Where is the ticket office? Ask for a place.
• Who is that man? Ask who someone is.
• When is your next class? Ask for a time.
• How old are the twins? Ask for an age.
• How much is this notebook? Ask for a price.

You can shorten what is to what's and where is to where's: What's her address? Where's the receipt? Longer and different question patterns are in Question forms: yes/no and wh- questions.

Answer a question

You can give a matching short answer with yes or no, a subject and be. The subject can change when a different person speaks. If someone asks you, your answer about yourself uses I am, not I are.

A complete positive short answer must end with the full verb: Yes, we are, not Yes, we're. A longer answer can have a short form: Yes, we're in the garden. The restriction is about ending there, not every sentence after yes.

Negative answers can end in a short form: No, she isn't or No, she's not. Full forms also work: No, she is not. See Short answers, so do I, neither do I, and I think so for other verbs and more replies.

A detail question needs the detail: Where is the parcel? In the cupboard. You can use a phrase or a full sentence: It is in the cupboard. You are not limited to yes and no when someone asks a question.

Be on its own and be as a helper

In The baby is quiet, is is the main verb. It connects the baby with the description quiet. In The baby is sleeping, is helps another verb, sleeping. That is the present continuous, taught in The present continuous.

Do not put am, is or are before every English verb. Say I walk to college for that present-simple action, not I am walk to college. Say I am walking when you need the continuous form. The meaning and the verb form work together; see Present continuous or present simple?.

Be also helps make passive forms, such as The glass is made in Italy. That later pattern is in The passive: be + past participle. This page teaches the present forms of be, not every tense or expression with this verb.

What comes next

Use Was and were: the past of be for was and were, The present continuous for am/is/are + -ing, The present simple for other present-simple verbs, There is and there are: saying that something exists for saying something exists, and Question forms: yes/no and wh- questions for the wider question system. Subject and object pronouns: I and me, they and them explains I, you, he, she, it, we and they.