Grammar: Verb to be, present simple


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Afirmative (+)
I am	I'm	I am Michael.	I'm 21 years old.
You are	You're	You are tall.	You're a nice person.
He/she/it is	He's	She is pretty, he is handsome.	The car is red. It's red.
We are	We're	We are friends.	We're family.
You are	You're	You are my collegues	You're my friends
They are	They're	They are policemen.	They're policewomen.

Negative (-)
I am not	I'm not	I am not stupid.	I'm not cold.
You are not	You aren't	You aren't invited.	You aren't fat.
He/she/it is not	He isn't	The wall isn't pink.	She isn't blonde..
We are not	We aren't	We aren't friends.	We aren't there.
You are not	You aren't	You aren't German.	You aren't Italian.
They are not	They aren't	They aren't from Paris.	They aren't from Rome.

Interrogative (?)		SHORT ANSWERS
Am I?	Am I late?	Yes, you are.	No, you aren't
Are you?	Are you Patrick?	Yes, I am.	No, I am not.
Is she/he/it?	is he Polish?	Yes, he is.	No, he isn't.
Are we?	Are we sacked?	Yes, you are.	No, you aren't.
Are you?	Are you from Brazil?	Yes, we are.	No, we aren't.
Are they?	Are they on holidays?	Yes, they are.	No, they aren't

Rules:

Normally we use the verb to be to show the status or characteristics of something or someone (as a stative verb).

- Use capital “I”. Ex: I am not stupid. NOT: i’m (with lowercase letter)
- Use “he” for a man, “she” for a woman, and “it” for a thing.
- Use “they” for people or things. Ex: It’s a duck, they are ducks.
- We musn't use contractions in formal written English but we normally use them in conversation.

Question tags:

We use question tags in spoken English but not in formal written English. They are not really questions but a way of asking other people to make a comment and being able to keep the conversation open.

Am I not?	I am right. Am I not?
Aren't you?	You are lying. aren't you?
Isn't she?	She is 20 years old, isn't she?