The Simple present of the verb to be

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The simple present of the verb to be

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This page will present the simple present of the verb to be:

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• its form

• and its use

 

The verb to be

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The verb to be is the most important verb in the English language. It is difficult to use because it is an irregular verb in almost all of its forms.  In the simple present tense, to be is conjugated as follows:

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Affirmative forms of the verb to be

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Subject  Pronouns     Full  Form     Contracted Form

     I                                 am                        'm

  you                               are                        're

  he/she/it                         is                          's

  we                                are                          're

  you                              are                          're

 they                              are                          're

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Interrogative forms of the verb to be:

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Am  I?

Are  you?

Is  he/she/it?

Are  we?

Are  you?

Are  they?

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Negative Forms of the verb to be:

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Subject Pronouns    Full Form      Contracted Form

        I                       am not                    'm not

     you                     are not                     aren't

   he/she/it                is not                         isn't

     we                      are not                     aren't

    you                      are not                     aren't

    they                     are not                     aren't

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Examples:

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• Is Brad Pitt French?

• No, he isn't. He's American.

• What about Angelina Joli? Is she American, too?

• Yes, she is. She is American.

• Are brad Pitt and Angelina Joli French?

• No, They aren't. They are American.

 

 

Use of the simple present of to be

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The principal use of the simple present is to refer to an action or event that takes place habitually, but with the verb "to be" the simple present tense also refers to a present or general state, whether temporary, permanent or habitual.

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• I am happy.

• She is helpful.

 

The verb to be in the simple present can be also used to refer to something that is true at the present moment.

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• She is 20 years old.

• He is a student.

 

Remember:

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• I, you, he, she, it, you, they are subject pronouns (also called personal pronouns, a term used to include both subject and object pronouns.)

• am, are, is are forms of the verb to be in the simple present.

• 'm, 're, 's are short (contracted) forms of  am, are, is

• 'm not, aren't, isn't are short (contracted forms) of am not, are not, is not.

 

 

The simple present tense

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This page will present the simple present tense:

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• its form

• and its use.

 

Before you continue the lesson read the following passage and try to see how the verbs are formed and used.

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James is a taxi driver. He drives a taxi. But on Sundays he doesn't drive his taxi. He stays at home.

The verb be, drive, stay are in the simple present.

(more on the simple present of the verb to be)

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The forms of the simple present

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The affirmative form of the simple present:

I, you, we, they play.

He, she, it plays.

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Remember the verbs in the third person singular (he,she and it) always take an "s". For example, "he plays, she sings,it works..."

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Examples:

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• Nancy and James speak good German.

• Nancy works in a restaurant downtown.

• The children play in the garden every weekend.

 

The interrogative form of the simple present:

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Do I, you, we, they play?

Does he, she, it play?

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Examples:

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• Do you speak good German?

• Does Nancy work in a restaurant downtown?

 

The negative form of the simple present:

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I, you, we, they do not play.

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I, you, we, they don't play

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He, she, it does not play

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He, she, it doesn't play

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Examples:

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• No, I don't speak German.

• No, she doesn't work in a restaurant downtown

 

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The use of the simple present:

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The simple present is used:

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• to give your opinion - I like ice cream. I don't like spicy food.

• to talk about schedules - The library opens at eight. It doesn't open at 7.

• to talk about daily habits (routine actions)- Sara eats a cheese for breakfast every day. She doesn't eat cereal.

• to give facts - The earth circles the sun. The moon doesn't circle the sun.

 

The spelling of the third person singular form of the simple present:

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All the verbs take an "s" in the simple present when conjugated in the third person singular (he, she, it) form:

Examples:

• I visit my parents every summer holiday. But my wife visits her parents every weekend.

• My brother meets his girlfriend everyday.

 

So the rule is:

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He / she / it + Verb + S

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There are however some special cases. Here are the spelling rules:

Silent eVowel + y Consonant + y Verbs ending in oVerbs ending in s, z, sh, tch, ch

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close = closes
note = notesplay = plays
say = saysstudy = studies
marry = marriesgo = goes
do = doesmiss = misses
buzz = buzzes
hatch = hatches
finish = finishes
teach = teaches

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Examples:

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• She drives to work every morning.

• He says he plays football on the weekends

 

Exception:

• The verb to have changes its forms as follows:
  I have two sisters and two brothers. But she has one sister and two brothers.
  I have = he / she / it has

 

 

Things to remember about the simple present:

 

1.In the interrogative forms, we use "do" or "does".

• "Do you like the house?"

• "Does she go to school?"

 

2; Verbs never take an "s" in the the negative and interrogative forms.

• "Does he speak German?"

• "Do they play soccer?"

• She doesn't like ice cream.

 

3. don't is the short form of "do not". You can say either:

• I do not speak Italian, or

• I don't speak Italian.

 

4.doesn't is the short form of "does not". you can say either:

• He does not listen to jazz music, or

• He doesn't listen to jazz music.