The verb be is one of the most important and common verbs in English. In the present tense, we use three forms of the verb be:
am - is - are
We use am, is, and are to talk about who or what someone is, where someone is, how someone feels, and many other basic things.
Examples:
- I am a student.
- She is happy.
- They are at home.
In this lesson, you will learn how to use am, is, and are in positive sentences.
1. Subject Pronouns
Before you learn am, is, and are, you need to know the subject pronouns.
| Subject Pronoun | Meaning / Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | the person speaking | I am Sam. |
| You | the person or people we are speaking to | You are kind. |
| He | one male person | He is my brother. |
| She | one female person | She is my sister. |
| It | one thing, animal, or sometimes a situation | It is cold. |
| We | the speaker and another person or other people | We are friends. |
| They | two or more people, animals, or things | They are students. |
The subject tells us which form of be we need to use.
2. The Basic Rule: Am, Is, or Are?
The positive forms of the verb be are:
| Subject | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | am | I am happy. |
| He | is | He is tall. |
| She | is | She is a teacher. |
| It | is | It is cold. |
| You | are | You are nice. |
| We | are | We are ready. |
| They | are | They are at home. |
The easiest way to remember the rule is:
I → am
He / She / It → is
You / We / They → are
3. Use "am" with "I"
We always use am with I.
I + am
Examples:
- I am happy.
- I am tired.
- I am a student.
- I am 20 years old.
- I am from India.
- I am at home.
Remember:
✅ I am happy.
❌ I is happy.
❌ I are happy.
The word I is always written with a capital letter.
✅ My name is Anna and I am a student.
❌ My name is Anna and i am a student.
4. Use "is" with He, She, and It
We use is with he, she, and it.
He + is
Use he for one male person.
- He is my father.
- He is a doctor.
- He is happy.
- He is at work.
She + is
Use she for one female person.
- She is my mother.
- She is a teacher.
- She is tired.
- She is at home.
It + is
Use it for one thing or animal, and also for things such as weather and time.
- It is a book.
- It is a small dog.
- It is cold today.
- It is five o'clock.
Remember:
He / She / It + is
✅ He is happy.
✅ She is a student.
✅ It is cold.
❌ He are happy.
❌ She am a student.
5. Use "is" with Singular Nouns and Names
A singular noun means one person, animal, place, or thing.
We normally use is with a singular subject.
Examples:
- John is my friend.
- Maria is a teacher.
- My brother is tall.
- My mother is at home.
- The dog is hungry.
- The book is new.
- London is a big city.
Compare:
John → He
John is happy. → He is happy.
Maria → She
Maria is a doctor. → She is a doctor.
The book → It
The book is new. → It is new.
So, we use is with he, she, it, and most singular nouns and names.
6. Use "are" with You, We, and They
We use are with you, we, and they.
You + are
- You are my friend.
- You are very kind.
- You are a good student.
You can mean one person or more than one person. We use are in both cases.
We + are
- We are friends.
- We are students.
- We are ready.
- We are at home.
They + are
- They are happy.
- They are students.
- They are in the garden.
- They are my friends.
Remember:
You / We / They + are
✅ You are nice.
✅ We are ready.
✅ They are students.
❌ You is nice.
❌ We am ready.
❌ They is students.
7. Use "are" with Plural Nouns
A plural noun usually means two or more people, animals, places, or things.
We normally use are with plural subjects.
Examples:
- The boys are happy.
- The girls are students.
- My parents are at home.
- The dogs are hungry.
- The books are new.
- John and Peter are friends.
Compare:
The boy is happy. → one boy
The boys are happy. → two or more boys
The book is new. → one book
The books are new. → two or more books
8. Two or More People or Things
When the subject contains two or more people or things joined by and, we normally use are.
Examples:
- Tom and Anna are friends.
- John and Peter are brothers.
- My mother and father are at home.
- The cat and the dog are hungry.
- My brother and I are students.
Notice:
My brother and I means we.
My brother and I are students.
9. Sentence Structure with Am, Is, and Are
A basic positive sentence with the verb be follows this structure:
Subject + am/is/are + information
Examples:
I + am + happy.
She + is + a teacher.
They + are + at home.
The information after am, is, or are can tell us different things.
10. When Do We Use Am, Is, and Are?
We commonly use am, is, and are to give basic information.
A. Names and Identity
- I am Peter.
- She is Maria.
- He is my brother.
- They are my friends.
B. Jobs
- I am a teacher.
- He is a doctor.
- She is a nurse.
- They are students.
When talking about one person's job, we usually use a or an before the job.
✅ He is a doctor.
✅ She is a teacher.
❌ He is doctor.
C. Age
In English, we use the verb be to talk about age.
- I am 20 years old.
- She is 18 years old.
- My brother is 10.
- They are 25 years old.
Remember:
✅ I am 20 years old.
❌ I have 20 years.
D. Nationality and Origin
- I am Indian.
- She is British.
- He is from Canada.
- We are from Spain.
- They are Italian.
E. Feelings and States
- I am happy.
- She is tired.
- He is hungry.
- We are ready.
- They are busy.
F. Location
We use be to say where someone or something is.
- I am at home.
- She is at school.
- He is in the kitchen.
- The book is on the table.
- They are in the park.
G. Descriptions
- He is tall.
- She is young.
- The car is red.
- The house is big.
- The books are interesting.
H. Weather
We often use It is to talk about the weather.
- It is hot.
- It is cold.
- It is sunny.
- It is rainy.
I. Time
We can use It is to tell the time.
- It is five o'clock.
- It is ten o'clock.
- It is noon.
11. Full Forms and Short Forms (Contractions)
In English, we often make am, is, and are shorter.
These short forms are called contractions.
| Full Form | Short Form |
|---|---|
| I am | I'm |
| You are | You're |
| He is | He's |
| She is | She's |
| It is | It's |
| We are | We're |
| They are | They're |
Examples:
- I am happy. → I'm happy.
- You are my friend. → You're my friend.
- He is a doctor. → He's a doctor.
- She is tired. → She's tired.
- It is cold. → It's cold.
- We are ready. → We're ready.
- They are students. → They're students.
Both the full form and the short form are correct.
She is happy.
She's happy.
These two sentences have the same meaning.
Contractions are very common in everyday spoken English and informal writing.
12. What Is an Apostrophe (')?
An apostrophe is the small punctuation mark ' that we use in contractions.
Look at these examples:
I am → I'm
He is → He's
You are → You're
The apostrophe shows that one or more letters have been left out when we make the short form.
I am → I'm
The letter a in am is removed.
I am → I'm
He is → He's
The letter i in is is removed.
He is → He's
You are → You're
The letter a in are is removed.
You are → You're
The same rule applies to:
- She is → She's
- It is → It's
- We are → We're
- They are → They're
Important:
The apostrophe must be in the correct place.
✅ I'm happy.
❌ Im happy.
✅ He's my brother.
❌ Hes my brother.
✅ They're students.
❌ Theyre students.
13. Be Careful: It's and Its
It's and its are different.
It's = It is
- It's cold. = It is cold.
- It's a beautiful day. = It is a beautiful day.
Its = belonging to it
- The dog is eating its food.
- The cat is in its bed.
Its does not have an apostrophe when it shows possession.
14. Be Careful: You're and Your
You're and your are different.
You're = You are
- You're my friend.
- You're very kind.
Your = belonging to you
- Your book is new.
- Your name is Anna.
A simple test is to replace you're with you are.
You're happy.
→ You are happy. ✅
So you're is correct.
15. Be Careful: They're and Their
They're and their are different.
They're = They are
- They're students.
- They're at home.
Their = belonging to them
- Their house is big.
- Their books are new.
Remember:
They're = They are
16. Full Forms or Short Forms?
Both forms are grammatically correct.
Full form:
- I am happy.
- She is a teacher.
- They are students.
Short form:
- I'm happy.
- She's a teacher.
- They're students.
Short forms are especially common in everyday conversation and informal writing.
17. Capital Letters and Full Stops
A sentence normally begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.
✅ She is a teacher.
❌ she is a teacher
The pronoun I is always written as a capital letter.
✅ I am happy.
❌ i am happy.
18. Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using "is" with "I"
❌ I is happy.
✅ I am happy.
Mistake 2: Using "are" with he or she
❌ She are a teacher.
✅ She is a teacher.
Mistake 3: Using "is" with they
❌ They is at home.
✅ They are at home.
Mistake 4: Using "is" with plural nouns
❌ The books is new.
✅ The books are new.
Mistake 5: Using "are" with one person
❌ John are my friend.
✅ John is my friend.
Mistake 6: Using the full verb and contraction together
❌ I'm am happy.
✅ I'm happy.
OR
✅ I am happy.
Mistake 7: Forgetting the apostrophe
❌ Im tired.
✅ I'm tired.
❌ Shes a teacher.
✅ She's a teacher.
Mistake 8: Confusing "you're" and "your"
❌ Your very kind.
✅ You're very kind.
Mistake 9: Confusing "they're" and "their"
❌ Their happy.
✅ They're happy.
Quick Summary
| Subject | Full Form | Short Form |
|---|---|---|
| I | I am | I'm |
| You | You are | You're |
| He | He is | He's |
| She | She is | She's |
| It | It is | It's |
| We | We are | We're |
| They | They are | They're |
Remember:
I → am
He / She / It → is
You / We / They → are
One person or thing → usually is
Two or more people or things → usually are
