VERB TO BE

We use “verb to be” (am, is, are) to:

Introduce yourself and others

When you’re saying your name or another person’s name:

I	am	Susan
You	are	George
He	is	Juan
She	is	Samantha
We	are	Pedro and Antonio
You	are	Sam and John
They	are	Rodrigo and Montserrat

 

You can also use the contractions:

I	‘m	Susan
You	‘re	George
He	‘s	Juan
She	‘s	Samantha
We	‘re	Pedro and Antonio
You	‘re	Sam and John
They	‘re	Rodrigo and Montserrat

 

 

Personal information:

For example: your name (Susan, George), last name (Smith, Perez), email address, phone number, address, etc.

Examples

Singular	Plural
My name’s Pamela. His email address is daniel.smith@gmail.com Her last name’s Roberts. Your phone number’s 45832402	Our names are Peter and John. Their phone numbers are 94889483473 and 383745940 Your last names are Peterson and Smith.

 

Age

To indicate how old you are, but also others, you need to use the verb to be:

 

-          I’m 20 years old.

-          You’re 50 years old.

-          He’s 16 years old.

-          She’s 5 years old.

-          It’s 7 years old.

-          We’re 26 years old.

-          You’re 39 years old.

-          They’re 45 years old.

 

Physical appearance

You use this to describe a person’s physical characteristics (height, weight, hair or skin colour)

 

·         I’m short

·         You’re chubby.

·         He’s tall.

·         She’s beautiful.

·         My dog’s pretty.

·         We’re brunette

·         You’re blonde.

·         They’re handsome.

You can also use parts of the body:

Plural	Singular
·         My eyes are brown and big. ·         Your ears are big. ·         Her eyebrows are brown and beautiful. ·         His eyes are blue. ·         Our feet are big. ·         Your hands are small. ·         Their arms are strong.	·         My hair’s long. ·         Your mouth’s small. ·         His nose’s small. ·         Her hair’s brown. ·         Its tail is long.

 

Location

With these sentences you’re telling where a person is (city, country, etc.). We use these sentences we use places.

·         I’m in my house.

·         You’re in the apartment.

·         Charlie’s in the UK. *

·         Samantha’s in Brazil*

·         The dog is in the park.

·         We’re at the school.

·         You’re on the beach.

·         They’re at a party.

*you can use personal pronouns or names with the verb to be.

Origin

You can express nationalities or origin.

• ·         I’m Mexican.
• ·         You’re Iraqi.
• ·       She’s from the United States
•        He’s from Canada.
• ·         It’s from Brazil.
• ·         We’re Colombian. 
• ·         You’re from the UK.
• ·         They’re French. 

Mood or personality

You can use the verb to be to tell others how you or other people feel.

• ·         I’m happy.
• ·         You’re sad.
• ·         He’s angry.
• ·         She’s bored.
• ·         It’s scared.
• ·         We’re excited.
• ·         You’re mad.
• ·         They’re relaxed

You can also describe how you and other people are.

• ·         I’m funny.
• ·         You’re moody.
• ·         He’s gentle.
• ·         She’s nice.
• ·         It’s fun.
• ·         We’re generous.
• ·         You’re smart.
• ·         They’re polite.

Relationships

To talk about how you and others are related, you can also use the verb to be:

• ·         I’m your mother.
• ·         You’re my father.
• ·         She’s my sister.
• ·         He’s my brother.
• ·         It’s my dog.
• ·         We’re your cousins.
• ·         You’re my grandparents.
• ·         They’re my uncle and aunt.

States

You can use this when you want to tell a temporary situation or mood of a person.

• ·         I’m bored.
• ·         You’re worried.
• ·         He’s busy.
• ·         She’s angry.
• ·         We’re stressed
• ·         You’re lost
• ·         They’re confused.

Occupation

When you want to tell what a person does for a living, you can use:

• ·         I’m a doctor.
• ·         You’re a nurse.
• ·         He’s a teacher.
• ·         She’s a student.
• ·         We’re musicians.
• ·         You’re architects.
• ·         They’re actors.

 

NEGATIVES

You can also use the verb to be in negative and when you use it, it’s to correct information or to deny something, you only need to include “not” after the verb or use the contraction.

I am not		I’m not
You are not	You aren’t	You’re not
He is not	He isn’t	He’s not
She is not	She isn’t	She’s not
We are not	We aren’t	We’re not
You are not	You aren’t	You’re not
They are not	They aren’t	They’re not

 

Examples:

• ·         I’m not Samantha, I’m Susan.
• ·         You aren’t chubby, you’re fit.
• ·         Her name isn’t Paula, her name’s Samantha.
• ·         He’s not my brother, he’s my cousin.
• ·         We aren’t teachers, we’re doctors.
• ·          You’re not angry, you’re sad.
• ·         We aren’t in New York, we’re in Los Angeles.

 

INTERROGATIVE

When you want to confirm something about a person; name, state, mood, etc. you need to ask with the verb to be. In questions, we invert the order of the verb to be. See the example:

You’re a doctor

Are you a doctor?

I’m	Am I… ?
You’re..	Are you…?
He’s…	Is he…?
Karla’s	Is Karla…?
My dog’s	Is my dog…?
We’re	Are we…?
You’re…	Are you…?
They’re…	Are they…?

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