The Verb "Be"


In these lessons, we will look at the present tense, past tense and present perfect tense of the verb be.




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The following table gives “be” verbs in different tenses: past, present, future, present perfect, and past perfect. Scroll down the page for more examples and explanations.

Be Verbs
 

Verb “Be” (present tense) – is, are, am

The words am, is and are form the present tense of the verb be.

We use am with the pronoun I, is with the pronouns he, she, it and are with the pronouns you, we and they.

Singular

Plural

I am

We are

You are

You are

He is

They are

She is

 

It is

 

Examples:
I am busy.
He is a good swimmer.
She is a teacher.
It is very fierce.
You are early.
You are all welcome.
We are home.
They are good friends.




The following tables give the affirmative forms and negative forms of am, is and are and their corresponding contractions or short forms. Contractions are usually used in spoken English and are not recommended for formal written English.

Affirmative Forms

 

Contraction (Short Form)

I am

I’m

You are

You’re

She is

She’s

He is

He’s

It is

It’s

We are

We’re

They are

They’re


Negative Forms

 

Contraction (Short Form)

I am not

I’m not

You are not

You’re not / You aren’t

She is not

She’s not / She isn’t

He is not

He’s not / He isn’t

It is not

It’s not / It isn’t

We are not

We’re not / We aren’t

They are not

They’re not / They aren’t



Verb “Be” (past tense) – was, were

The words was and were form the past tense of the verb be.

Affirmative Forms

Singular

Plural

I was

We were

You were

You were

She was

They were

He was

 

It was

 


Negative Forms

 

Contraction (Short Form)

I was not

I wasn’t

You were not

You weren’t

She was not

She wasn’t

He was not

He wasn’t

It was not

It wasn’t

We were not

We weren’t

They were not

They weren’t


Verb “Be” (present perfect tense) – has been, have been

The words has been and have been form the present perfect tense of the verb be.

Singular

Plural

I have been

We have been

You have been

You have been

She has been

They have been

He has been

 

It has been

 



Verb Be in the present tense. Affirmative and negative forms.

This video shows the verb Be in the past tense. Affirmative and negative forms.

This video shows how to make yes-no questions and answers in the past tense using the verb be.

This video explains how to use the verb be in the present perfect tense.

Try the free Mathway calculator and problem solver below to practice various math topics. Try the given examples, or type in your own problem and check your answer with the step-by-step explanations.
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