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Lesson 15. The Complete Guide to Verb TO BE in English

To Be English, To Be, The Verb To Be
The Verb To Be in English

The verb to be is probably one of the most irregular verbs in English. It does need more attention as we use the verb to be so much often in sentences. Let’s master the verb to be today!

 

Simple Present Tense

(Click on the subtitle to learn more about simple present tense)

Positive Positive (Contracted) Negative Negative

(Contracted)

Question
I am I’m I am not I’m not Am I?
You are You’re You are not You’re not

You aren’t

Are you?
We are We’re We are not We’re not

We aren’t

Are we?
They are They’re They are not They’re not

They aren’t

Are they?
He is He’s He is not He’s not

He isn’t

Is he?
She is She’s She is not She’s not

She isn’t

Is she?
It is It’s It is not It’s not

It isn’t

Is it?

Note:

– The only possible contraction form of ‘I am not’ is only ‘I’m not’.

– There is no contracted form of the verb to be in question form.

 

Simple Past Tense

Positive Negative Negative

(Contracted)

Question
I was I was not I wasn’t Was I?
You were You were not You weren’t Were you?
We were We were not We weren’t Were we?
They were They were not They weren’t Were they?
He was He was not He wasn’t Was he?
She was She was not She wasn’t Was she?
It was It was not It wasn’t Was it?

Note: There are no contracted form of the verb to be in positive and question forms.

 

Present Continuous Tense

Positive Positive (Contracted) Negative Negative

(Contracted)

Question
I am + V(ing) I’m + V(ing) I am not + V(ing) I’m not + V(ing) Am I + V(ing)?
You are + V(ing) You’re + V(ing) You are not + V(ing) You’re not + V(ing)

You aren’t + V(ing)

Are you + V(ing)?
We are + V(ing) We’re + V(ing) We are not + V(ing) We’re not + V(ing)

We aren’t + V(ing)

Are we + V(ing)?
They are + V(ing) They’re + V(ing) They are not + V(ing) They’re not + V(ing)

They aren’t + V(ing)

Are they + V(ing)?
He is + V(ing) He’s + V(ing) He is not + V(ing) He’s not + V(ing)

He isn’t + V(ing)

Is he + V(ing)?
She is + V(ing) She’s + V(ing) She is not + V(ing) She’s not + V(ing)

She isn’t + V(ing)

Is she + V(ing)?
It is + V(ing) It’s + V(ing) It is not + V(ing) It’s not + V(ing)

It isn’t + V(ing)

Is it + V(ing)?

Note: V(ing) means base verb with additional –ing.

 

Past Continuous Tense

Positive Negative Negative

(Contracted)

Question
I was + V(ing) I was not + V(ing) I wasn’t + V(ing) Was I + V(ing)?
You were + V(ing) You were not + V(ing) You weren’t + V(ing) Were you + V(ing)?
We were + V(ing) We were not + V(ing) We weren’t + V(ing) Were we + V(ing)?
They were + V(ing) They were not + V(ing) They weren’t + V(ing) Were they + V(ing)?
He was + V(ing) He was not + V(ing) He wasn’t + V(ing) Was he + V(ing)?
She was + V(ing) She was not + V(ing) She wasn’t + V(ing) Was she + V(ing)?
It was + V(ing) It was not + V(ing) It wasn’t + V(ing) Was it + V(ing)?

Note: V(ing) means base verb with additional –ing.

 

Present Perfect Tense

Positive Positive (Contracted) Negative Negative

(Contracted)

Question
I have been I’ve been I have not been I haven’t been Have I been?
You have been You’ve been You have not been You haven’t been Have you been?
We have been We’ve been We have not been We haven’t been Have we been?
They have been They’ve been They have not been They haven’t been Have they been?
He has been He’s been He has not been He hasn’t been Has he been?
She has been She’s been She has not been She hasn’t been Has she been?
It has been It’s been It has not been It hasn’t been Has it been?

 

Past Perfect Tense

Positive Positive (Contracted) Negative Negative

(Contracted)

Question
I had been I’d been I had not been I hadn’t been Had I been?
You had been You’d been You had not been You hadn’t been Had you been?
We had been We’d been We had not been We hadn’t been Had we been?
They had been They’d been They had not been They hadn’t been Had they been?
He had been He’d been He had not been He hadn’t been Had he been?
She had been She’d been She had not been She hadn’t been Had she been?
It had been It’d been It had not been It hadn’t been Had it been?

Note: The structure of the verb to be in past perfect tense is regular: Subject + Had + Been.

 

Simple Yes/No Questions

As you may have noticed on the above tables, we can easily form a simple yes/no question by inverting ‘the subject’ and ‘the verb to be’. Examples:

Positive: They are Chinese.

Question: Are they Chinese?

 

Positive: She was a nurse three years ago.

Question: Was she a nurse three years ago?

 

To answer the question, we can use the following:

Positive Answer: Yes, they are (Yes, they’re).

Negative Answer: No, they are not (No, they’re not or No, they aren’t).

 

Positive Answer: Yes, she was.

Negative Answer: No, she was not (No, she wasn’t).

 

Please note that you need to exchange the subject ‘you’ become ‘I’ when answering the question.

Question: Are you a dog lover?

Positive Answer: Yes, I am.

Negative Answer: No. I am not (No, I’m not).

 

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