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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