Be and pronouns
Apprentissage rapide
Be is the core verb English uses to state identity, age, nationality, feelings, descriptions, and locations.
À retenir
- Use am with I, is with he, she, it, and are with you, we, they.
- Be needs no helper verb: negatives add not and questions invert subject and verb.
- Use be for age and physical conditions: I am twenty years old, I am hungry.
Exemples
- 1I am a new student at this international language academy.
- 2Michael is an architect and his sister is a hospital doctor.
Piège courant à éviter
Be is never added in front of regular action verbs in the present simple. I am work is a classic error; say I work.
Approfondir
La règle
Am, is, are
The verb be is the most fundamental verb in English. It links a subject to a description, name, or location and changes its form across pronouns: I takes am (contraction: I'm). He, she, it takes is (contractions: He's, She's, It's). You, we, they takes are (contractions: You're, We're, They're).
What be is used for
Communicative uses:
(1) Identity and names:
- I am Maria
- He is David
(2) Professions:
- She is an architect
- They are doctors
(3) Origin and nationality:
- We are from Canada
- He is Japanese
(4) Age:
- I am twenty years old
- She is eighteen
(5) Feelings and physical states:
- I am hungry
- He is tired
- The tea is hot
(6) Locations:
- The keys are on the desk
- We are at home
Negatives, questions and short answers
Negative sentences add not directly after be: I am not (I'm not), He/she/it is not (isn't), You/we/they are not (aren't). Questions invert the subject and be:
- Am I late?
- Is he ready?
- Are you tired?
Short answers:
- Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.
- Yes, he is. / No, he isn't.
- Yes, they are. / No, they aren't.
Anatomie de la phrase
Des phrases de cette leçon, découpées dans l'ordre qu'exige l'anglais.
SujetIVerbeamAttributa new studentLieuat this international language academy.
SujetTheyVerbeareNégationnotAttributready for the final examinationTempsyet.
VerbeIsSujetyour older brotherLieuat work at the municipal hospitalTempstoday?
Guide visuel
How to read this A1 topic
At A1, aim for one clear sentence: subject, verb, agreement, and a simple complement.
1. Find the subject
English normally needs an explicit subject before the verb.
It is cold.
2. Check the verb form
Be, have, and third-person -s carry a lot of early grammar.
She works here.
3. Keep a model sentence
Learn one short pattern and swap the words carefully.
I am a student.
Be in the present
Be changes by subject and carries negatives, questions, identity, age, state, and location.
| Subject | Affirmative | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I am | I am not | Am I? |
| you | you are | you are not | Are you? |
| he / she / it | he is | he is not | Is he? |
| we | we are | we are not | Are we? |
| they | they are | they are not | Are they? |
Pronoun forms
English pronouns change by grammatical job: subject, object, possession, or reflexive meaning.
| Person | Subject | Object | Possessive adjective | Reflexive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | I | me | my | myself |
| 2nd singular/plural | you | you | your | yourself / yourselves |
| 3rd singular | he / she / it | him / her / it | his / her / its | himself / herself / itself |
| 1st plural | we | us | our | ourselves |
| 3rd plural | they | them | their | themselves |
Exemples
- 1I am a new student at this international language academy.
- 2Michael is an architect and his sister is a hospital doctor.
- 3We are very happy to meet our new neighbours this afternoon.
- 4The local history museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday.
- 5My parents are at home this evening watching the news.
- 6It is quite cold outside, so please take a warm winter coat.
- 7She is not hungry right now, but she is very thirsty.
- 8They are not ready for the final examination yet.
- 9Are you from Spain or are you travelling from Portugal?
- 10Is your older brother at work at the municipal hospital today?
Exceptions
In English, age is always expressed using the verb be, never have ("I am twenty-five years old", never "I have twenty-five years"). Physical sensations like hunger, thirst, heat, and cold also use be ("We are hungry", "I am cold", not "We have hunger"). In informal spoken English, answers to identity questions universally take the object pronoun ("It's me", "It's him"), while prescriptive "It is I" is confined to archaic or historical writing.
Erreurs fréquentes
Omitting the verb be
Erreur
She very friendly.
Correct
She is very friendly.
Every English clause requires a finite verb.
Romance or Turkish language transfer for age
Erreur
My sister has twenty years.
Correct
My sister is twenty years old.
Age is expressed with be.
Subject-verb mismatch
Erreur
They is my friends.
Correct
They are my friends.
Plural pronoun they obligatorily pairs with are.
Récap
L'essentiel de la leçon sur une carte, avant de te tester.
À retenir
- Use am with I, is with he, she, it, and are with you, we, they.
- Be needs no helper verb: negatives add not and questions invert subject and verb.
- Use be for age and physical conditions: I am twenty years old, I am hungry.
Erreurs fréquentes
Erreur: She very friendly.
Correct: She is very friendly.Erreur: My sister has twenty years.
Correct: My sister is twenty years old.Erreur: They is my friends.
Correct: They are my friends.
Teste-toi
Practise all forms of be with different pronouns until you can make positive, negative and question forms instantly.
Points de grammaire associés
Poursuivez votre apprentissage avec d'autres notions de ce niveau.