The verb 'to be'

The verb to be is used in many questions. Such as: What is your name? Where are you from? How are you, and many other. Once you know how to use the verb to be in present tense you'll be able to learn to use it in past tense and you can start making small sentences.

To be (Present tense)

Affirmative / Negative

I am – I’m / I am not - I’m not
you are – you’re / you are not – you aren’t
she is – she’s / she is not – she isn’t
he is – he’s / he is not – he isn’t
it is – it’s / it is not – it isn’t
we are – we’re / we are not – we aren’t
you are – you’re / you are not – you aren’t
they are – they’re / they are not – they aren’t

Example of present sentences using the verb 'to be'

I am a woman.

He is my cousin.

She is not my friend.

We are always together.

I'm a painter

They are lovely.

*Notice that the short forms of the verb 'to be' includes contractions.*

Contractions are used when you are speaking or writing informal English. These are created by adding an apostrophe in place of the missing letter. For example: It is = It's

Now that you have learn how to use the verb 'to be' in present tense it is time to learn it in past tense.

To be (Past tense)

Notice there are some similarities to the present tense of the verb. 

Affirmative / Negative

I was / I was not – I wasn’t
you were / you were not – you weren’t
she was / she was not – she wasn’t
he was / he was not – he wasn’t
it was / it was not – it wasn’t
we were / we were not – we weren’t
you were / you were not – you weren’t
they were / they were not – they weren’t

*Note:  There are no contractions used in the positive form of the verb.*

Was and were in the past

Questions are also similar in the present and past forms of the verb ‘to be’. Take a look at these sentences to compare the two forms.

Where is Jhon today? -> Where was Jhon yesterday?
What day is it today?  -> What day was it yesterday?
Where are you today?  -> Where wereyou last week?