The three present forms of the most important verb
I am - you are - he is
How to use this sheet
English speakers use this verb to say who they are, how they feel, and where things are - no other verb appears more often. It has three different present forms, and the subject alone decides which one you need. The table gives every subject with its full form, the short spoken form, and both ways of making it negative.
| Subject | Full form | Contraction | Negative | Negative contraction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | I am | I'm | I am not | I'm not |
| you | you are | you're | you are not | you aren't |
| he | he is | he's | he is not | he isn't |
| she | she is | she's | she is not | she isn't |
| it | it is | it's | it is not | it isn't |
| we | we are | we're | we are not | we aren't |
| they | they are | they're | they are not | they aren't |
| my brother | my brother is | my brother's | my brother is not | my brother isn't |
In use
I'm tired, but the kids are ready to go. She's a nurse at the hospital in town. We aren't late - the bus is early.
Watch out
They is in the kitchen.
In many languages you can leave this verb out before an adjective or a place word; in English it is never optional. If you feel your sentence has no verb, it is almost always this one that is missing. Notice the last row: a singular noun subject behaves exactly like the subjects in rows 3 to 5.