am / is / are

Present simple: to be

Present simple: to be

We use to be in the present simple to talk about:

-factual information.

  • Brisbane is in Australia.

-personal information.

  • I am Australian.

Affirmative and negative

I

am Spanish.
am not
You/We/They are good at tennis.
are not
He/She is a teacher.
isn't

Question

Am I first?
Are you/we/they good at tennis?
Is he/she a teacher?

 

1. Read.

Read about a tutor. Choose the correct picture.

Your tutor

Hello. My name is Simon. I am your tutor. I am from Australia. I am 41 years old. I live in Barcelona. I have two children. Carlotta is nine and Jack is three years old. We are very happy living here. I have three brothers. They are not in Barcelona. They are in Australia. People often say to me, "Are you from Sydney?" And I say, "No, I'm not from Sydney. I'm from Toowoomba." And you? Where are you from?

2. True or false?

3. Choose a sentence.

Choose a sentence for each picture.

4. Look at the text.

Drag the verbs to the correct box.

5. The verb to be.

I am your tutor. = I'm your tutor. I am = verb to be (I'm = a contraction of I am)

I'm not from Sydney.
I'm from Toowoomba.
Where are you from?

Look at the text in exercise 1. Complete the table.

Your tutor:
Hello. My name's Simon. I'm your tutor. I'm from Australia. I'm 41 years old. I live in Barcelona. I have two children. Carlotta is nine and Jack's three years old. We are very happy living here. Barcelona is a nice city. I have three brothers. They're not in Barcelona. They are in Australia. People often say to me, "Are you from Sydney?" And I say, "No, I'm not from Sydney. I'm from Toowoomba." And you? Where are you from?

 

6. Make sentences.

Put the words in order to make sentences.

For more information about the present simple see the Grammar Reference

7. Practice: The verb to be.

Write the correct form of the verb to be to complete the sentences.

8. Practice: Different verbs.

Write the missing verbs to complete the text. Click on the space to see the first letter.