Before your is written are or is. The verbs am, is, are and the rules for their use in English

It is with this verb that you need to start studying English grammar. Verbs in English language do not vary by person, but the verb to be is an exception. With the help of this verb we will learn to compose simple sentences, which in Russian do not contain a verb, for example, “I am a student”, “he is at home”, “this is interesting”, etc. In English it is unacceptable to form without a verb that performs the action, and to be serves as a linking verb. For example, to say “I am a student,” we must insert the desired form of the linking verb to be and, as a result, the sentence will take on the meaning “I am a student” - “I (am) a student.”

Forms of the verb to be in the present tense

In the present tense, the verb to be has three forms: AM, IS, ARE:

Remember: to be and AM, IS, ARE are not 4 different ones, but forms the same verb:

(We hope our dragon will help you remember this)

Let's look at how the verb to be changes in the present tense

Affirmative form

We are friends - we are friends
They are busy - they are busy
The book is thick - the book is thick
It is a cat
She is clever - she is smart

Negative form

To form a negative conjugation form of a given verb, you need to put a negative particle “not” after one of the required forms of the verb (am, is or are). Here are some examples of negative sentences:

I am not hungry – I am not hungry
He is not busy
The room is not big – the room is not big

Interrogative form

To form an interrogative form, you need to put the appropriate form of the verb (am, is or are) at the beginning of the sentence:

Are you Peter? -Are you Pete?
This room? – Is this a room?
Are you hungry? -Are you hungry?
He is busy? – Is he busy?

To understand how verbs live in the English language, let’s first remember at least one Russian verb in its initial form, for example, the verb “to live”. As you know, Russian verbs in their initial form end in “-т”, and later, when conjugated, the ending changes. As for the English language, the verb in its initial form is used together with the particle to, for example, we say to be – would t, find t Xia, i.e. if the particle to precedes the verb, this means that the verb is in the initial form, and when further using the verb with persons, this particle is omitted. Let's give an example: “To be or not to be” - there are two verbs in the sentence - and both are in the initial form, and they must be used together with the particle to, and, accordingly, we will translate into English as “to be or not to be”. If we have before us the sentence “I (am) a student,” i.e. we have changed the verb to suit the person of the subject, then the particle to is omitted and the proper form of the verb is used, in this case am.
Unlike the verb to be, other verbs in English are not conjugated, for example, the verbs “live, sit, love” in the initial form are translated into English “to live, to sit, to love”, i.e. with a particle to, and when conjugated - without to, for example, “I live, sit, love” will be translated into English as “I live, sit, love,” i.e. initial form of a verb in English without a particletonot used, but when conjugatedtofalls. Initial form in English it is called Infinitive - Infinitive.

More about the particle to watch our video tutorial:

Verb conjugations tobe in present time

Now let's learn how the verb to be changes (conjugates) in the present tense. As mentioned above, in Russian, sentences like “I am a student, she is a doctor, we are workers” are formed without a predicate verb. But to translate these sentences into English, you need to put the appropriate form to be after the subject - “I am a pupil, she is a doctor, we are workers.”

Please note the translation of the following sentences in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms into English:

Verb conjugations tobe in past and future tense

In the past tense, the verb to be has two forms - was and were (was, was, were)

In the future tense, the verb to be is conjugated as follows

Note: In modern English the form shall is rarely used to form the future tense of verbs (although its use is not a grammatical error), the form is used for all persons will. Therefore, sometimes there are discrepancies in different textbooks.

To summarize, consider the following table:

Here are some commonly used verb expressions: to be which you should learn and conjugate yourself using the conjugation table:

To be happy/unhappy – to be happy/unhappy
To be glad - to be joyful
To be hungry/to be full up– to be hungry/full
To be fond of - to love, be carried away by something
To be busy - to be busy
To be late (for) - to be late (for)
To be in time for – to be on time
To be present at – to be present at (for example, in a lesson)
To be absent (from) – to be absent
To be married – to be married
To be single - to be single / not married
To be lucky - to be lucky
To be ready (for) - to be ready (for, for example, a lesson)
To be afraid (of) – to be afraid
To be interested (in) - to be interested in something
To be ill / well - to be sick / to feel good
To be angry (with) - to be angry, angry (at someone)

Let's conjugate together the expression to be married in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences. What did you get?

What's the difficulty? Why is the topic so simple, but there are so many errors? Because when starting to study English, not everyone changes their thinking, but continues to think in Russian. Verb "be" is present in Russian, but... we miss it when we build a sentence in the present tense. In the past, the verb "to be" had many present tense forms: you are, are, are, the essence and so on. But in modern Russian only “is” is preserved: I am, he is, we are and so on. But no one says that, “is” remains “in the mind”! Therefore, it seems very strange to us that this very “is” needs to be inserted into English.

In English the verb to be has three present tense forms: am, is, are.

If you are talking about yourself ( I), then use the verb am:

I am a teacher. - I (am) a teacher.

I am happy. - I (am) happy.

If you are talking about he(He), she(she), or it(it), use the form is:

He is a doctor. - He (is) a doctor.

She is beautiful. - She (is) beautiful.

It is my dog. - This (is) my dog

If you are talking about we(We), you(you you), they(they) then use the form are:

We are friends. - We (are) friends.

You are hungry. - You (are) hungry.

They are my parents. - They (are) my parents..

Many textbooks say that the verb to be is not translated into Russian. Agree that the word "is" looks rather strange in our example sentences, but if you want to speak English, you will have to think this way, especially in initial stages studying. To be can be translated by verbs "to be", "to be", "to exist", although this gives the statement some formal coloring, you can also put a dash.

Another observation from practice that you need to pay attention to. Sometimes they forget about the three forms and say this: I be a teacher. It's something like: I be a teacher. Of course, you should get rid of such an error if you notice it in your speech.

To use the verb to be correctly, you need to remember the main cases of its use. Because to be acts primarily as a linking verb, its main function is to connect parts of a sentence.

1. The verb to be connects a noun (pronoun) and an adjective.

Since to be is indispensable in descriptions, when characterizing or describing something using adjectives, do not forget to connect words using a linking verb:

I am fine. - I (am) fine.

My son (he) is happy. - My son (is) happy.

The children (they) are healthy. - The children (are) healthy.

This book (it) is interesting. - It's an interesting book.

Please note that if the subject of a sentence is a noun, then to select correct form verb to be, you should replace the noun with the appropriate pronoun: son-he; children- they; book- it.

2. The verb to be is used when they want to say who or what the subject of discussion is.

In other words, answering questions like: Who is this? What is this?, in your answer use to be. To be is also required if you are introducing yourself or representing someone:

I am your teacher. - I'm your teacher.

She is my sister Mary. - This is my sister Mary.

They are my colleagues. - They are my colleagues.

3. The verb to be is used when talking about professions.

Mary is a writer. - Mary is a writer.

John is a businessman. - John is a businessman.

My friends are engineers. - My friends are engineers.

If you are talking about someone's profession, then the verb to be can be translated as "to be", but such a translation is not always appropriate.

4. To be is used when talking about nationalities.

It’s not for nothing that many English textbooks begin with studying the names of countries and nationalities, so it’s very convenient to practice using the verb to be:

I'm American. - I am American.

Anna is Russian. - Anna is Russian.

Max is Canadian. - Max is Canadian.

My partners are Chinese. - My partners are Chinese.

You can find detailed information about nationalities in English.

5. To be is used when talking about age.

A common mistake is using verb have in this case. Although some languages use have when talking about age, in English you always use to be in the correct form:

I am thirty (years old). - I am thirty years old.

My sister is twenty-five (years old). - My sister is twenty-five years old.

The students are eighteen (years old). - Students are eighteen years old.

6. The verb to be should be used if you are talking about the location of something.

Verbs "to be", "to be located" may be used if the content of the proposal allows:

I am in the kitchen. - I am in the kitchen.

We are at home. - We're home.

Her bag is on the table. - Her bag is on the table.

The cat is in the box. - Cat in a box.

London is in Great Britain. - London is located in Great Britain.

7. To be (or rather its forms is and are) is an important part of the phrase there is/ there are.

We will not talk about this turnover here, because we have already published detailed material about this theme. You can read more about the turnover there is/there are, but first we recommend that you finish reading this article so as not to get confused.

Use is with singular objects and are with objects in plural.
Usually used after collective nouns is, but can be used are if you need to select individual objects that belong to a group.
After phrases like a number of… Usually a plural verb is used.

To decide what to use is or are, look at what number the noun is in, singular or plural. If the noun is singular, use is. If it is plural or there is more than one noun in a sentence, use are.

The cat is eating all of his food.– The cat eats everything that is given to her.

The cats are eating all of their food. – Cats eat whatever is given to them.

The cat and the dog are eating as fast as they can.– The cat and dog eat as fast as they can.

These are the most basic grammar rules use is And are.

Is vs. Are with collective nouns

A collective noun refers to a group of people or things that are treated as a unit in speech. Word committee (Committee) is a collective noun. A committee implies many people, but the word itself is unique in form. In American English, collective nouns are used with is. In British English, collective nouns can be used with is or are.

The committee is considering the budget right now.- IN this moment The commission is considering the financial issue.

The audience is getting antsy. – Those sitting in the audience become restless.

The couple is moving to California. This couple is moving to California.

But even in American English, a collective noun can be used with are when it is necessary to focus on individual members groups.

The couple are keeping secrets from each other.– This couple keeps secrets from each other.

Is vs. Are with uncountable nouns

Real nouns (also called uncountable nouns) are similar to collective nouns. They refer to things or objects that cannot actually be counted. Water and sand are uncountable nouns. Uncountable nouns used with is in both British and American English.

The sand is too hot to walk on!– The sand is too hot to walk on!

Water is our most precious resource.– Water is the most valuable resource.

Pudding is very easy to make.- The pudding is very easy to prepare.

Is vs. Are with phrases a Number of / a Pair of / a Group of

Collective phrases like a number of or a pair of make you think about what to use, is or are. Which verb should we use when we talk about phrases like a number of people? On the one side, number is a singular noun which implies the use is. But people it is a plural and suggests the use are. Generally it is better to use are with the phrase a number of. Perhaps you will accidentally encounter someone who will not agree with this, but the choice is yours.

A number of people are concerned about the lack of progress.“Many people are worried about the lack of progress.

A number of people are concerned about the lack of progress.

Other collective phrases like group of can be used with is when the emphasis is on the group:

That group of protesters is sure to be distracting.“This group of demonstrators is sure to create a distraction.”

This series of books is phenomenal.– This series of books is simply phenomenal.

But can also be used are when the focus is on individuals.

A bunch of my friends are going to different schools next fall. – A bunch of my friends are going to different schools next fall.

A handful of new books are published each week.– A small number of new books are published every week.

When we talk about pairs, we usually mean two items as a unit, so it is common to use is.

A good pair of shoes is a luxury in some parts of the world. – A good pair of shoes is considered a luxury for people in some parts of the world.

Wrong: A good pair of shoes are a luxury in some parts of the world.

Use is with singular objects and are with plural objects.
Usually used after collective nouns is, but can be used are if you need to select individual objects that belong to a group.
After phrases like a number of… Usually a plural verb is used.