What is the Verb Be?

动词 be is very common in English. It helps you describe things and people. It also tells you where things are.

Think of be like “ser” and “estar” in Spanish. English uses only one verb for both ideas.

How Do We Use Be in Positive Sentences?

动词 be changes its form depending on the subject. There are three forms for the present simple:

• 我们使用 am 与 I.
  • 例如 I am happy.
• 我们使用 is 与 he, she, it, and singular nouns (one person, one thing).
  • 例如 He is a student.
  • 例如 It is cold.
• 我们使用 are 与 you, we, they, and plural nouns (more than one person, more than one thing).
  • 例如 You are kind.
  • 例如 They are friends.

How Do We Use Be in Negative Sentences?

To make a sentence negative, we add not after the verb be.

• With I: am not
  • 例如 I am not sad.
• With he, she, it: is not
  • 例如 She is not from Spain.
• With you, we, they: are not
  • 例如 We are not tired.

What Are Contractions with Be?

In spoken English and informal writing, we often use contractions. Contractions are shorter forms of words.

• For positive sentences:
  • I am 变成 I’m (e.g., I’m a student.)
  • He is 变成 He’s (e.g., He’s tall.)
  • She is 变成 She’s (e.g., She’s my sister.)
  • It is 变成 It’s (e.g., It’s sunny.)
  • You are 变成 You’re (e.g., You’re welcome.)
  • We are 变成 We’re (e.g., We’re friends.)
  • They are 变成 They’re (e.g., They’re at home.)
• For negative sentences:
  • I am not 变成 I’m not (e.g., I’m not hungry.)
  • He is not 变成 He isn’t 或 He’s not (e.g., He isn’t here. 或 He’s not here.)
  • She is not 变成 She isn’t 或 She’s not
  • It is not 变成 It isn’t 或 It’s not
  • You are not 变成 You aren’t 或 You’re not (e.g., You aren’t right. 或 You’re not right.)
  • We are not 变成 We aren’t 或 We’re not
  • They are not 变成 They aren’t 或 They’re not

When Do We Use the Verb Be?

我们使用 be for many things. Here are some common uses:

• To talk about identity or names:
  • I am Maria.
  • He is a doctor.
• To talk about age:
  • She is ten years old.
  • They are 25.
• To talk about feelings or descriptions:
  • We are happy.
  • It is a big house.
• To talk about location:
  • You are at home.
  • The book is on the table.

示例

• I am a student.
• He is my brother.
• She is happy.
• It is a cat.
• You are tall.
• We are friends.
• They are in the park.
• I am not tired.
• He isn’t here.
• They aren’t sad.

练习

西班牙语母语者常犯的错误

Spanish speakers sometimes make these mistakes with be:

• 使用 have for age: In Spanish, you say “Tengo X años”. In English, we use be.
  • 错误： I have 10 years.
  • 右： I am 10 years old.
• Forgetting the subject pronoun: In Spanish, you can often omit the subject (e.g., “Es feliz”). In English, you always need a subject.
  • 错误： Is happy.
  • 右： He is happy. 或 She is happy.
• 令人困惑 ser 和 estar: Remember, English uses only be for both.
  • Spanish: “Soy alto” (ser) and “Estoy cansado” (estar).
  • English: I am tall. 和 I am tired.

常见问题

What are the three present forms of be?

The three present forms are am, is, ， 和 are.

How do I make I am negative?

You add not: I am not 或 I’m not.

Can I use isn’t and is not?

是的，, isn’t is a contraction for is not. Both are correct, but isn’t is more common in speaking.

When do I use is?

You use is with singular subjects like he, she, it, or one person/thing (e.g., The dog is big.).

相关课程

• Be: present simple forms
• Be: present simple forms