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“To Be” in Questions
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One important rule:
With “to be,” we usually put the verb before the subject.
Statement:
You are happy.
Question:
Are you happy?
Statement:
She is a teacher.
Question:
Is she a teacher?
Statement:
They are ready.
Question:
Are they ready?
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Yes/No Questions
With “am”
Am I late?
Yes, you are.
No, you aren’t.
With “is”
Is he your friend?
Yes, he is.
No, he isn’t.
With “are”
Are they students?
Yes, they are.
No, they aren’t.
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WH-Questions with “To Be”
We can use what, who, where, when, why, how, etc.
What
- What is your name?
- What is this?
- What are those?
Who
- Who is she?
- Who are they?
Where
- Where are you?
- Where is my phone?
When
- When is your birthday?
- When are they available?
Why
- Why are you angry?
- Why is he late?
How
- How are you?
- How is your mother?
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Negative Sentences
To make a negative sentence, put not after the verb.
Present
am + not
I am not tired.
is + not
She is not busy.
are + not
They are not ready.
Contractions
| Full form | Short form |
| I am | I’m |
| I am not | I’m not |
| He is | He’s |
| He is not | He isn’t / He’s not |
| She is | She’s |
| She is not | She isn’t / She’s not |
| It is | It’s |
| It is not | It isn’t / It’s not |
| You are | You’re |
| You are not | You aren’t / You’re not |
| We are | We’re |
| We are not | We aren’t / We’re not |
| They are | They’re |
| They are not | They aren’t / They’re not |
Examples:
- I’m not angry.
- He isn’t here.
- She isn’t a student.
- We aren’t ready.
- They aren’t at home.
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“Was” and “Were” — Past Tense
The past forms of to be are:
- was
- were
Was
Use was with:
- I
- he
- she
- it
- singular nouns
Examples:
- I was tired.
- He was happy.
- She was at home.
- It was cold.
- John was late.
Were
Use were with:
- you
- we
- they
- plural nouns
Examples:
- You were right.
- We were tired.
- They were happy.
- The children were at school.
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Past Negative
Was not → wasn’t
- I wasn’t tired.
- He wasn’t at home.
- She wasn’t angry.
Were not → weren’t
- You weren’t late.
- We weren’t ready.
- They weren’t happy.
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Past Questions
Put was/were before the subject.
Was
- Was he tired?
- Was she at home?
- Was it expensive?
Were
- Were you busy?
- Were they happy?
- Were we late?
Examples:
Were you at school yesterday?
Yes, I was.
Was she tired?
No, she wasn’t.
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“Be” as the Base Form
The base form is be.
We use be after certain verbs and modal verbs.
After modal verbs
- can be
- could be
- will be
- would be
- should be
- must be
- may be
- might be
Examples:
- I can be there tomorrow.
- She will be happy.
- He might be busy.
- They should be ready.
- You must be careful.
- It could be difficult.
Important
After a modal verb, use be, not is/am/are.
Correct:
She will be here.
Incorrect:
❌ She will is here.
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“To Be” as an Infinitive
The infinitive is:
to be
Examples:
- I want to be a doctor.
- She wants to be successful.
- He hopes to be famous.
- We need to be careful.
- They decided to be honest.
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“Being”
Being is the present participle of be.
Examples:
- Stop being noisy.
- I like being alone.
- Thank you for being here.
- He is being difficult.
- She is being very helpful.
“Being” vs “be”
I want to be happy.
I am being polite.