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The present simple form of be

The present simple of the verb be has three forms:

am - is - are 

• I am. -------> Yo soy / Yo estoy



• He/She/It is.
 🔸He is -----------> El es / El esta
 🔸She is ---------> Ella es / Ella esta
 🔸It is -----------> Eso-algo es / Eso-also esta

We use he for a man, she for a woman, and it for a thing.
for  = para/por


• We/You/They are.
 🔸We are -----------> Nosotros somos / Nosotros estamos
 🔸You are -----------> Ustedes son / Ustedes estan
 🔸You are -----------> Tu eres / Tu estas
 🔸They are -----------> Ellos/Ellas es / El esta

We use they for people and for things.

Don’t forget the subject/personal pronoun

We always need a subject before the verb.

• It is cold. (NOT Is cold.)
• Sally is a wonderful woman. (NOT Is a wonderful woman.)

 

Contractions or short forms

We use ‘m, ‘s and ‘re with personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc.)

• I’m sad.
• You’re tired.
• She’s from Scotland.

But we can also use ‘s with names.

• Laura’s beautiful.
• London’s an expensive city. 

• He‘s a little boy. ------> Es un niño pequeño.
• She‘s beautiful. ----> Ella es hermosa.
• I like this TV. It‘s very big. ----> Me gusta este televisor. Es muy grande.
• I love Sara and Jonas. They are my friends. ------> Me encanta Sara y Jonas. Ellos son mis amigos.
• I love these chairs. They are very beautiful. -----> Me encantan estas sillas. Son muy hermosas

 

Contractions in short answers

 
We can only use contractions in negative short answers. Not in positive short answers.

• Yes, I am. (NOT Yes, I’m.)
• Yes, she is. (NOT Yes, she’s.)
• Yes, they are. (NOT Yes, they’re.)

 

Cheat Sheet for the Present Simple form of BE

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be – present simple use

 

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We use the verb be to talk about:

• Who we are: I‘m Steven, and this is Isabella. And this is my daughter, Alicia.
• Age: I‘m 24 years old, and my father is 50. 
• Job: I‘m a teacher, and my wife is a doctor. 
• Nationality: Alex is from Ireland, and Sonia is from Spain.
• Feelings: I‘m scared. She is very tired. 
• Colour: Our dog is black. His eyes are blue.
• Prices: It‘s seven pounds. This T-shirt is twenty dollars.  
• The weather: It‘s sunny today. It is very cold this morning. 
• The time: What time is it? It‘s ten past four. 
• Descriptions in general: He is very short and thin. The cars are old and cheap. 

 

Present simple form

 
For the present simple we need to use the verb do/does in questions and don’t/doesn’t in negatives.
 

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Spelling of he/she/it - The third person rules in simpel present.

 
The form is the same for all the other persons except he/she/it. The spelling for he/she/it is different.
 

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Present simple use

Habits or actions that happen regularly

 
We use present simple for habits or actions that we repeat regularly:

• I wash my hair every day.
• I never go to the library.
• I go to the library on Saturdays.

Permanent situations or things that are always or often true

 

• I don’t drink coffee.
• She’s very tall.
• I have two brothers.
• Water boils at 100 degrees.
• I like soup.