Verb to be: present simple

Exercise 1

Complete the present simple forms of the verb to be - positive, negative and questions.

A: Where are we now? I have no idea.

B: You just in front of our house.

A: Are you hungry? Have something to eat.

B: Yes, I a little bit hungry.

A: Is your sister at school? I must talk to her.

B: No, she at school.

A: Where are your parents? Are they at home?

B: My mum and dad at work.

A: Is Peter your friend? And what about Bill?

B: Peter and Bill my best friends.

A: I think these stories are very interesting.

B: Really? The stories interesting at all.

A: How often are you ill? You must go to see a doctor.

B: Quite often. I very healthy.

A: Are Susan and Marion good at sport?

B: Well, Susan quite good at athletics, but Marion isn't.

A: Am I the best student in our class? What do you think?

B: No, you . I'm the best.

A: Where are you, Simon? I need your help.

B: I'm afraid Simon here. He is at the shop.

A: your brother at home?

B: No, he isn't. I can't find him anywhere.

A: Where Mark and Jim? I can't see them.

B: Mark is over there and Joe is in the hall.

A: we at the right airport?

B: I hope so. If not, we'll miss our plane.

A: Why I so lazy? I stay in bed till lunch every Saturday and Sunday.

B: You are like your father.

Present simple Exercises with answers, PDF worksheets, grammar rules.

There are two different forms of the verb to be in the present simple: the full forms and short forms.

1. Full forms

The full forms are used in formal English, especially in written texts.

Affirmative

I am your friend.
You are very tall.
He/she/it is round the corner.
We are neighbours.
They are at work.

Negative

In negative sentences we put 'not' after the verb to be.

I am not your friend.
You are not very tall.
He is not round the corner.

Questions

If we want to make a question, we just change the word order of the subject and the verb.

Am I your friend? - Am I not your friend?
Are you very tall? - Are you not very tall?
Is he round the corner? - Is he not round the corner?

2. Short forms

The short forms are normally used in informal or spoken English.

Affirmative

I'm your friend.
You're very tall.
He/she/it's round the corner.
We're neighbours.
They're at work.

Negative

I'm not your friend.
You aren't very tall.
He/she/it isn't round the corner.

We can also emphasize the negative in the following way. ('Not' is stressed in speech.)

You're not very tall.
He/she/it's not round the corner.

Questions

Aren't you very tall?
Isn't it round the corner?