Here is the positive form (positive refers to a regular sentence, not a negative or a question).
| Positive | Positive Short Form (contracted form) |
| I am | I’m |
| you are | you’re |
| he is | he’s |
| she is | she’s |
| it is | it’s |
| we are | we’re |
| you are | you’re |
| they are | they’re |
Next, here’s the negative form: You include the word ‘not‘.
| Negative | Negative short form (contracted form) |
| I am not | I’m not |
| you are not | you aren’t (you’re not) |
| he is not | he isn’t (he’s not) |
| she is not | she isn’t (she’s not) |
| it is not | it isn’t (it’s not) |
| we are not | we aren’t (we’re not) |
| you are not | you aren’t (you’re not |
| they are not | they aren’t (they’re not) |
Lastly, here’s the question form of the present simple with ‘be‘. There are two types of questions: ‘yes / no’ questions, and ‘wh’ questions.
Firstly, here’s the ‘yes / no’ question form:
Yes / No Questions
am I ?
are you ?
is he ?
is she ?
is it ?
are we ?
are they ?
To form a ‘wh’ question, simply place the question word at the beginning.
| Wh Questions | |
| where am I ? | |
| what are you ? | |
| why is he ? | |
| who is she ? | |
| where is it? | |
| when are we ? | |
| what are you ? | |
| how are they ? |
PRACTICE EXERCISE