Listen to the Lesson
We use “be verbs” to tell basic information about a subject. The “be verb” changes in the present tense depending on the subject. We need to memorize these.
| I am… | You are… |
| We are… / Jon and I are… | He is… / Jon is… |
| She is… / Sue is… | It is… / The computer is… |
| They are… / Jon and Sue are… | They are… / The two computers are… |
Every sentence in this lesson is in the present tense.
Subject + be verb + noun…
- I am a student at this university.
- I am a doctor at a hospital in New York.
- We are good people.
- He is an engineer.
- Science is a hard subject.
- They are businessmen at a car company.
- The two boys are brothers.
- The computer is a MacBook.
- This is coffee.
Subject + be verb + adjective…
- I am tired.
- I am married.
- Yoga is relaxing.
- My boss is smart, but he is not very nice.
- The girl and the boy are really cute.
- Basketball and soccer are exciting.
- The books are big, but not very helpful.
- The apartment is new, but it is kind of expensive.
Use “be verb + not” to make negative sentences.
- I am not a doctor. I am an English teacher.
- They aren’t my friends. They are my sisters.
- Studying English isn’t bad.
- The computer is not broken.
- Greg isn’t excited about the trip.
Bonus Tips and Points
1. We can also put a prepositional phrase after a “be verb”. Take a look at some examples.
- He is at the store.
- She is in the library.
- The dog is on the bed.
- The books are next to the computer.
- The children are in the garden.
- The rock is under the tree.
- I am in my office.
2. We can replace “be verb + adjective” with “feel + adjective”. They have the same meaning.
- I feel tired.
(=I am tired.) - She feels angry.
(=She is angry.) - They feel sad.
(=They are sad.)
Real-World English Conversations
A) How are you today?
B) I am a little tired, but I will be okay. How are you?
A) What do you do for a living?
B) I am a computer programmer for a game company. You?
A) Are you sick?
B) No. I am not sick. Do I look sick?
A) What will you do tonight?
B) My boss is angry about our sales results last month. So, I need to work tonight. I will be busy for the next few weeks.
A) Is the computer good?
B) It is very fast, but it is really expensive.
A) Is it cold today?
B) I don’t know. Open the window and check.
Study these free English lessons to improve your English speaking. If you learn these common sentence patterns well, then your English speaking will improve greatly and you will be able to have fluent conversations in English in the near future! Study the lessons well, practice using the sentences and questions at home and in real life, and make sure to come back to review the material so you do not forget. If you do these three things, then you will be speaking English like a native English speaker in no time!
English Sentence Patterns for Speaking Index
