Am / Is / Are (Present Tense — Be Verb)
‘Be’ verb is used when a sentence doesn`t have a main verb. In that situation, it is a linking verb. It doesn’t describe an action. It tells us more about the subject of the sentence.
We use am / is / are as,
• The main verb
• A helping verb
Example: — I am a doctor. ( Here, ‘am’ is the main verb)
Example:- I am eating rice. (Here, ‘am’ is a helping verb)
What is the Main Verb?
The main verb is a verb that can stand alone in a sentence.
I eat rice ( eat is the main verb)
we can`t say that as “I am eat rice”. This is wrong. As there is one main verb eat we don`t need another verb because the main verb can stand alone.
I happy — Wrong
I am happy — Correct
Here am is the main verb as there is no other verb.
Affirmative Form / Positive form
I + am
Singular subject + is
Plural subject + are
Examples:-
• I am kind. / I`m kind.
• He is a farmer. / He`s a farmer.
• She is a teacher. / She`s a teacher.
• It is a book. / It`s a book.
• You are good. / You`re good.
• We are children. / We`re children.
• They are birds. / They`re birds.
• My father is a driver.
• Kasun and Kamal are tall.
Negative form
I + am + not
Singular subject + is + not
Plural subject + are + not
Examples:-
• I am not kind. / I`m not kind.
• He is not a farmer. / He isn`t a farmer.
• She is not a teacher. / She isn`t a teacher.
• It is not a book. / It isn`t a book.
• You are not good. / You aren`t good.
• We are not children. / We aren`t children.
• They are not birds. / They aren`t birds.
• My father is not a driver.
• Kasun and Kamal are not all.
Interrogative form / Question form
Am + I
Is + Singular subject
Are + Plural subject
Examples:-
• Am I kind?
• Is he a farmer?
• Is she a teacher?
• Is it a book?
• Are you good?
• Are we children?
• Are they birds?
• Is my father a driver?
• Are Kasun and Kamal tall?
notice one thing here we don`t put a full stop in places where we have put a question mark.
Try out the following examples:-
The answers are,
1.am
2.are
3.is
4.is
5.is
6.are
7.are
8.are
9.is
10.is
You can take the Sinhala translation as a video from the following link : -
