The verb be links a subject to information. It tells who someone or something is, what someone or something is like, or where someone or something is. In the present, be has the forms am, is, and are.

Use am, is, and are in the present. The form changes with the subject. Each subject has one present form of be.

Subject	Form
I	am
you	are
he	is
she	is
it	is
we	are
they	are

Use be to say who a person or thing is. This use links the subject to a name, job, group, or thing. It gives identity.

Use be to describe a quality or a state. A quality is something like size, age, or color. A state is something like happy, tired, or ready.

Use be to talk about where a person or thing is. This use links the subject to a place. The place can be a room, a city, or another location.

Be has full forms and short forms. Short forms are common in simple English. They are used in affirmative, negative, and question forms.

Affirmative forms say that something is true. Be comes after the subject in statements. Use the correct present form with each subject.

Subject	Form
I	I am
you	you are
he	he is
she	she is
it	it is
we	we are
they	they are

Negative forms say that something is not true. Add not to be. Short negative forms are common in simple English.

Subject	Form
I	I am not
you	you are not
he	he is not
she	she is not
it	it is not
we	we are not
they	they are not

Questions with be ask for identity, state, or location. Put be before the subject. The form of be still matches the subject.

Subject	Form
I	am I
you	are you
he	is he
she	is she
it	is it
we	are we
they	are they

You can now use be in the present to talk about identity, state, and location. You can choose am, is, or are for I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. You can also use affirmative, negative, and question forms in simple English sentences.