| To Be Verbs | Is – am – are | was – were | been |
To Be Verbs (Present Continuous Tense “is, are, am”)
Shows an action which is happening now or at the moment of speaking.
- I am writing a letter right now.
Shows an action which is scheduled to be done in the future (Coming time).
- He is going to the USA next month.
Shows an action that is in progress in a period of time.
- Bariz is writing a grammar book this year.
Affirmative Sentence Structure
Subject + be + verb1 + ing + complement
- He is writing a letter now.
Negative Sentence Structure
Subject + be + not + verb1 + ing + complement
- He is not looking at you.
Interrogative Sentence Structure
Be + subject + verb1 + ing + complement + ?
- Is she working in the kitchen now?
Negative Interrogative Sentence Structure
Be + subject + not + verb1 + ing + complement + ?
- Are you not going to school tomorrow?
To Be Verbs (Past Continuous Tense “was and were”)
Shows a continued or ongoing action in the past.
- I was watching TV.
Indicates that a longer action in the past was interrupted.
- They were playing football when it began to rain.
Affirmative Sentence Structure
Subject + 1st form of verb + ing + Object
- I was watching TV.
Negative Sentence Structure
Subject + Was/ Were + not + 1st form of verb + ing + Object
- I was not watching TV.
Interrogative Sentence Structure
Was/ Were + Subject + 1st from of verb + ing + Object + ?
- Was I watching TV?
Using To Be Verbs With WH Question Words
Structure (WH + be + Subject + V1 ing + Complement/ ROTS)
- What are you doing now?
- Where is she going today?
- When are they coming over here?
- Why are you looking at me?
- Why were they not playing well?
Related:
Exercises
Attempt the following exercises then compare your answers with the correct answers given below.
Exercise 1:
Complete the sentences below with the correct forms of “to be” verbs.
1- My brother and I …are……. Swimming in the pool now.
2- He …….. writing a letter right now.
3- They ……….having a party tonight.
4- I ………. looking at you.
5- We ……….. listening to our teacher.
6- ………..our teacher teaching Step1 book?
7- ………I writing a letter now?
Answers:
- are
- is
- are
- am
- were/are
- is/was
- am
Exercise 2:
Write short answers to the questions below.
1- Are you listening to your teacher now? Yes, I am. No, I am not. / Yes, we are. No, we are not/aren`t.
2- Was she watching TV?
3- Am I drinking tea?
4- Were they fixing a car?
5- Are Tom and I jogging in the park?
6- Was he playing cricket?
7- Were they having a wedding party last night?
8- Is he going to Herat next week?
9- Are you chatting with a friend right now?
10- Are Ozma and Yusuf having dinner together?
11- Was she vacuuming the floor?
12- Were you mopping the kitchen?
13- Is he swimming in the pool right now?
14- Are you smiling at him?
15- Am I explaining present progressive tense now?
16- Are we sitting in the class now?
17- Was she peeling the potatoes?
18- Was the baby crying?
Exercise 3:
Write answers to the questions below in your own words.
1- What is he doing right now? 1- He is chatting with his friend on Facebook.
2- Where are they going tomorrow? 2- —————————————————————————–
3- When are you coming over here? 3- —————————————————————————–
4- Who was teaching the conversation class Yesterday? 4- —————————————————————–
5- Why was that little girl crying? 5- —————————————————————————–
6- Which TV channel are they watching? 6- —————————————————————————–
7- Who was Ahmad swimming with? 7- —————————————————————————-
8- For whom are you fixing the dinner now? 8- —————————————————————————-