Formation of short forms of ‘to be’ in the present simple

Beside the regular forms (which means the forms fully written out) it is also possible to use short forms for ‘to be’ in the present simple (am, is, are). Such shortened forms (’m, ’re, ’s) are regularly used in spoken language and in written informal English, as it is the case in emails, postcards, and so on.

• Compare the following table with the conjugated short forms of ‘to be’:

Use of short forms of ‘to be’ in the present simple

The table shows the short forms of ‘to be’ in the present simple. There are two possible ways to shorten the verb ‘to be’:

Examples with short forms of ‘to be’

Here are some example sentences that use the shortened forms of ‘to be’ in the present simple:

• Positive forms:
  • “I’m a bit tired.”
  • “Paul and Charlie have been waiting; they’re angry.”
  • “It’s a beautiful day to go for a walk.”
  • “My sister’s in the garden.”
• Negative forms:
  • “I’m not at home.”
  • “That isn’t right.”
  • “James and I aren’t very good friends.”
  • “You’re not a very good student.”
• Interrogative forms (only possible in negative questions):
  • “Isn’t this Melissa’s handbag?”
  • “They are real computer specialists, aren’t they?”
    • here with a question tag
  • “Aren’t we on the wrong way?”
  • “Why isn’t the cat outside?”

Further explanations related to the topic ‘Forming short forms of ‘to be’ in the present simple’

The following explanations are related to the topic ‘Short forms of ‘to be’ in the simple present’ and can be helpful:

• Conjugation & verb forms of ‘to have’ in the present simple
• Conjugation & verb forms of modal verbs in the present simple
• Exercise 1 short forms of ‘to be’