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Grammaire
Sentence structure A1

Be sentences

Use be to talk about identity, description, age, feelings, location, and basic situations.

Traduction des explications en cours…
Pour le moment, la leçon originale en anglais s’affiche.
Guide visuel

Be is the bridge

BE = a bridge to information

who/what  ── am / is / are ──► information

I         ── am  ────────────► Alex.
She       ── is  ────────────► tired.
They      ── are ────────────► at home.

Negative:  who/what ── be + not ──► information
           I am not busy.

Question:  be ── who/what ──► information?
           Are you okay?

For feelings/descriptions, use the be bridge:
           Are you happy?   ✓
           Do you happy?    ✗

Use be as a bridge from the person/thing to information about identity, feeling, place, or situation.

Introduction

What be sentences do

Use be when the sentence is about what someone or something is, how it is, where it is, or what the basic situation is. Be is one of the first English verbs because it builds simple, useful statements: identity, description, feelings, location, age, weather, time, and status. In these sentences, there is no action like run or eat. The sentence links a subject to information about that subject.
Core Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

I am Alex.

A basic be sentence can give a name or identity.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

I
subject
The speaker is the subject.
am
be_form
Use am with I.
À apprendre comme une unité
Alex
identity
The name identifies the subject.
Core Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

She is tired.

Be links the subject to a feeling or state.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

She
subject
The person we are talking about.
is tired
be_plus_state
Use is + adjective to describe a state.
À apprendre comme une unité
Core Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

They are at home.

Be can show location.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

They
subject
The people or things we are talking about.
are at home
be_plus_place
Use are + place phrase for location with they.
À apprendre comme une unité
Cognitive metaphor

Be is a bridge

Think of be as a small bridge. On the left is the subject; on the right is information about that subject. The bridge says that these two parts belong together now. It can connect a person to an identity, a thing to a description, or an object to a place. Be is not an action word in this pattern. It does not mean do, make, go, or have. It simply links the subject to the description, name, place, feeling, or situation that follows.
Core Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

Ava is a student.

Be connects a subject to an identity or role.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

Ava
subject
The person we are talking about.
is a student
be_plus_identity
Use is + noun phrase to say what one person is.
À apprendre comme une unité
Core Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

My keys are on the table.

Be can link a plural subject to a place.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

My keys
subject
The plural thing we are talking about.
are on the table
be_plus_place
Use are + place phrase for the location of plural things.
À apprendre comme une unité
Core pattern

Subject + be + information

The core pattern is subject + be + information. The information after be can be a noun phrase, an adjective, or a place phrase. Use am with I, is with he, she, it, and one thing, and are with you, we, they, and plural things. In relaxed English, contractions are very common: I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, we’re, they’re. Full forms are also correct and are useful for emphasis or careful speech.
Spoken Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Informal

I'm ready.

Contractions are common in speech and everyday writing.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

I'm
contraction
I'm means I am.
À apprendre comme une unité
ready
state
An adjective describes the subject.
Spoken Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Informal

You're late.

Use are with you; the common contraction is you're.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

You're
contraction
You're means you are.
À apprendre comme une unité
late
description
An adjective describes the subject.
Spoken Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

We're from Canada.

Use are with we; the common contraction is we're.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

We're
contraction
We're means we are.
À apprendre comme une unité
from Canada
origin
A from-phrase gives origin.
Sentence xray

See the parts

X-ray the sentence My sister is at school. My sister is the subject: the person we are talking about. Is is the be form that matches one person. At school is the information: her location. If the subject changes, be may change too. If the information changes, the be form can stay the same. The middle link is important: in a simple English sentence, a subject plus an adjective, noun, or place usually needs be.
Core Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

My sister is at school.

This sentence shows the reusable frame subject + be + place.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

My sister
subject
The person we are talking about.
is
be_form
Use is with one person or thing.
À apprendre comme une unité
at school
place
The place information comes after be.
Form variations

Questions and negatives

For yes/no questions, move be before the subject: be + subject + information. Statement order is you are okay; question order is are you okay? With a singular noun, use is before the subject. For negatives, put not after be. In speech and everyday writing, contractions are common: isn’t and aren’t. Short answers also keep be: yes, I am; no, it isn’t; yes, they are; no, they aren’t.
Question Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

Are you okay?

Be comes before the subject in yes/no questions.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

Are you
question_be
Put are before you to make a yes/no question.
À apprendre comme une unité
okay
state
The adjective gives the state.
Question Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

Is the shop open?

Use is before one thing in a be question.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

Is the shop
question_be
Put is before a singular noun subject in a question.
À apprendre comme une unité
open
state
The adjective gives the status.
Negative Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

I am not busy.

Put not after be to make a negative.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

I
subject
The speaker is the subject.
am not
negative_be
Use am not to make I negative with be.
À apprendre comme une unité
busy
state
The adjective describes the subject.
Negative Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

They are not here.

Not follows are in a negative be sentence.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

They
subject
The people or things we are talking about.
are not here
negative_be
Use are not + place word to say a plural subject is absent.
À apprendre comme une unité
Usage rules

Main everyday uses

Use be for several high-frequency meanings. Identity means a person or thing is a type, role, or name. Description means something is big, small, ready, new, easy, or difficult. Age also uses be in English. Feelings and body states often use be: tired, hungry, cold, fine, or okay. Location uses be with place phrases. Weather, time, and basic status often use be too. These are state or situation sentences, not action sentences.
Core Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

I am twenty.

English uses be to talk about age.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

I
subject
The speaker is the subject.
am twenty
be_plus_age
Use be, not have, for age in English.
À apprendre comme une unité
Core Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

It is sunny.

Weather sentences often use it is.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

It
weather_subject
Use it as the subject for weather.
is sunny
be_plus_weather
Use is + weather adjective for basic weather.
À apprendre comme une unité
Contrast

Be is not do

The closest confusion is be versus ordinary action verbs with do. Do not use do to make questions or negatives when be is the main verb. Be makes its own question: are you happy? But ordinary action verbs need do in simple present questions: do you work here? The contrast is be + adjective, place, or noun, but do + subject + action verb. Use do for work, live, like, want, and other actions.
Mistake Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

Do you happy?

Do is not used to make a question when happy is the information after be.

Corrected Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

Are you happy?

Be makes its own question with adjectives like happy.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

Are you
question_be
Use are before you in a be question.
À apprendre comme une unité
happy
feeling
The adjective describes the feeling.
Contrast Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

Do you work here?

Ordinary action verbs, such as work, use do in simple present questions.

Unités de sens

Lisez la phrase par unités de sens, pas mot à mot.

Do you work
question_do
Use do + subject + base verb for an ordinary action question.
À apprendre comme une unité
here
place
Here gives the place.
Mistake Grammaire A1 Vocabulaire A1 Neutral

Are you work here?

Work is an action verb here, so a simple present question needs do, not be.

Danger zone

Common A1 traps

Watch for three common errors. First, do not drop be between the subject and the information; English usually needs the link. Second, match the form to the subject: I am, one person or thing is, you, we, they, and plural things are. Third, put not after be, not before it. In simple present, do not add a second main verb after be unless you are using another structure, such as an -ing action. For this A1 pattern, keep the sentence simple.
Summary

The practical rule

A complete be sentence names a subject, chooses the correct form of be, and adds useful information. Use it to say who someone is, what something is like, how old someone is, how someone feels, where something is, or what the situation is. For statements, use subject + am/is/are + information. For questions, put am/is/are before the subject. For negatives, put not after am/is/are. When the next word is an action verb like work or live, check whether you need do instead.
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