TO BE

The English verb "to be" is the most common in the English language. It has three conjugations in the present tense. The conjugation for I is "am." The conjugation for you, we, and they is "are." The conjugation for the third person singular (he, she, or it) is "is."

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

Usage
The verb "to be" can be followed by an adjective, noun, preposition, or verb.
To be + adjective

• State of being: I am tired, He is sick, We are hungry, Are you ready?
  
• Description: She is pretty, They are kind, We are Russian
  

To be + noun

• I am a lawyer, He is a student, We are friends
  

To be + preposition

• Location: I am at work, It is on the table, Are you in England?
  
• Origin: He's from Spain, I am from San Diego, This coffee is from Africa
  

To be + verb
To be can used with other verbs to create new verb forms.
1. To be followed by the present participle (a verb ending in -ing) is the present progressive, which indicates an action that is occurring right now.

• I am working, He is running, Are you sleeping?
  

2. To be followed by the past participle (a verb usually ending in -ed or -en) creates the passive voice.

• TV is watched too much, Cake is eaten with a fork, Books are written on every subject

3. To be followed by the infinitive (to + verb) indicates something that is supposed to happen. (This is somewhat rare and formal in English - the more common verb to use here is to have.)

• You are to help us, I am to leave tomorrow, We are to call if we need help
  

Additional uses for to be

• Time: What time is it?, It is 10am, It is late
  
• Weather: It is sunny, It is hot, Is it windy?