[Grammar] Is/am/are

[Anil Giria]

I understand that whenever we use is, am, are then the tense would be present continuous tense and we must use ..ing with verb(playing)?

If above sentence is correct then my doubt is:

He is a good boy.

Which tense is the above sentence.....

 

[MikeNewYork]

It is the simple present tense.

 

[Anil Giria]

I know that in simple present tense we don't use is, am ,are,was.

We simply write:

Ram plays.
He sings. etc.

 

[SoothingDave]

English is your native language? Please correct your profile.

You are confused between using forms of "be" as a main verb and as a helping verb.

In "He is a good boy" the verb "is" is the main verb. Simple present tense. Of the verb "to be."

He sings.
He is.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Anil Giria:

Don't feel bad. I have found that many learners are completely confused about "to be." In my opinion, they do not spend enough time learning "to be." They rush on to more interesting verbs before they truly understand "to be." Big mistake, in my opinion.

1. Yes, you are right: sometimes "to be" is simply an auxiliary (helping) verb: "I am writing this post to you." If I said, "I writing this post to you," you would understand. But English requires an auxiliary verb. It helps with the tense: am / was/ will be writing.

2. In some languages, people say "He a good boy." But in English, sentences require a verb. So native speakers use "to be" as a connecting or linking verb. We have to say "He is a good boy." The linking verb "is" joins "he" and "a good boy." Furthermore, we can say: "He is / was / will be a good boy."

3. Finally, occasionally "to be" is NOT an auxiliary verb and it is NOT a linking verb. It is a full verb. That is, it is a verb like "eat," "play," "read," etc. It means something like "to exist."

a. Mona is at home.

b. You have probably read Shakespeare. So you probably know that famous line: "To be or not to be: that is the question." (In other words: To exist / live or not to exist / live: that is the question.)



James

 

[Anil Giria]

Thanks a lot. It really helped me to understand the concept that auxiliary verb can be used as a main verb.