Unit 1, class 4: The verb "to be" (negative) (present tense)

Let's review the verb "to be"

I am

You are

He is

She is

It is

We are

They are

To make a sentence with the verb "to be" into the negative tense, all we need to do is add the word "not" after am/is/are.

For example: I am happy.

negative: I am not happy.

You are sad.

You are not sad.

He is at work.

He is not at work.

She is 50 years old.

She is not 50 years old.

It is windy.

It is not windy.

We are sick.

We are not sick.

The bananas are on the table.

The bananas are not on the table.

It is NOT hard! (See what I did there??)

However, since we are lazy speakers in English, and because of the rhythm of the language, we often use contractions. We already know the contractions for the verb to be:

I am = I'm

You are = you're

He is = he's

she is = she's

it is = it's

we are = we're

they are = they're

Let's practice them in the negative tense:

I'm not

you're not

he's not

she's not

it's not

we're not

they're not

I'm not, you're not, he's not, she's not, it's not, we're not, they're not

We can also make a contraction with the verb "to be" and the word "not".

are not = aren't

is not = isn't

am not = (we don't use am not as a contraction)

isn't and aren't

You are not = you aren't

He is not = he isn't

She is not = she isn't

It is not = it isn't

We are not = we aren't

They are not = they aren't

So there are actually a few ways to say the same thing in English.

For example:

1. You are not confused.

2. You're not confused.

3. You aren't confused.

   English speakers use all of these options and they are all correct. You can choose which way you want to say it. For an English speaker, it sometimes depends on what they want to emphasize in the sentence.

   
   

4. He is not a mechanic.

5. He's not a mechanic.

6. He isn't a mechanic.

   Again, all of these 3 sentences are correct. You can choose which way you want to say it.

   
   

7. She is not 18 years old.

8. She's not 18 years old.

9. She isn't 18 years old.

   
   

10. It is not sunny.

11. It's not sunny.

12. It isn't sunny.

    
    

13. We are not scared.

14. We're not scared.

15. We aren't scared.

    
    

16. They are not on the table.

17. They're not on the table.

18. They aren't on the table.

    
    

19. I am not tired.

20. I'm not tired.

21. (Remember, we don't use "am not" as a contraction.)

    
    

extra credit* The word "ain't" is a popular slang word usually used for "am not" or "is not" or "are not". (sometimes "don't" or "there is not")

For example:

I Ain't Worried (by One Republic) = I am not worried. I'm not worried.