●●●ReadTheory.

Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 1
Using the Verb "To be"
Write the correct form of the verb "To be" in present tense.

Example: I (be) am happy. Example:

You / We / They (be) are happy.
1) I (be) _____ tired.
7) You (be) _____ nice.
2) I (be) _____ hungry.
8) We (be) _____ sleepy.
3) I (be) _____ late!
9) They (be) _____ funny.
Example: He / She / It (be) is happy.

4) He (be) _____ cool.

5) She (be) _____ pretty.
6) It (be) _____ fast.

Now we’ll use nouns instead of

pronouns…

10) John (be) _____ excited.

11) Tiffany and Uma (be) _____
my friends.
12) Ricardo, John and I (be) _____
watching a movie.
18) Nikkos and Billy (be) _____
13) Hadil (be) _____ kind.
playing at the park.
14) Alisa (be) _____ young.
19) The students (be) _____
15) The hammer (be) _____ new.
studying English.
16) My mother and father (be)
20) The test (be) _____ hard!
_____ cooking dinner.
21) My best friend (be) _____
17) Rachel (be) _____ driving to
coming to my house.
school.
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 2
Using the Verb "To be"
Choose the correct form of "to be" in present tense.

Example: I (be) am excited.

Example: Jessica and Akbar (be) are happy.
Example: The new car (be) is nice.

1) The bag (be) ________ blue. 2) The rocks (be) ________ hard.

A. am A. am
B. are B. are
C. is C. is

3) The children (be) ________ young. 4) Thomas (be) ________ nice.

A. am A. am
B. are B. are
C. is C. is

5) The game (be) ________ difficult. 6) They (be) ________ tired.

A. am A. am
B. are B. are
C. is C. is

7) I (be) ________ thirty years old. 8) Susan and Juan (be) ________
married.
A. am
B. are A. am
C. is B. are
C. is

9) Teddy (be) ________ my friend. 10) We (be) ________ in English

class.
A. am
B. are A. am
C. is B. are
C. is
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 3
Using the Verb "To be"
Write the correct form of the verb "to be" in present tense.

Note: The verb can be positive (+) or negative (-). Use not to form the negative.
\

Example: My teacher (be) is nice. (+)

Example: The cat (be, not) is not hungry. (-)

1) The old man (be) ________ wise. 2) The sun (be) ________ hot.

3) The children (be) ________ eating

4) I (be) ________ happy. I (be, not)
bananas. They (be, not) ____ ____
____ ____ sad.
eating apples.

5) The racecar (be) ________ fast. It 6) My friend (be) ________ buying a

(be, not) ____ ____ slow. new car. Her old car broke down. It
doesn't work anymore.

7) I (be) ________ at the beach with 8) Ko and Jacob (be) ________ very
my family. It (be) ________ hot and smart. Ko (be) ________ a scientist
sunny outside. The ocean water and Jacob (be) ________ an
(be) ________ warm. engineer.

9) The library (be) ________ open 10) The school (be) ________ small. It
until 9:00 p.m. (be, not) ____ ____ big.

11) The books (be) ________ new. 12) Tommy, Steven, and Teddy (be)
They (be, not) ____ ____ old. ________ acting in the school play.

13) Beatrice (be) ________ at her 14) It (be) ________ hot outside. It
house. (be, not) ____ ____ cold outside.

16) Judith (be, not) ____ ____ at

15) You (be) ________ finished with
home. She (be) ________ school.
the quiz!
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 4
Using the Verb "To be"
Write the correct form of "to be" in present tense.

My name (be) ________(1) John. I (be) ________(2) fifteen years old. I live

on a farm. It (be) ________(3) in the country. It is quiet in the country. It (be, not)

____ ____(4) loud in the country.

I wake up early. Sometimes, I wake up before the sun rises. Sometimes, it

(be) ________(5) still dark when I wake up. But I don’t mind. I like waking up that

early. I like the way the country looks in the morning.

The first thing I do after I wake up is milk the cow. After I (be) ________(6)

finished milking the cow, I bring the milk to my mom. I think she uses it to make

breakfast. She makes a delicious breakfast. My mom

(be) ________(7) a really good cook.

Next, I feed the pigs. One time, I asked my mom how come my little sister

doesn’t feed them. She said it is because my sister (be, not) ____ ____(8) strong

enough. But I still don’t understand. She is almost as strong as me! I guess my

mom doesn’t want my sister to get hurt. After all, the pigs can (be) ________(9)

pretty rough, especially when they (be) ________(10) hungry.

The last thing I do (be) ________(11) feed the chickens. That (be)

________(12) easy. I just throw some food down on the ground and they run out

and eat it. While the chickens (be) ________(13) eating, I go into their house to

collect their eggs. Chicken eggs (be) ________(14) really good to eat. They (be)

________(15) easy to cook too. That is what I do in the mornings. I (be)

________(16) pretty busy.

●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 5
Using the Verb "To be"
Write the correct form of "to be" in present tense.

Tess and Jen ________(1) best friends.

They do everything together. They spend every day together.

One day they meet on the bus to school. They start talking.

“Hey Jen,” says Tess. “How ________(2) you?”

“Hey girl,” says Jen. “I ________(3) doing fine. What ________(4) going on? What
________(5) you doing today?”

“Oh,” says Tess, “I _____ _____ (6) doing anything special. I don’t have any
plans.”

“That ________(7) cool.”

“Yeah,” says Tess. “But I have something to tell you.”

“Really! Can I try to guess?”

“Umm…” says Tess. “Well…”

“Okay, I get three guesses. Ready?”

“Umm, well…okay.”

“________(8) we eating dinner together?”

“No, that _____ _____ (9) it.”

“Okay. Are we going to the soccer game together?”

“No. It ____ ____(10) that either.” Tess looks nervous. Her eyes look sad. A tear
starts to fall down her cheek.

“Oh,” says Jen, wiping a tear from her own eye. “Now I know. You ________(11)
moving away.”
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 6
Using the Verb "To be"
Choose the correct form of "to be" in past tense.

Example: You / We / They (be) were sick yesterday.

Example: I / He / She / It (be) was sick yesterday.

1) I (be) ________ tired yesterday. 2) You (be) ________ happy

yesterday.
D. was
E. were A. was
B. were

3) We (be) ________ sad yesterday. 4) They (be) ________ busy

yesterday.
A. was
B. were A. was
B. were

5) He (be) ________ angry yesterday. 6) She (be) ________ sleepy

yesterday.
A. was
B. were A. was
B. were

7) It (be) ________ cold yesterday.

A. was
B. were

Practice writing sentences using the verb “to be” in past tense.

1) ______________________________________________________________

2) ______________________________________________________________

3) ______________________________________________________________
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 7
Using the Verb "To be"
Choose the correct form of "to be" in past tense.

Example: You / We / They (be) were sick last night.

Example: I / He / She / It (be) was sick last night.

1) I (be) ________ tired last night. 2) You (be) ________ happy last
night.
F. was
G. were C. was
D. were

3) Richard and I (be) ________ 4) Javier and Roberto (be) ________

excited last night. lazy last night.

C. was C. was
D. were D. were

5) Julian (be) ________ angry 6) Rachel (be) ________ sleepy

yesterday. yesterday.

C. was C. was
D. were D. were

7) The movie (be) ________ scary. I 8) Ko, Teddy, and Peter (be)
don't want to watch it again. ________ tired after the long drive.

C. was A. was
D. were B. were

9) Jonathan (be) ________ hungry. 10) My mom (be) ________ helping

So, he ate a sandwich. the teacher at school yesterday.

A. was A. was
B. were B. were
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 8
Using the Verb "To be"
Choose the correct form of "to be" in past tense.

Example: My dog (be) was sick last night. (positive)

Example: Carlos (be, not) was not at work yesterday. (negative)

1) The party (be) ________ fun last 2) They (be) ________ watching a
weekend. movie when Ernesto called. They
(be, not) ____ ____ watching TV.

3) Jessie (be) ________ tired. So, he 4) When she was a little girl, Margo
went to sleep. (be) ________ very good at tennis.
She practiced every day.

5) My friends and I (be) ________ 6) Kendra (be) ________ in my sixth

studying English last night. grade English class. We (be)
________ good friends before she
moved away.

7) The movie (be) ________ really 8) After playing outside, my dog (be)
boring. It (be, not) ____ ____ ________ very dirty. She came into
entertaining. We stopped watching the house and ran into my room. It
it before it was over. (be) ________ such a mess!

9) I (be, not) ____ ____ eating a 10) The students (be, not) ____ ____
sandwich when you called. I (be) ready to take the test. They
________ eating a salad. needed to study more.

Practice writing sentences using the verb “to be” in past tense.

1) ______________________________________________________________

2) ______________________________________________________________

3) ______________________________________________________________
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 9
Using the Verb "To be"
Write the correct form of "to be" in past tense.

Example: My dog (be) was sick last night. (positive)

Example: Carlos (be, not) was not at work yesterday. (negative)

1) Teddy (be) ________ driving home 2) Mack, Jenny, and Javier (be)
when I saw him. ________ walking their dog when I
talked to them last Saturday.

3) Who (be) ________ sleeping in my 4) I (be) ________ going to the

bed? It (be, not) ____ ____ James. grocery store when you called.
It (be, not) ____ ____ Julio. Oh, I
know! It (be) ________ Roger!

5) At 7:00 we (be) ________ eating 6) When he was a kid, Ivan (be, not)
dinner and watching T.V. ____ ____ very social. He did not
spend time with his friends. He
spent a lot of time alone. He (be)
________ always reading a book or
listening to music in his room.

7) When I (be) ________ in the ninth 8) Lola (be) ________ a very nice girl.
grade, I (be) ________ five feet tall. She helped her parents, did her
homework, and even took care of
her little brother. It is a shame she
had to move away.

9) The cat (be) ________ faster than 10) The weather (be) ________ hot.
the mouse. So, the cat caught the We (be) ________ sweating. I
mouse. Unlucky mouse! asked my mom to roll the window
down.
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 10
Using the Verb "To be"
Choose the correct form of "to be" in present tense or past tense.

Example: My dog (be) is sick today. (present tense)

Example: My dog (be) was sick last night. (past tense)

1) The clouds moved away, and the sun shone through. The sky was full of
pretty colors. It (be) ________ beautiful.

2) Arturo and Ryo (be) ________ at the party last night.

3) (be) ________ Taylor going to the pool later?

4) The old house (be) ________ built in 1967.

5) Christopher, where (be) ________ you last night? I (be) ________ looking all
over for you.

6) Yesterday (be) ________ the best day of my life!

7) I (be) ________ ready to go. When (be) ________ we leaving?

8) Who (be) ________ at the pool yesterday?

9) I (be) ________ very tired. I (be) ________ tired yesterday too. I think I
(be) ________ getting sick.

10) I (be) ________ driving to the office this morning when I noticed that I was
getting low on gas. So, I stopped to get more. A kind man filled the tank for
me. He (be) ________ very nice.
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 11
Using the Verb "To be"
Write the correct form of "to be" in present tense or past tense.

Example: My dog (be) is sick. (present tense)

Example: My dog (be) was sick last night. (past tense)

1) Sarah (be) ________ at the party 2) Avery (be) ________ my best

last night. Li-Ning and Akmoud (be) friend. She and I (be) ________ in
________ there too. the same English class. It meets
from 10:00 to 10:50.

3) Mallika and I (be) ________ at 4) Johan and I (be) ________ in the

Jenny's house yesterday. Now, we mountains. We (be) ________ on a
(be) ________ at Mellissa's house. camping trip together. I hope we
don't see a bear!

5) When she (be) ________ young, 6) Tennis (be) ________ my favorite

Nisha (be) ________ interested in sport when I was in high school.
science. However, she (be, not) Now my favorite sport (be)
_____ _____ interested in science ________ soccer.
anymore. Now, she (be) ________
interested in math.

7) My family and I (to be) ________ 8) Lenny (be) ________ at the football
swimming in the pool when it began game last night. He (be) ________
to thunder. The lifeguard told us we cheering for his favorite team. After the
had to get out. I (be) ________ game, he came back home and went to
upset, but I knew he was right. sleep. I think he (be) ________ still
sleeping now. Shhhh... don't wake him
up!

9) It rained all day yesterday. I (be) 10) Before, Yoko and Kobi (be)
________ sad because I could not ________ enemies. Now they (be)
go outside. However, today it (be) ________ best friends.
________ sunny. And I
(be) ________ happy because I can
go outside!
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Exercise 12
Using the Verb "To be"
Write the correct form of "to be" in present tense or past tense.

“I ________(1) going outside,” said Jerry.

“Wait!” said Jerry’s mom.

Don’t forget to wear your jacket.
It ________(2) cold out there.

“But mom,” said Jerry. “I don’t want to wear it.

I will be fine without it.
Besides, it _____ _____ (3) that cold today.”

Jerry opened the door. The wind ________(4) blowing and the trees ________(5)
shaking. Leaves ________(6) falling to the ground. He shivered a little and stood
behind the door.

“Jerry!” shouted Jerry’s mom. “You close that door and get your coat young man.”

“But mom!” said Jerry.

“But what?” said Jerry’s mom. “I don’t understand why you don’t want to wear
your new coat. ________(7) there something wrong with it?

Jerry’s face turned red. “No!” he said. “Nothing’s wrong with it!” Then he covered
his mouth with his hand.

“Well then…” said Jerry’s mom. “Why don’t you want to wear it?”

“Well, mom,” said Jerry. “I kind of…well…gave it away.”

“You what?” said Jerry’s mom. “You gave it away?”

“Yeah. But don’t worry. It ________(8) okay. I gave it to Marvin. And he really
needs it.”

“Why?”

“Well, every time I see him, he looks cold. He ________(9) always cold, actually.
His parents cannot afford to buy him a jacket.”

“Well, that ________(10) a very nice thing for you to do, dear. But now
what________(11) you going to do without a jacket?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll wear my old jacket for a little while.”
●●●ReadTheory.Org © 2010
EnglishForEveryone.Org © 2008
Name________________
Date________________
Answer Key
Using the Verb "To be"
This is the answer key to Unit 1 - Using the verb "To Be."

Exercise 1

1) am 2) am 3) am 4) are 5) are 6) are 7) is 8) is 9) is 10) is 11) are 12) are

13) is 14) is 15) is 16) are 17) is 18) are 19) are 20) is 21) is

Exercise 2

1) c 2) b 3) b 4) c 5) c 6) b 7) a 8) b 9) c 10) b

Exercise 3

1) is 2) is 3) are, are not 4) am, am not 5) is, is not 6) is 7) am, is, is 8) are, is,
is 9) is 10) is 11) are, are 12) are 13) is 14) is, is not 15) are 16) is not, is

Exercise 4

1) is 2) am 3) is 4) is not 5) is 6) am 7) is 8) is not 9) be 10) are 11) is 12) is

13) are 14) are 15) are 16) am

Exercise 5

1) are 2) are 3) am 4) is 5) are 6) am not 7) is 8) Are 9) is not 10) are

Exercise 6

1) a 2) b 3) b 4) b 5) a 6) a 7) a

Exercise 7

1) a 2) b 3) b 4) b 5) a 6) a 7) a 8) b 9) a 10) a
Exercise 8

1) was 2) were, were not 3) was 4) was 5) were 6) was, were 7) was 8) was,
was 9) was not, was 10) were not

Exercise 9

1) was 2) were 3) was, was not, was not, was 4) was 5) were 6) was not, was
7) was, was 8) was 9) was 10) was, were

Exercise 10

1) was 2) were 3) Is 4) was 5) were, was 6) was 7) am, are 8) was 9) am,
was, am 10) was, was

Exercise 11

1) was, were 2) is, are 3) were, are 4) are, are 5) was, was, is not, is 6) was,
is 7) were, was 8) was, was, is 9) was, is, am 10) were, are

Exercise 12

1) am 2) is 3) is not 4) was 5) were 6) were 7) Is 8) is 9) is 10) was 11) are