Master the Use of Is, Are, and Am in English

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WhatsApp your nearest Branch

Chat with Pitampura : 8287299204

Chat with Laxmi Nagar : 8287299204

Chat with Rajouri Garden : 9810735296

Chat with South Extension : 9810735296

WhatsApp your nearest Branch
Chat with Pitampura : 8287299204
Chat with Laxmi Nagar : 8287299204
Chat with Rajouri Garden : 9810735296
Chat with South Extension : 9810735296

WhatsApp your nearest Branch

Chat with Pitampura : 8287299204

Chat with Laxmi Nagar : 8287299204

Chat with Rajouri Garden : 9810735296

Chat with South Extension : 9810735296

Call your nearest Branch
Pitampura : 9540127373
Laxmi Nagar : 9540127878
Rajouri Garden : 9319608182
South Extension : 9810735296

Call your nearest Branch

Pitampura : 9540127373

Laxmi Nagar : 9540127878

Rajouri Garden : 9319608182

South Extension : 9810735296

Call your nearest Branch
Pitampura : 9540127373
Laxmi Nagar : 9540127878
Rajouri Garden : 9319608182
South Extension : 9810735296

Call your nearest Branch

Pitampura : 9540127373

Laxmi Nagar : 9540127878

Rajouri Garden : 9319608182

South Extension : 9810735296

Table of Contents

“Is / Are / Am” – Used in simple present statements
“Was / Were” – Used for past tense and questions
Helping verb + -Ing form – For continuous tenses
Passive Voice – Actions done on the subject

“Has / Have” – Present tense for ownership
“Had” – Used for past possession or actionses
Perfect Tenses – Used in advanced sentence forms

“Is / Are / Am” – Used in Present Statements

Is– used with he, she, it, or any singular subject
Are – used with you, we, they, or plural subjects
Am – always used with I

Examples:
- She is a teacher.
- They are in the garden.
- He is responsible for overseeing the entire project.
- They are highly motivated to achieve their academic goals.
Negative Sentences
- She is not at home.
- They are not ready.
- He is not qualified for this technical position.
- They are not aware of the revised guidelines.

Question Sentences
- Is she your friend?
- Are they in class?
- Is he capable of leading the new initiative?
- Are they prepared to meet the upcoming deadline?

Was / Were — Talking about the Past

Use was with I, he, she, it
Use were with you, we, they
Examples:
- He was angry.
- We were tired.
We use was/were to talk about something that happened before (in the past).

For negative sentences, add not:

Example:

She was not aware.

They were not (weren’t) home.

For questions, switch was/were to the start

example:

Were you busy?

Was he at the airported?

For past habits or repeated actions

example:

I was always late for school.

Was/Were helps us describe how things or people felt or were in the past.

Continuous Tense: Helping Verb + -Ing

It shows something that is happening now or was happening before.
These tenses help describe actions happening in real time.

Use is/are / am + verb+ing for present continuous (happening now).

Example:

She is reading.

Use was / were + verb+ing for past continuous (happening before).

Example:

He was cooking dinner.

Examples for present:

She is reading.

They are watching a movie.

She is explaining the difficult concept.

They are discussing the new plan.

Examples for past:

He was cooking dinner.

We were not sleeping.

They were preparing the presentation when the power went out.

I was reading an interesting book all evening yesterday.

For questions, put the helping verb first:

Are you coming?

Were they shouting?

Were you following the instructions carefully during the experiment?

Are they joining the team meeting at this moment?

Passive Voice – To Focus on the Action

Passive voice is often used in formal or official situations to focus on the action, not who did it.
In passive voice, the action is done to the subject, not by the subject.

Examples:

The room is cleaned daily.

The letters are delivered every morning.

The documents are meticulously reviewed before approval.

The orders are promptly dispatched to ensure timely delivery.

Negetive Sentence:

Lunch is not served on Sundays.

The reports are not finished yet.

The project reports are not submitted without final revisions.

The data is not processed until all entries are verified.

Past tense example:

The files were misplaced.

The window was broken yesterday.

The contract was unexpectedly terminated due to unforeseen circumstances.

The proposal was thoroughly evaluated before being rejected.

Questions:

Why are the gates locked?

When was the meeting scheduled?

How was the schedule adjusted to accommodate the changes?

Why were the documents withheld from the committee?

“Has / Have” – Used for Present Ownership

Has is used with he, she, it
Have is used with I, you, we, they

Usage to Show Possession:

She has a laptop.

I have a headache.

He has extensive experience in software development.

They have secured funding for their innovative project.

Negative Sentences:

We do not have enough time.

She does not have the required qualifications for the position.

They do not attend the class regularly.

Questions:

Does she have time to meet?

Do you have a pen?

“Had” – Used for Past Possession or State

Had is used in the past tense with all subjects (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).

Examples (Past Possession or Experience):

She had a great job in the city.

I had no money during college.

They had internet issues yesterday.

Negative Sentences:

He had no idea what to expect.

We had not received any instructions.

The team had not practiced before the match.

Questions:

Had you seen the file before the meeting?

Had he arrived when the event started?

Had they finished the report by the deadline?

Perfect Tenses Using Has / Have / Had

Perfect tenses show a connection between past actions and the present or another point in the past.

Present Perfect:
Structure: has/have + past participle

I have finished the homework.

She has found her watch.

Have they arrived yet?

Present Perfect Continuous:
Structure: has/have + been + verb-ing

We have been waiting since 9 AM.

He has been working on this project all day.

Past Perfect
Structure: had + past participle

I had left before you came.

They had completed the task by the deadline.

Final Takeaways

- Use is/are / am to state present facts and descriptions.

- Use -ing forms with helping verbs to express ongoing actions.Use -ing forms with helping verbs to express ongoing actions.

- Use has/have to show present possession or experiences.

- Use had to describe past possession or completed actions.

- Perfect tenses connect past actions with present or past context.

- Passive voice highlights the action more than the doer.

- Oxford trains you to apply grammar rules with confidence and clarity.