Uses of the verb be and have in the simple present tense

The verb be has five forms: is, am, are, was and were. Of these, the forms is, am and are are used in the simple present tense. Was and were are used in the simple past tense.

Use is when the subject is a singular noun or third person singular pronoun (e.g. she, he and it.)

• She is my teacher.
• It is an elephant.
• He is an architect.

Use are when the subject is a plural noun. Are is also used with the pronouns we, you and they.

• They are my friends.
• Ram and Shyam are brothers.
• We are Indians.
• You are a nice guy.

Use am when the subject is I.

• I am a teacher.

Be is usually used to talk about states.

Uses of the verb have

The verb have has three forms: has, have and had. The forms has and have are used in the present tense. Had is used in the past tense.

Use have when the subject is a plural noun. Have is also used with the pronouns I, we, they and you.

• They have a nice apartment in the city.
• I have a sister.

Use has when the subject is a singular noun or the third person singular pronoun (e.g. he, she, it).

• My father has a flat in Chennai.
• She has a headache.
• Rohan has a brother and a sister.

Have and its forms are used to show ideas such as possession, relationships, physical sensations etc.

• I have a headache. (physical feeling)
• She has a diamond necklace. (possession)
• He has two brothers and one sister. (relationships)