To Be Verbs Review

Identify the "to be" verb in the following sentence: "Tommy is playing soccer in the park."

• Tommy

• is

• playing

• park

Answer explanation

The verb "is" in the sentence "Tommy is playing soccer in the park" serves as the "to be" verb, indicating the state of being for the subject Tommy. It connects the subject to the action of playing.

Which of the following sentences correctly uses a "to be" verb?

• Sarah are going to the library.

• Sarah is going to the library.

• Sarah be going to the library.

• Sarah am going to the library.

Answer explanation

The correct sentence is 'Sarah is going to the library.' because 'is' is the appropriate form of the 'to be' verb for the singular subject 'Sarah'. The other options use incorrect forms.

Conjugate the verb "to be" for the subject "We" in the present tense.

• am

• is

• are

• be

Answer explanation

In the present tense, the verb "to be" is conjugated as "are" for the subject "We." The other options, "am," "is," and "be," do not correctly match this subject in the present tense.

Choose the correct form of the verb "to be" to complete the sentence: "Jessica and I ___ best friends."

• is

• are

• am

• be

Answer explanation

The correct form of the verb 'to be' for the plural subject 'Jessica and I' is 'are'. 'Is' is singular, 'am' is used with 'I', and 'be' is not a conjugated form. Therefore, the correct choice is 'are'.

Identify the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement.

• The cats is sleeping on the couch.

• The cat are sleeping on the couch.

• The cats are sleeping on the couch.

• The cat were sleeping on the couch.

Answer explanation

The correct choice is 'The cats are sleeping on the couch.' because 'cats' is plural and requires the plural verb 'are' for proper subject-verb agreement.

Which sentence uses the past tense of the verb "to be" correctly?

• Mark was at the concert last night.

• Mark were at the concert last night.

• Mark is at the concert last night.

• Mark be at the concert last night.

Answer explanation

The correct sentence is 'Mark was at the concert last night.' because 'was' is the past tense of 'to be' for singular subjects, while 'were' is incorrect for singular, and 'is' and 'be' are present forms.

Fill in the blank with the correct form of "to be": "They ___ thrilled about the new movie."

• is

• are

• am

• was

Answer explanation

The correct form of 'to be' for the plural subject 'They' is 'are'. 'Is' is singular, 'am' is used with 'I', and 'was' is past tense. Therefore, the sentence should read: 'They are thrilled about the new movie.'

Which of the following sentences demonstrates correct use of "to be" in future tense?

• I will be at the science fair tomorrow.

• I am be at the science fair tomorrow.

• I was be at the science fair tomorrow.

• I is be at the science fair tomorrow.

Answer explanation

The correct sentence is "I will be at the science fair tomorrow." It uses "will be" to indicate future tense, while the other options incorrectly use forms of "to be" that do not express future tense.

Explain why the following sentence is incorrect: "He are a talented musician."

• "Are" should be "is" because the subject is singular.

• "Are" should be "am" because the subject is singular.

• "Are" should be "was" because the subject is singular.

• "Are" should be "were" because the subject is singular.

Answer explanation

The sentence is incorrect because 'are' is a plural verb form, while the subject 'He' is singular. Therefore, 'are' should be replaced with 'is' to match the singular subject.

Determine the correct form of "to be" for the following sentence: "If I ___ you, I would study harder."

• am

• are

• was

• were

Answer explanation

The correct form is 'were' because the sentence uses the subjunctive mood, which expresses hypothetical situations. In this case, 'If I were you' indicates a condition that is not true.