Is, Am or Are? How to Teach Your Child Which One to Use

“I is ready!” “They is my friends.” Mixing up is, am and are is one of the most common slips young children make in English. Choosing the right one comes down to one question: who is the sentence about? Below you’ll find the rule, the shortcut that causes most mistakes, a Hindi bridge that helps many Indian children, and a free Class 1–2 worksheet. It’s one piece of the bigger picture in our guide to teaching English grammar at home.

The short answer

All three are forms of one verb, “be”. Which one you use depends only on the subject, the person or thing the sentence is about. “I” always takes “am”. “He”, “she”, “it” and one person or thing take “is”. “You”, “we”, “they” and more than one thing take “are”. The past works the same way with two forms: “was” and “were”. Practise with real sentences about your own family, out loud; it’s the easiest practice to fit into a day.

How do is, am and are actually work?

“Be” is the oddest verb in English. Most verbs barely change: I run, you run, they run. “Be” changes completely depending on who it’s about. As a main verb, it doesn’t describe an action. It links the subject to a description: “The mango is ripe.” “We are late.”

That’s why it takes time. Roger Brown’s classic 1973 study tracked the grammar pieces children learn first. Even children learning English from birth mastered the short forms “he’s” and “they’re” among the very last. For a child learning English alongside Hindi, still sorting this out at six or seven is common.

Why isn’t “is for one, are for many” enough?

This is the rule most children are taught first, and it causes most of the mistakes. It works for things: one book is, two books are. But it breaks the moment people come in. “I” is one person, yet it never takes “is”. “You” can be one person, yet it always takes “are”. A child applying the shortcut faithfully will say “I is” and “you is”. They’re following the rule they were given.

How should you teach it at home?

Teach it by who, not by how many. Start with “I am”, because it’s the one fixed pair with no exceptions. Then add “he is, she is”. Leave “you are” and “they are” for last, once the first two feel automatic. Keep it spoken and personal: “I am tall. Dadi is funny. You are my son. They are our neighbours.” Children usually remember sentences about people they love better than sentences about a boy called Tom.

When your child slips, repeat it the right way and move on. “I is hungry!” “You are hungry? Me too.” Hearing the right form many times, in real talk, matters more than any single correction.

Is there a Hindi shortcut for is, am and are?

Yes. Hindi’s verb “to be”, hona (होना), also changes with the subject, just as English “be” does. Main hoon is “I am” and woh hai is “he is” or “she is”. Tum ho or aap hain is “you are”, and hum hain or ve hain is “we are” or “they are”. So Hindi-speaking children already understand the idea. They only need the matching English words:

• Main hoon (मैं हूँ) → “I am”
• Woh hai (वह है) → “He is” / “She is” / “It is”
• Tū hai (तू है), tum ho (तुम हो), aap hain (आप हैं) → “You are”
• Hum hain (हम हैं), ve hain (वे हैं) → “We are” / “They are”
• tha (था), thi (थी) → “was”  ·  the (थे), theen (थीं) → “were”

Two catches to point out. First, Hindi “you” can take hai, ho or hain, depending on closeness and respect. English “you” always takes “are”, whoever you’re speaking to.

Second, and more important: Hindi uses hain for one respected person, as in Papa kaam par hain. English doesn’t. It’s still “Papa is at work” and “Dadi is in the kitchen”. Point this out early, or the Hindi bridge will lead your child to “Papa are”. The past works the same way: respectful Papa the is still “Papa was“.

Third, and the most common slip of all: Hindi puts hoon or hai on almost every present-tense verb (मैं स्कूल जाता हूँ, main school jaata hoon). So children say “I am go to school” or “She is like mangoes”. Everyday English verbs don’t need is, am or are: it’s “I go to school” and “She likes mangoes”. “Am” only joins a verb in the “-ing” form: “I am going”. Our guide to teaching tenses shows the two present tenses side by side.

Which other slips should you listen for?

Listen for “is” dropped from “-ing” sentences: “He going to school” (school way: “He is going to school”). Say the full sentence back and carry on. Also listen for “We was” (school way: “We were“). A few others, like “Where you are going?”, are Indian English patterns covered in our guide to common grammar mistakes Indian kids make. For past and future more broadly, see how to teach tenses to kids.

“When I type main hoon next to ‘I am’ on screen in class, I can see it click. Children realise they already do this in Hindi. They only need the English labels.” Monika Verma, Lead Trainer, Little Learns

At what age should children get is, am and are right?

NCERT’s learning outcomes, which CBSE adopted for Classes I–VIII, don’t list is, am and are as grammar items. The closest Class II goals are everyday phrases like “How are you?” and “I’m fine, thank you” (2.E.LO6), using “he”, “she” and “it” (2.E.LO10), and writing simple, short sentences (2.E.LO12). “Subject-verb agreement” is only named as a topic in Class IX (9.E.LO18). An open skill-progression framework, the Marble skill taxonomy, places it at ages 6 to 7. England’s national curriculum expects “we were” rather than “we was” in Year 4, around age 8 to 9.

In practice: expect “I am, he is, they are” in speech by about Class 2. “Was” and “were”, and tricky cases like “everyone is”, often settle by Class 3 or 4.

Before you go: quick answers

Every child develops at their own pace — see our learning-outcomes note. These age ranges are typical, and a child who needs longer is still on track.