Use of ‘are’ with ‘you’, ‘we’ and ‘they’

Learn to Speak English Easily: Use of ‘are’ with ‘you’, ‘we’ and ‘they’

Learn to speak English fluently using TLP Spoken English Course. The course is designed to facilitate self-learning in an easy way. It is organised into units to help you learn step by step in a simple and systematic way. You should go through all the units to be able to speak fluently. To know more you can read: How to Use the Course Content?

In the previous unit you have learnt to make Questions using ‘is’ with ‘it’. In this unit you will learn the “Use of ‘are‘ with ‘you‘, ‘we‘ and ‘they‘”.

We use ‘are’ with ‘you’, ‘we’ and ‘they’ in the present. We use ‘are’ with ‘you’ to refer to one person and also to more than one person. But we use ‘we‘ and ‘they‘ to refer to more than one person only. 

Use of ‘Are’ with ‘you’ (to refer to one person)

We use ‘are’ with ‘you’ —

• To tell a person, what you think or feel about himor her.

You are a good boy/girl.
You are looking dull.  
You are an efficient worker.
You are a good student.

• To talk about a person’s physical, mental state or situation.

You are weak.
You are nervous.
You are safe.

• To talk about a person’s action which is in the present continuous state.

You are wasting money.
You are listening to music.
You are troubling me.

• To specifically refer to more than one person we use ‘you all’ or ‘you people’ with ‘are’.

You people are trainees.
You all are good students.
You people are alert.
You all are confident.
You people are doing well.
You all are improving.

‘Are’ with ‘you’, ‘we’ and ‘they’ 

• To identify and to refer to more than one person.

You are devotees.
We are patients.
They are technicians.

Make sentences using the above table. You can also use words from the following list or other suitable words in column 3.

• To talk about more than one person’s physical, mental state or situation.

You are injured.
You are sober.
We are friendly.
We are late.      
They are busy.
They are surprised.

You can make sentences using the above table, and also by substituting words from the following list or such other suitable words in column 3.

attractive          aged               anaemic              well-dressed  
cruel                    sharp             depressed          guilty               
thrilled               glad                worked up         relaxed
obese                  optimistic    helpless              polite

• To talk about an action which is in the present continuous state.

You are working hard.
You are helping them a lot.   
We are working all day.
We are waiting for the guests.     
They are dancing well.
They are cooking food for everyone.

Make sentences using the above table. You can also use words from the following list or other suitable words in column 3.

Exercise: Write more sentences using the examples, which you can use in your day-to-day conversation and practice orally.

Positive and Negative forms of ‘are’

Contracted forms of ‘are’ with ‘you’, ‘we’ and ‘they’

Positive Statement                                  Short Form
You are a good person.                          You’re a good person.
You are responsible students.             You’re responsible students.
You are handsome.                                 You’re handsome.
You are working hard.                           You’re working hard.
We are Indians.                                        We’re Indians.         
We are going for shopping.                  We’re going for shopping.
They are criminals.                                 They’re criminals.
They are hosting a party.                       They’re hosting a party.

Positive Statement                                  Negative Statement/Short Form
You are a singer.                                        You are not/aren’t a singer.
We are going out.                                      We are not/aren’t going out.
They are sleepy.                                         They are not/aren’t sleepy.
They are chain snatchers.                     They aren’t chain snatchers.

Exercise: Write more sentences using the examples, which you can use in your day-to-day conversation and practice orally.

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