I = the word used to talk about myself.   I am Mr. G.  I am a man.  I am fuzzy.  I am smiling. 

am = a form of the verb "to be" used only with I.

(Note: In spoken English, "I" and "am" are often joined to form a "contraction" that looks like this in writing - "I'm" - and rhymes with words like "time" and "lime".)

I am + adjective. An adjective tells who I am, what kind of person I am, what I look like, how I feel.page break

I am + -ing verb.  This sentence tells what I am doing at this moment.  "I am writing this lesson now."

I am + article + noun. Articles  point out Nouns.  They tell us there will be a Noun ahead in the sentence.   Articles are A, AN, THE.   NOUNS are words that name a person, a place, a thing, an idea, a feeling or an action.  Any word we use to name something is a Noun.

THE  points out a definite noun, the only one of its kind, a special one.

Example: "I am the driver"  In this group, I am the only one who can drive or who is responsible for driving. 

Example: If I say "I am the doctor.", I mean that I am the only doctor here,  or the Doctor who is in charge. 

A and AN are used with singular nouns.  A and AN mean the same thing, but they are used at different times.  AN is used before words that begin with a Vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u) .  A is used before words that begin with a consonant sound (all the other letters). This is to make it easier to pronounce the Article and the Noun together.   A and AN refer to one of a group of similar things - not a special one or a particular one, just one of them.  (Special note: Sometimes, AN is used before longer words that begin with H, but I haven't found a rule that explains this difference.  "It was AN historical event." It might just be for the ease of pronunciation. Try it - A historical, AN historical ; A hysterical party , AN hysterical party.)

Example: "I am a driver."  There are other drivers; I am just one of them.

Example:   If I say "I am a doctor.", I mean that I am not the only doctor;  I am just one of them, a member of the medical profession.

NOT is a negative word.  When added to a sentence, usually after the verb, NOT cancels or reverses the original meaning of the sentence.  "I am a doctor." is a positive statement, usually giving a truthful fact.  "I am not a doctor." is a negative statement and means that my profession or position is something other than Doctor.

A,  AN and THE must come before the noun they point out, but there can be other describing words between them and the Noun.  Remember, use A before words beginning with a consonant sound (a boy, a dog) and AN before words beginning with a vowel sound (an ugly boy, an old dog).

With these models, you can say just about anything you want about yourself.   

 I am + Adjective.      I am + Article + Noun.     I am + -ing Verb.

Asking questions about yourself.  The simplest way to make a question that asks about yourself is to reverse  the pronoun I and the verb AM.  A question also needs to have a question mark (?) at the end.  When you hear a question, the asker's voice will often rise at the end of the sentence.

Talking about other people:

    YOU = the person or persons you are talking to.  This can refer to one person or to many people. YOU is used with the Present Tense ARE. (you + are = you're)

    HE = The male person you are talking about - HE is used for a boy or man,   HE  is used with the Present Tense verb IS.  (he + is = he's) 

    SHE = The female person you are talking about.  SHE is for a girl or woman.  SHE is used with the Present Tense verb IS.  (she + is = she's) 

    IT = The object, idea or animal you are talking about.  IT is used with the Present Tense verb IS.  (it + is = it's)

    WE = Myself and one or more other people.  WE is used with the Present Tense verb ARE.  (we + are = we're)

    THEY = More than one person, object or animal that I am talking about.  THEY is used with the Present Tense verb ARE.  (they + are = they're)