The pattern

"I'm" is "I am" said the way people actually say it. In conversation nobody separates the two words unless they are stressing a point ("I AM listening"). After "I'm" you can put three kinds of things: a feeling or state (I'm tired), a description of who you are (I'm a nurse, I'm from Chicago), or a place (I'm at work).

The contraction matters more than it looks. Learners who say "I am" in every sentence sound like they are reading. Start with "I'm" and the rest of the sentence relaxes with it.

Say it out loud

Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.

  1. "I'm not" is the negative. There is no "I amn't" in English.

Check yourself

1Which one sounds like natural spoken English?
2What is the negative form?
3Which of these does NOT follow "I'm" correctly?

Practice · 3 min

Say the sentence about yourself. Prompt on the left, one example answer on the right.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.