Is am are OR Am are is
 

I alway think of be as 'is am are' (possibly American) but for teaching purposes to match the standard

I
You
He/She

should we teach it as 'am are is' or what I'm used to 'is am are'

What do you naturally say and what do you teach?

Re: Is am are OR Am are is
 

Happy new Year to you.

I always go for am are is personally. It would be confusing otherwise, or not?

Re: Is am are OR Am are is
 

I always teach am is are.

My students are Italian and have 3 different ways of saying what in English translates as you : tu (informal, singular) lei (formal, singular, actually 3rd person - she) and voi (plural). I want them to understand that the tu equivalent (thou) no longer exists, the 3rd person option has no relevance to English and that you is actually the old 2nd person singular (ye), now used for both singular and plural, formal and informal. But grammatically it remains plural and this is why the verb are is used, the same as for we and they. So I always tabulate the verb as :

I am
He /she / it is
We / You /They are

This works with European learners who have the sing/pl formal/informal distinctions in their own language, but I might take a different approach with learners whose own language behaved differently.

Re: Is am are OR Am are is
 

Am are is here. I always teach

I am
You are
He/she/it is
We are
You are
They are

Seems to work fine with the students.

Re: Is am are OR Am are is
 

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I'll stay with the standard set by

I
You
HE/She/It

and do it 'am, are, is'

the less confusion the better

Re: Is am are OR Am are is
 

I'm with Susan. That's how I teach it though I've never really given any thought to the order... :whistle:

Re: Is am are OR Am are is
 

I'm with Susan too. When students understand that there is no singular form of the second person and we only speak politely in the plural other things are easier to explain, like " was" (singular) and "were" plural, or why there is formal and informal English.

Re: Is am are OR Am are is
 

When I teach absolute beginners I teach am and are on the first day, and is on the second day.