El verbo "to be" equivale a ser o estar.

El empleo de uno u otro depender del contexto de la frase.

Ejemplos

I am Spanish

Soy espaol

I am tired

Estoy cansado

Simple Present
Afirmativo

Forma larga

Forma corta

I am

I'm

You are

You're

He is

He's

She is

She's

It is

It's

We are

We're

You are

You're

They are

They're

La forma larga se utiliza en los textos escritos y en el habla formal.

La forma corta se utiliza en el lenguaje hablado y en escritos informales.
Ejemplos

Uso formal

Uso informal

I am a student

I'm a student

Soy estudiante

You are Spanish

You're Spanish

Eres espaol

He is sad

He's sad

l est triste

She is tall

She's tall

Ella es alta

It is cold

It's cold

Hace fro

We are from Mlaga

We're from Mlaga

Somos de Mlaga

You are nice

You're nice

Sois agradables

They are policemen

They're policemen

Son policas