Level: beginner
The verb be has the following forms:
| The verb be | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive form | be | ||
| Present simple: | + | I am, I'm You are, You're He/She/It is, He/She/It's |
We are, we're You are, you're They are, they're |
| ? | Am I? Are you? Is he/she it? |
Are we? Are you? Are they? |
|
| - | I am not, I’m not You are not, You aren’t, You're not He/She/It is not, He/She/It isn’t, He's not |
We are not, We aren’t, We're not You are not, You aren’t, You're not They are not, They aren't, They're not |
|
| Past simple | + | I was You were He/She/It was |
We were You were They were |
| ? | Was I? Were you? Was he/she/it? |
Were we? Were you? Were they? |
|
| - | I was not, I wasn't You were not, You weren't He/She/It was not, He/She/It wasn't |
We were not, We weren't You were not, You weren't They were not, They weren't |
|
| Past participle | been | ||
| Present perfect | has/have been | ||
| Past perfect | had been | ||
| Present participle | being | ||
| Present continuous | am/is/are being | ||
| Past continuous | was/were being | ||
We use the infinitive form be with modal verbs:
It will be dark soon.
They might be tired.
The verb be is a link verb. It is used:
- with a noun phrase:
My mother is a teacher.
Bill Clinton was the president of the US.
- with an adjective:
This soup is very tasty.
The children were good.
- with a prepositional phrase:
John and his wife are from Manchester.
The flowers are on the table.
- am, is, are 1
- ex. am, is, are 1
- am, is, are 2
- ex. am, is, are 2
- am, is, are, was, were 1
- ex. am, is, are, was, were 1
- am, is, are, was, were 2
- ex. am, is, are, was, were 2
Level: intermediate
- with the -ing form to make the continuous aspect:
We were walking down the street. Everything was wet.
It had been raining for hours.
- with the past participle to make the passive voice:
The house was built in 1890.
The street is called Montague Street.
This car was made in Japan.
- be in continuous and passive forms 1
- ex. be in continuous and passive forms 1
- be in continuous and passive forms 2
- ex. be in continuous and passive forms 2
Level: advanced
We use some nouns with the verb be followed by a that clause:
The problem was that I had no money.
The obvious explanation is that he simply forgot.
The danger is that the whole thing might catch fire.
It's a pity that the children aren't here.
The lucky thing is that nobody was hurt.
Nouns commonly used in this way are:
|
answer |
hope |
We use some nouns with the verb be followed by a to-infinitive:
The only way is to start all over again.
His answer is to work a bit harder.
Her only hope was to find a new job as soon as possible.
The easiest thing would be to ask your father.
Nouns commonly used in this way are:
| answer decision hope idea intention |
promise thing way wish |
To comment on statements, we use some adjectives with it and the verb be and a that clause or wh-clause:
It's lucky that we met.
It's not clear what happened.
It was amazing how he managed to escape.
Adjectives commonly used in this way are:
| awful bad clear extraordinary funny good interesting |
lucky obvious possible probable sad true unlikely |
- be with nouns and adjectives 1
- ex. be with nouns and adjectives 1
- be with nouns and adjectives 2
- ex. be with nouns and adjectives 2
Comments
Hello SonuKumar,
Both sentences are correct. You can use the plural nouns or the singular for generic meaning here.
To my ear, the plural 'What are the prices of...?' is the better choice here. I don't think the singular form is correct in this construction.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
So,
what is the price of onion and potato in your area.
what is the price of onions and potatoes in your area.
Are both of these correct ?
when to use the noun word 'price' in singular and when to in plural ?
Could you please explain with an example ?
Hello again SonuKumar,
Yes, both of those are correct and speakers can choose which they use.
As I said, I think the most natural choice is 'What are the prices of...', but people will use other forms as well.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sir or madam,
This is related to short form. Is below sentence correct?
Nothing can make you a wise person but your very own experience.
Extra question: Is comma required before but?
Hello Chekytan,
Please note that this is a question of punctuation, which we don't really cover on LearnEnglish. That said, I wouldn't use a comma before 'but' here.
There might be some style guides out there that would disagree, but I think most would recommend against one here.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sir,
In a Matrimonial ad I have seen a caption " be found " .
My doubt is
1. Is that caption " be found " a passive sentence.
2. If it is a passive sentence does it mean "be found by someone or something" is this correct.
3. If it is a passive sentence why there is be instead can't we say " is found or are found" .
4. Can we replace "be found" with " to be found ". Does Adding "to" make any difference in the sentence.
Thanks in advance.
Luke warm
Hello Luke warm,
When you say 'caption', you mean the short text beneath a photo? I'd need to see the advert to be able to say for sure, but it might be an imperative (i.e. a command) -- the imperative form of verbs is the same as the base form (first form).
If it is an imperative, it could be a passive verb form (with the meaning you suggest in 2) or it could be a verb + adjective. 'to be found' is a grammatical verb form, but I don't think it'd make much sense in the context you describe (though of course I haven't seen it and so can't say for sure).
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
While any measure that increases women’s sense of safety and the likelihood of conviction is to be welcomed, it does not solve the underlying problem of men failing to accept women’s bodily autonomy.
What is the meaning and function of "to be welcomed" in the sentence above?
Thanks a lot.
Hi AkiraTa05,
X is to be welcomed means 'X should be welcomed' or 'We should welcome X'.
This use of to be is for giving instructions or obligations. The speaker is telling other people (or him/herself) what should be done.
Here are some more examples.
This use of to be is quite formal in style.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi teacher, could you explain the use of "be to" in the sentences below?
1. How is the programme to be financed?
2. I formed the opinion that he was not to be trusted.
Thanks in advance.
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