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 Sir,
Please correct me, am I right?
in a nut shell, We use "be" verbs to describe a "characteristic property it has or possession" about anything we want represent.
Else, give me some piece of advice about the circumstances to use "be" verbs.
Thanks & Regards,
Abdul haq.
Hello Abdul haq.,
Yes, it sounds like you've got the right idea. The dictionary definition for 'be' might also be useful for you.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
I am sorry I am asking this random question. What does this mean?
Regulations will drive interest in electric trucks.
Hello Sash,
I would understand the sentence to mean that (probably new) regulations will increase (act as a driving force for) interest in electric trucks. In other words, more people will be interested in buying electric trucks as a result of new regulations.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi,
Can 'to be' verbs be termed as helping verbs also?
Hello 3d,
Could you explain the fuller context, please? It's difficult to help without knowing what you're trying to understand.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sir,
Could you please help me with the usage of '' being'' in this sentence:
Back then they could not have even thought that handheld mobile gadgets would be being used constantly by all of us.
Could we omit '' being'' ? and if yes would the meaning of the sentence change ?
Hello Arvin2017,
We can start wit the construction [would + infinitive]. For example:
The infinitive can be marked for continuous (progressive) aspect:
This is the use of 'being' in your example.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you, Peter. Your explanation is very helpful.
I expect my instructions to be carried out to the letter.
Can you please tell me what part of grammar is 'to be carried out'?
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