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 teacher
I would like to ask, in this sentence :
The jacket had a purpose, and so did the boy. His purpose in life WAS TO travel ,and, after two years of walking the Andalusian terrain, he knew all the cities of the region. Quoted from the Alchemist.
What does it mean "WAS TO" in this situation ?
Thank you !
Hello Jack,
We use the infinitive to describe goals or intentions, so the construction here is as follows:
Here are some similar sentences:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thanks teacher :D !
Hello, Kirk, Peter, and Jonathan,
"Students are to write a rough draft of their wiki update and e-mail it to the teacher. She adds it to each student’s electronic portfolios. The teacher reads the updated version and gives them feedback"
In the above sentence, 'Students are to write a rough draft...' What is the meaning, its tense and what is it called in the grammar?
Thanks for the answer in advanced.
Hi knownman,
Students are to write ... means something similar to these words:
In your example, are (a form of be) introduces an instruction or obligation (i.e. what someone is expected to do), which is the to + infinitive verb (to write). Other forms of be can be used:
This use of to be is quite formal in style. As for the tense, it's in the present simple here, showing that students are expected to do this now. But it can be used in the past too, if the expectation was in the past (e.g. Last year, students were to email their draft to the teacher, but there's a new system this year). I don't know if this meaning of to be has any specific name.
Does that make sense?
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Thanks for the answer, Jonathan.
What about using in the future tense. I think I can use the same pattern for the future tense. I deduce from your explanation that I can use that in the future tense as well.
For Example:
Our teacher is to retire next year. ( used 'is to' instead of 'is going to retire')
And
The authorities estimate the country is to have a new economic crisis in one year in the country. (used 'is to' instead of 'will')
Are these sentences are correct?
Thanks for your time.
Hello knownman,
When we use 'be' plus an infinitive in this way, it's to speak about a plan or arrangement, or a kind of order. So your first example is correct, since it's speaking about a plan, but the second one is not correct, since it's making a prediction. I'd recommend you use 'will' there.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi, Jonathan,
I saw the answer about the above question just on the second comment page.
Someone asked about this. You have already answered.
Thanks for the help.
Have a nice one.
Sir,
How to use the word 'price' in singular form as well as in plural form ?
Can you explain with an example or two ?
I have already looked it up in a dictionary and still quite understand as to why It is used in plural form with a singular noun like 'house prices' and vice versa like 'onions price' ?
Could you clearify once and for all ?
Sir,
What are the prices of onions and potatoes in your area. or
what is the price of onion(s) and potato(es) in your area.
Are both the sentences right and can I use plural form of the nouns in the second sentence ?
How to use the noun 'price' in singular and plural in general ?
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