Linguapress English Grammar

The verb to be

Index :

The verb "to be" - forms, uses and examples

1. The verb to be as a main verb

The verb to be is the fundamental verb used to indicate the existence of an entity (person, object, abstraction) or to relate an entity to its qualities or characteristics. In linguistics, it is sometimes known as a copula.

Unlike transitive verbs, it does not take a direct object, but a complement, since the subject and complement of the verb to be relate to the same entity. The complement of to be can be a noun, a noun phrase, an adjective, or a prepositional phrase

Forms of the verb to be
Person		Present	preterit	Present perfect	Past perfect
1st sing.	I	am	was	have been	had been
2nd sing	you	are	were	have been
3rd sing	he, she, etc.	is	was	has been
1st plural.	we	are	were	have been
2nd plural	you	are	were	have been
3rd plural	they	are	were	have been

Examples of usage of the verb to be as main verb

Examples
That man is the boss.
That man is the winner of last year's Nobel Prize for physics.
That lady is very intelligent
That man is in rather a difficult situation
I have been here before
She was much prettier in her younger days.
The three ladies were all sisters.
The man had been in the water for an hour, before anyone found him.

2. The verb to be as auxiliary

2.1. Progressive forms with be

The verb to be is used as an auxiliary to denote the progressive or continuous aspect of an action; it is thus used to form the "present progressive" and "past progressive" and other progressive tenses (also called the present continuous and past continuous tenses, etc.). In this case, be is followed by the present participle of a verb.

Model "stand"	Present progresive	Future progressive	Preterit progresive	Present perfect progressive	Past perfect progressive
1st sing	I am standing	I will be standing	I was standing	I have been standing	I had been standing
2nd sing	you are standing	You will be standing	You were standing	You have been standing	You had been standing
3rd sing	he / she... is standing	He / she ... will be standing	He/ she ... was standing	He / she... have been standing	he / she ... had been standing
1st plural	we are standing	We will be standing	We were standing	We have been standing	We had been standing
2nd plural	you are standing	You will be standing	You were standing	You have been standing	You had been standing
3rd plural	they are standing	They will be standing	They were standing	They have been standing	They had been standing

Other tenses can be formed, including tenses with modal auxiliaries: examples
I could have been eating - They must have been telling the truth

2.2. Passive forms with be

The verb to be is also used as an auxiliary to form passive tenses. In this case, the auxiliary be is followed by the past participle of a verb.

Sample verb "Take"	Present simple passive	Future passive	Preterit passive	Present perfect passive	Past perfect passive
1st sing	I am taken	I will be taken	I was taken	I have been taken	I had been taken
3rd sing	It... is taken	He / she ... will be taken	He / she ... was taken	He / she ... has been taken	He / she ... had been taken
Etc.

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Other tenses can be formed, including tenses with modal auxiliaries: examples
You could have been seriously injured. - They must have been told the truth.

2.3. Progressive and passive

As to be is used both to form passive tenses, and tenses with progressive aspect, it follows that it is used twice in verb forms that are both passive and progressive..
While a complete range of tenses is theoretically possible, in practice English only has two passive progressive tenses, the present progressive passive, and the past progressive passive.

Progressive tenses in the passive
Sample verb "help"	Present progressive passive	Past progressive passive
1st sing	I am being helped	I was being helped
3rd sing	It... is being helped	He / she ... was being helped
Etc.

Get used instead of be in passive forms :

In everyday English, the auxiliary be can often but not always be replaced by get to express a verb in the passive, whether in progressive or simple aspect.

Examples
She was being / was getting taken to hospital, when suddenly she felt much worse.
The computer network is down, as the server is being/ is getting changed.
The window is being / is getting mended.
The staff were being given their daily instructions.
Next I was taken / got taken to see the director of human resources.

2.4. Avoid confusion

Remember that

when the auxiliary to be is followed by a present participle , the verb is in the active voice;
when it is followed by a past participle, the verb in in the passive voice.

Examples
The chicken was eating its dinner
The chicken was eaten for dinner.
They were telling the truth, when they said that they knew nothing
They were told the truth, when the man finally confessed.
The women have been asking to see the managing director.
The women have been asked to see the managing director.

3. The verb to be as a modal verb

The verb to be is occasionally used as a modal auxiliary; but in this it is a strange verb, as it can have either a value of futurity, or a value of obligation, or something between the two, supposition.
In the first and third persons, it is a modal whose most common value is futurity: in the second person, its main value is one of obligation. However, this distinction is not always true.

Person		Present	Preterit
1st sing.	I	I am to make	was to make
2nd sing	you	You are to make	were to make
3rd sing	he, she, etc.	... is to make	was to make
1st plural.	we	... are to make	were to make
2nd plural	you	... are to make	were to make
3rd plural	they	... are to make	were to make

In other words, while "I'm to get a new car next week" would normally mean "I'm going to get a new car next week" (futurity), "You're to go to London next week" would normally mean "You should go to London next week" (mild obligation). However, in many cases, ambiguity is possible, even if context usually clarifies the meaning.

Examples

The train was to leave at 8 (meaning: The train was supposed to leave at 8)
I'm to work in London next year (I'm going to / have to work in London.....)
I'm to make three of these cakes ( I must / am supposed to make three..... )
He's to stand as candidate for the presidency ( He is going to stand.....)
The children were to stay at home that afternoon (The children were meant to / were going to .....)
After that, they were to get lost. (After that, they were going to get lost).
After that, they were to go home (After that, they were supposed to go home).
You're to get better marks next time. (You must get better marks ....)
When you get home, you're to go straight to bed. (When you get home, you must go straight to bed).

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