The verb to be

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

Index :

To be - main verb

To be - auxiliary

To be as a modal

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

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.

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.

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.

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.


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