Be: forms
Beis an irregular verb with several forms:
Present: (I)am, (he, she, it)is(you, we, they)are+-ingform:being
Past: (I, he, she, it,)was, (you, we, they)were+ -edform:been
I’min college at the moment.
Whereisshe?
Hewasher first husband.
Wereyou at the U2 concert?
The weatherhas beenreally nice since June.
Be: uses
We usebeas a main verb and an auxiliary verb.
See also:
Beas a main verb
Beas an auxiliary verb
Beas a main verb
Beas a main verb has a number of meanings.
Qualities
We usebeto talk about permanent or temporary qualities or states:
He’svery rich.
My fatherisold now.
The weatherwasterrible.
The foodisso good in Italy.
When we usethereas a subject withbe, we usethere is+ singular noun andthere are+ plural noun:
Therearelots of wonderful places to see on the south coast.
Not:There is lots of wonderful places…
See also:
There is,there’sandthere are
Nationality and group identity
We usebeto talk about our nationality and our identity within groups or clubs:
Isshe Irish or English?
Iaman Arsenal fan.
He’sbeena member of the rowing club for twenty years.
Jobs and professions
We can usebeto talk about a person’s job or profession. Note the use ofawith singular names of jobs and professions:
He’sa firefighter.
Not:He’s firefighter.
Both of my brothersarepolicemen.
My grandmotherwasa nurse.
Age
We usebeto talk about age:
Iwasseventeen when I met Bob.
Because Iwasn’teighteen, I couldn’t vote in the last election.
How oldisshe?
Relationships
We usebeto talk how people are related:
Heismy first cousin.
Theyaremy best friends.
Areyou her sister?
Place
We can usebeto refer to where places and things are situated:
Her houseison the edge of the lake.
The shopsareat the end of the street.
Time
We usebeto talk about time and dates:
What timeisit?
The matchwasat seven o’clock.
Wearealways late!
The meetingison the fifth of October.
Behaviour and personality
We can usebeto talk about behaviour and personality:
Hewasalways gentle.
Isshe nice?
The childrencan berough with the new puppy.
When we talk about a way of behaving at the moment of speaking, we use the continuous form ofbe:
You’re beingtoo generous.
Ignore him. He’sjustbeingsilly.
We usebeto describe feelings and situations:
Iwasvery happy.
Areyou hungry?
Modal expressions withbe
There are a number of expressions withbewhich have modal meanings, for example,be to, be able to, be allowed to, be supposed to:
WillMartinbe able toget everyone in his car?
Wewere supposed toget there an hour ago.
See also:
Beexpressions (be able to,be due to)
Modality: expressions withbe
Beas an auxiliary verb
Beis one of threeauxiliary verbs in English:be,doandhave. We usebeto make the continuous form and the passive voice:
I’m readinga book about the Titanic at the moment.(continuous)
Whatwasshedoingin France?(continuous)
The jobwas advertisedlast week.(passive)
The housewas being painted.(continuous and passive)
We don’t use auxiliarybeto make questions with main verbs in the present simple. We use auxiliarydo:
Doyoulivenear here?
Not:Are you live near here?
See also:
Present continuous (I am working)
Past continuous (I was working)
Passive
Doas an auxiliary verb
Be: typical errors
Rememberto usearefor the third person plural form ofbe:
The company’s profitsarelower this year.
Not:The company’s profits is lower this year.
We usethere is+ singular noun andthere are+ plural noun:
There areso many greatrestaurantshere.
Not:There is so many great restaurants here.
We use auxiliarydo, not auxiliarybe, for questions with main verbs in the present simple:
Doyouacceptcredit cards?
Not:Are you accept…