Home English Lessons

4 Uses of the VERB TO BE in English

August 05, 2022

VERB TO BE

The verb to be is a main verb in English, and it plays a major role in many types of constructions, as in all other European languages.

It has many uses and meanings, both as a main verb and as an auxiliary verb. It also behaves differently in negative sentences and questions.

"verb to be" in the present tense

1. The "verb to be" in the present tense

The "verb to be" in the present tense consists of "pronouns + am, is, are", here are the examples:

I am…...
We are…...
You are…...
They are…...
He, She, It, is…...
I am a teacher.
You are a student.
He is a man.
We are friends.
You are students.
They are workers.

2. The "verb to be" in the present tense when negation

The "verb to be" in the present negation consists of "pronouns + am, are, is + not", examples:

I am not….
We are not…...
You are not…...
They are not…...
He, she, it, is not…...
I am not a teacher.
You are not a student.
He is not a man.
We are not friends.
You are not students.
They are not workers.

See: How to Ask Questions in Passive Voice Tenses

3. The "verb to be" in the present tense questions

The "verb to be" in the present tense questions consists of "am, are, is + pronouns", examples:

Am I …...?
Are we …...?
Are you …...?
Are they …...?
Is, He, She, It …...?
Am I a teacher? Yes, you are.
Are you a student? Yes, I am.
Is he a student? Yes, he is.
Is she a student? Yes, she is.
Is this a house? Yes, it is.
Are we in class? Yes, we are.
Are you busy? Yes, we are.
Are they happy? Yes, they are.

The "verb to be" is in the past tense

1. The "verb to be" in the present tense

The "verb to be" in the past tense consists of "pronouns + were, was", examples:

I was ……
He, She, It + was ……
They were ……
You were ……
We were ……
I was in my classroom yesterday.
You were there, too.
He was at a movie last night.
She was at home.
It was delicious.
We were at school yesterday.
You were on this website earlier.
They were outside in the snow.

2. The verb to be in the past tense negation

The "verb to be" in the past tense negation consists of "pronouns + were, was + not", as shown by the examples:

I was not ……
He, She, It + was not ……
They were not ……
You were not ……
We were not ……
I was not in my classroom yesterday.
You were not there, too.
He was not at a movie last night.
She was not at home.
It was not delicious.
We were not at school yesterday.
You were not on this website earlier.
They were not outside in the snow.

3. The "verb to be" in past tense questions

The "verb to be" in the past tense questions consists of "were, was + pronouns", as shown by the examples:

Was I ……?
Was He, She, It ……?
Were you ……?
Were they ……?
Were we ……?
Were they outside in the snow?
Were you on this website earlier?
Were we at school yesterday?
Was it delicious?
Was she at home?
Was he at a movie last night?
Were you there, too?
Was I in my classroom yesterday?

The verb to be is in the future

1- The verb being in the future tense

The "verb to be" is formed in the future tense "pronouns + will + be". Examples:

I will be ……
He, She, It + will be ……
They will be ……
You will be ……
We will be ……
I will be a student next year.
She will be a student next year.
You will be a student next year.
They will be students next year.

See: Common Suffixes in English

2- The "verb to be" in the future tense when negation

The "verb to be" in the future negation consists of "pronouns + will + not + be", examples:

I will not be ……
He, She, It + will not be ……
They will not be ……
You will not be ……
We will not be ……
I will not be a student next year.
She will not be a student next year.
You will not be a student next year.
They will not be students next year.

3- The "verb to be" in future tense questions

The "verb to be" in future tense questions consists of "will + pronouns + be", examples:

Will I be ……
Will he, she, it I be ……
Will they be ……
Will you be ……
Will we be ……
Will I be a student next year?
Will she be a student next year?
Will you be a student next year?
Will they be students next year?

Using " verb to be" with "there"

Using to be with there is an easy way and a simple explanation from which you will learn a lot. Examples:

There was singular
There wasn't singular negation
Was there......? singular questions
There Were plural
There weren't plural negation
Were there......? singular questions
There was a lightning storm last night.
There were many things to do.
There was also a lot of food there.
There wasn't any furniture in the apartment.
There were a lot of students on this website last night.
Were there a lot of students on this website last week?
There weren't any people in the hotel. It was empty.
A: Was there a lot of food at the party? B: Yes, there was.
A: Were there a lot of people at the meeting? B: No, there weren't.
A: How many people were there? B: There were only four people.

See: 3 Common Uses of the ING Form

Tags English Lessons

Latest articles from : English Lessons

Comments

No comments

Post a Comment

Reading Mode :

Font Size

+

16

-

lines height

+

2

-

window['__wavt'] = 'AOuZoY5zXwylXP6d_kkB4oIwd-ylxLS1mw:1680120960640';_WidgetManager._Init('//www.blogger.com/rearrange?blogID\x3d7935303855979545867','//www.postsline.com/2022/08/uses-of-verb-to-be-in-english.html','7935303855979545867'); _WidgetManager._SetDataContext([{'name': 'blog', 'data': {'blogId': '7935303855979545867', 'title': 'Postsline', 'url': 'https://www.postsline.com/2022/08/uses-of-verb-to-be-in-english.html', 'canonicalUrl': 'https://www.postsline.com/2022/08/uses-of-verb-to-be-in-english.html', 'homepageUrl': 'https://www.postsline.com/', 'searchUrl': 'https://www.postsline.com/search', 'canonicalHomepageUrl': 'https://www.postsline.com/', 'blogspotFaviconUrl': 'https://www.postsline.com/favicon.ico', 'bloggerUrl': 'https://www.blogger.com', 'hasCustomDomain': true, 'httpsEnabled': true, 'enabledCommentProfileImages': true, 'gPlusViewType': 'FILTERED_POSTMOD', 'adultContent': false, 'analyticsAccountNumber': 'UA-220352293-1', 'encoding': 'UTF-8', 'locale': 'en', 'localeUnderscoreDelimited': 'en', 'languageDirection': 'ltr', 'isPrivate': false, 'isMobile': false, 'isMobileRequest': false, 'mobileClass': '', 'isPrivateBlog': false, 'isDynamicViewsAvailable': true, 'feedLinks': '\x3clink rel\x3d\x22alternate\x22 type\x3d\x22application/atom+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Postsline - Atom\x22 href\x3d\x22https://www.postsline.com/feeds/posts/default\x22 /\x3e\n\x3clink rel\x3d\x22alternate\x22 type\x3d\x22application/rss+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Postsline - RSS\x22 href\x3d\x22https://www.postsline.com/feeds/posts/default?alt\x3drss\x22 /\x3e\n\x3clink rel\x3d\x22service.post\x22 type\x3d\x22application/atom+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Postsline - Atom\x22 href\x3d\x22https://www.blogger.com/feeds/7935303855979545867/posts/default\x22 /\x3e\n\n\x3clink rel\x3d\x22alternate\x22 type\x3d\x22application/atom+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Postsline - Atom\x22 href\x3d\x22https://www.postsline.com/feeds/4868677783924191300/comments/default\x22 /\x3e\n', 'meTag': '', 'adsenseClientId': 'ca-pub-6421459800031016', 'adsenseHostId': 'ca-host-pub-1556223355139109', 'adsenseHasAds': true, 'adsenseAutoAds': true, 'boqCommentIframeForm': true, 'loginRedirectParam': '', 'view': '', 'dynamicViewsCommentsSrc': '//www.blogblog.com/dynamicviews/4224c15c4e7c9321/js/comments.js', 'dynamicViewsScriptSrc': '//www.blogblog.com/dynamicviews/4e7b2afa34dff71e', 'plusOneApiSrc': 'https://apis.google.com/js/platform.js', 'disableGComments': true, 'sharing': {'platforms': [{'name': 'Get link', 'key': 'link', 'shareMessage': 'Get link', 'target': ''}, {'name': 'Facebook', 'key': 'facebook', 'shareMessage': 'Share to Facebook', 'target': 'facebook'}, {'name': 'BlogThis!', 'key': 'blogThis', 'shareMessage': 'BlogThis!', 'target': 'blog'}, {'name': 'Twitter', 'key': 'twitter', 'shareMessage': 'Share to Twitter', 'target': 'twitter'}, {'name': 'Pinterest', 'key': 'pinterest', 'shareMessage': 'Share to Pinterest', 'target': 'pinterest'}, {'name': 'Email', 'key': 'email', 'shareMessage': 'Email', 'target': 'email'}], 'disableGooglePlus': true, 'googlePlusShareButtonWidth': 0, 'googlePlusBootstrap': '\x3cscript type\x3d\x22text/javascript\x22\x3ewindow.___gcfg \x3d {\x27lang\x27: \x27en\x27};\x3c/script\x3e'}, 'hasCustomJumpLinkMessage': false, 'jumpLinkMessage': 'Read more', 'pageType': 'item', 'postId': '4868677783924191300', 'postImageThumbnailUrl': 'https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fWw-76VG7b8/YKzsHM1hrFI/AAAAAAAAISQ/hnG26YwMxFsXnZ7AtwzKrOVW6iu3lziUACNcBGAsYHQ/s72-c/The-verb-TO-BE.webp', 'postImageUrl': 'https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fWw-76VG7b8/YKzsHM1hrFI/AAAAAAAAISQ/hnG26YwMxFsXnZ7AtwzKrOVW6iu3lziUACNcBGAsYHQ/s16000/The-verb-TO-BE.webp', 'pageName': '4 Uses of the VERB TO BE in English', 'pageTitle': 'Postsline: 4 Uses of the VERB TO BE in English', 'metaDescription': ''}}, {'name': 'features', 'data': {}}, {'name': 'messages', 'data': {'edit': 'Edit', 'linkCopiedToClipboard': 'Link copied to clipboard!', 'ok': 'Ok', 'postLink': 'Post Link'}}, {'name': 'template', 'data': {'name': 'custom', 'localizedName': 'Custom', 'isResponsive': true, 'isAlternateRendering': false, 'isCustom': true}}, {'name': 'view', 'data': {'classic': {'name': 'classic', 'url': '?view\x3dclassic'}, 'flipcard': {'name': 'flipcard', 'url': '?view\x3dflipcard'}, 'magazine': {'name': 'magazine', 'url': '?view\x3dmagazine'}, 'mosaic': {'name': 'mosaic', 'url': '?view\x3dmosaic'}, 'sidebar': {'name': 'sidebar', 'url': '?view\x3dsidebar'}, 'snapshot': {'name': 'snapshot', 'url': '?view\x3dsnapshot'}, 'timeslide': {'name': 'timeslide', 'url': '?view\x3dtimeslide'}, 'isMobile': false, 'title': '4 Uses of the VERB TO BE in English', 'description': 'We provide valuable articles in easy, simple and reliable ways from academic and professional sources.', 'featuredImage': 'https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fWw-76VG7b8/YKzsHM1hrFI/AAAAAAAAISQ/hnG26YwMxFsXnZ7AtwzKrOVW6iu3lziUACNcBGAsYHQ/s16000/The-verb-TO-BE.webp', 'url': 'https://www.postsline.com/2022/08/uses-of-verb-to-be-in-english.html', 'type': 'item', 'isSingleItem': true, 'isMultipleItems': false, 'isError': false, 'isPage': false, 'isPost': true, 'isHomepage': false, 'isArchive': false, 'isLabelSearch': false, 'postId': 4868677783924191300}}, {'name': 'widgets', 'data': [{'title': 'BlogArchive', 'type': 'BlogArchive', 'sectionId': 'sitting', 'id': 'BlogArchive400'}, {'title': 'BlogLabels', 'type': 'Label', 'sectionId': 'sitting', 'id': 'Label400'}, {'title': 'Pages', 'type': 'PageList', 'sectionId': 'pages', 'id': 'PageList1'}, {'title': 'Postsline (Header)', 'type': 'Header', 'sectionId': 'logo', 'id': 'Header1'}, {'title': 'Main Menu', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'menu', 'id': 'LinkList22'}, {'title': 'Important Posts', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'shreeta5bar', 'id': 'HTML300'}, {'title': 'Random Posts', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'TopPost-sc', 'id': 'HTML11'}, {'title': 'Windows', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postnw1', 'id': 'HTML5'}, {'title': 'Android', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postnw1', 'id': 'HTML12'}, {'title': 'Digital Marketing', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postnw2', 'id': 'HTML9'}, {'title': 'Entrepreneurship and Innovation', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postnw2', 'id': 'HTML13'}, {'title': 'English lessons', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postnw3', 'id': 'HTML14'}, {'title': 'Writing \x26amp; Reading', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postnw3', 'id': 'HTML17'}, {'title': 'Earnings from the Internet', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postcs1', 'id': 'HTML18'}, {'title': 'Computer Tips', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postcs4', 'id': 'HTML4'}, {'title': 'Software \x26amp; Programs', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postcs4', 'id': 'HTML3'}, {'title': 'Privacy \x26amp; Security', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postcs4', 'id': 'HTML6'}, {'title': 'Blog Posts', 'type': 'Blog', 'sectionId': 'Tempnec', 'id': 'Blog1', 'posts': [{'id': '4868677783924191300', 'title': '4 Uses of the VERB TO BE in English', 'featuredImage': 'https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fWw-76VG7b8/YKzsHM1hrFI/AAAAAAAAISQ/hnG26YwMxFsXnZ7AtwzKrOVW6iu3lziUACNcBGAsYHQ/s16000/The-verb-TO-BE.webp', 'showInlineAds': false}], 'headerByline': {'regionName': 'header1', 'items': [{'name': 'share', 'label': ''}, {'name': 'timestamp', 'label': '-'}]}, 'footerBylines': [{'regionName': 'footer1', 'items': [{'name': 'comments', 'label': 'comments'}]}, {'regionName': 'footer2', 'items': [{'name': 'labels', 'label': ''}]}], 'allBylineItems': [{'name': 'share', 'label': ''}, {'name': 'timestamp', 'label': '-'}, {'name': 'comments', 'label': 'comments'}, {'name': 'labels', 'label': ''}]}, {'title': '\u0623\u0639\u0644\u0627\u0646 \u0645\u0646\u062a\u0635\u0641 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0648\u0636\u0648\u0639', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'PostA3lan', 'id': 'HTML202'}, {'title': '\u0645\u064a\u0632\u0629 \u062c\u062f\u0648\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u062a\u0646\u0642\u0644', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'AddOns', 'id': 'HTML1'}, {'title': '\u0646\u0645\u0648\u0630\u062c \u0627\u0644\u0627\u062a\u0635\u0627\u0644', 'type': 'ContactForm', 'sectionId': 'AddOns', 'id': 'ContactForm200'}, {'title': 'Herbs and Spices', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postnw4', 'id': 'HTML7'}, {'title': 'Everyday Care', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postnw5', 'id': 'HTML10'}, {'title': 'Sayings and Quotes', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'Postnw6', 'id': 'HTML15'}, {'title': 'Names and Vocabularies', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'BotPostsc', 'id': 'HTML8'}, {'title': 'Partner', 'type': 'Image', 'sectionId': 'footer-col1', 'id': 'Image2'}, {'title': '\u0645\u0648\u0627\u0642\u0639 \u0627\u0644\u062a\u0648\u0627\u0635\u0644 \u0627\u0644\u0625\u062c\u062a\u0645\u0627\u0639\u064a', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'footer-social', 'id': 'LinkList2'}]}]); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_BlogArchiveView', new _WidgetInfo('BlogArchive400', 'sitting', document.getElementById('BlogArchive400'), {'languageDirection': 'ltr', 'loadingMessage': 'Loading\x26hellip;'}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LabelView', new _WidgetInfo('Label400', 'sitting', document.getElementById('Label400'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_PageListView', new _WidgetInfo('PageList1', 'pages', document.getElementById('PageList1'), {'title': 'Pages', 'links': [{'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': 'http://www.postsline.com/', 'title': 'Home'}, {'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': 'https://www.postsline.com/p/contact-us.html', 'id': '3201810362194019436', 'title': 'Contact Us'}, {'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': 'https://www.postsline.com/p/privacy-policy.html', 'id': '4702609872435926089', 'title': 'Privacy Policy'}, {'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': 'https://www.postsline.com/p/about-us.html', 'id': '2757582958938117432', 'title': 'About us'}], 'mobile': false}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HeaderView', new _WidgetInfo('Header1', 'logo', document.getElementById('Header1'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList22', 'menu', document.getElementById('LinkList22'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML300', 'shreeta5bar', document.getElementById('HTML300'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML11', 'TopPost-sc', document.getElementById('HTML11'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML5', 'Postnw1', document.getElementById('HTML5'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML12', 'Postnw1', document.getElementById('HTML12'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML9', 'Postnw2', document.getElementById('HTML9'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML13', 'Postnw2', document.getElementById('HTML13'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML14', 'Postnw3', document.getElementById('HTML14'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML17', 'Postnw3', document.getElementById('HTML17'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML18', 'Postcs1', document.getElementById('HTML18'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML4', 'Postcs4', document.getElementById('HTML4'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML3', 'Postcs4', document.getElementById('HTML3'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML6', 'Postcs4', document.getElementById('HTML6'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_BlogView', new _WidgetInfo('Blog1', 'Tempnec', document.getElementById('Blog1'), {'cmtInteractionsEnabled': false, 'lightboxEnabled': true, 'lightboxModuleUrl': 'https://www.blogger.com/static/v1/jsbin/3006138104-lbx.js', 'lightboxCssUrl': 'https://www.blogger.com/static/v1/v-css/3268905543-lightbox_bundle.css'}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML202', 'PostA3lan', document.getElementById('HTML202'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML1', 'AddOns', document.getElementById('HTML1'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_ContactFormView', new _WidgetInfo('ContactForm200', 'AddOns', document.getElementById('ContactForm200'), {'contactFormMessageSendingMsg': 'Sending...', 'contactFormMessageSentMsg': 'Your message has been sent.', 'contactFormMessageNotSentMsg': 'Message could not be sent. Please try again later.', 'contactFormInvalidEmailMsg': 'A valid email address is required.', 'contactFormEmptyMessageMsg': 'Message field cannot be empty.', 'title': '\u0646\u0645\u0648\u0630\u062c \u0627\u0644\u0627\u062a\u0635\u0627\u0644', 'blogId': '7935303855979545867', 'contactFormNameMsg': 'Name', 'contactFormEmailMsg': 'Email', 'contactFormMessageMsg': 'Message', 'contactFormSendMsg': 'Send', 'contactFormToken': 'AOuZoY5_SbdCDzX1-LlbpP9bpK6mMhjU9g:1680120960641', 'submitUrl': 'https://www.blogger.com/contact-form.do'}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML7', 'Postnw4', document.getElementById('HTML7'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML10', 'Postnw5', document.getElementById('HTML10'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML15', 'Postnw6', document.getElementById('HTML15'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML8', 'BotPostsc', document.getElementById('HTML8'), {}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_ImageView', new _WidgetInfo('Image2', 'footer-col1', document.getElementById('Image2'), {'resize': false}, 'displayModeFull')); _WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList2', 'footer-social', document.getElementById('LinkList2'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));