Verb "To Be" in English

the verb to be in English

This graphic shows how the different forms are used. (Notice that there are short forms too.) "To be" is a special verb because it can be used as a main verb or an auxiliary verb. As a main verb, it means "exist," "occur," or "happen." As an auxiliary verb (or helping verb), the meaning comes from the verb it is helping. Look at these examples:

"To be" as a main verb:

I am here. (I "exist" here.)
The meeting was in London. (The meeting "happened" in London.)

"To be" as an auxiliary verb:

I am working at home. (Here, "to be" is an auxiliary verb helping the verb "to work.")
Tom was painting the fence yesterday. (Here, "to be" is an auxiliary verb helping the verb "to paint.")

When used as an auxiliary verb, "to be" helps to show the tense of the verb it is helping.

"Am," "is," and "are" are used to show the present progressive tense.

Tom is cleaning the car.

Tom and Alice were cleaning the car.

Video Lesson

Here is a 21-minute, step-by-step video tutorial summarizing this lesson on the verb "to be." (This is a tutorial for advanced students or teachers.) video lesson

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos.

The Different Forms of "To Be"

"Be" is the base form.
"Am," "Is," and "Are" are the present tense forms.

I am happy.	We are happy.
You are happy.	You are happy.
He/she/it is happy.	They are happy.

I was sad.	We were sad.
You were sad.	You were sad.
He/she/it was sad.	They were sad.

The cows are being milked. (Here, the meaning comes from the verb "to milk." The verbs "are" and "being" are both auxiliary verbs.)

You are being silly. (Notice that "to be" is both the auxiliary verb ("are") and the main verb ("being") in this example.)

The cows have been milked. (As before, the meaning comes from the verb "to milk." The verbs "have" and "been" are both auxiliary verbs.)

You have been naughty. (Here, "have" is an auxiliary verb helping "been.")

Negative Forms of "To Be"

Here are the present tense forms:

I am not happy.	We are not happy.
You are not happy.	You are not happy.
He/she/it is not happy.	They are not happy.

I was not sad.	We were not sad.
You were not sad.	You were not sad.
He/she/it was not sad.	They were not sad.

the verb to be in English negative form

As shown in this graphic, with the exception of "am not" and the future tense, all of these negative forms have at least one short version. Some have two short versions. The short forms are called contractions.

Using the Different Forms of "To Be"

Here are the most common uses for the 8 different forms of "to be":

"Be" has three common uses:

She will be rich soon.

Be quiet. (The form used to give an order is called the imperative form. In English, the imperative form is the same as the base form.)

You might be correct.

"Am," "Is," "Are" have two common uses:

I am happy.
He is a policeman.
We are on the bus. (Used like this, the verb "to be" is called a linking verb.)

It is cold.
There is one reason.
There are two reasons.

I am painting the fence.
He is painting the fence.
We are painting the fence.

"Was" and "Were" have two common uses:

I was happy.
He was a policeman.
We were on the bus. (Just as before, the verb "to be" is a linking verb. This time though, they are in the past tense.)

It was cold.
There was one reason.
There were two reasons.

She was painting the fence.
They were painting the fence.

"Being" has two main uses:

Sarah is being annoying. (In this example, the verb "to be" appears twice. Once as an auxiliary verb ("is") and once as a main verb ("being"). The verb phrase "is being" is an example of the present progressive tense.)
You were being silly. (As before, the verb "to be" appears twice. Once as an auxiliary verb ("were") and once as a main verb ("being"). The verb phrase "were being" is an example of the past progressive tense.)

Tom is being promoted this afternoon. (In a passive sentence, the action of the verb is done to the subject. So, the action of the verb "to promote" is happening to the subject "Tom.")
The cows were being milked. (This is another passive sentence. The action of the verb "to milk" happened to the subject "cows.")

"Been" has two common uses:

We have been happy. (In this example, "have" is an auxiliary verb.)

Tom has been promoted.
The cows have been milked already. (Notice that "been" is helped by the auxiliary verb "to have," while "being" is helped by the auxiliary verb "to be.")

The Eight Forms of "To Be"

Here are the 8 different forms of "to be" with their official descriptions. (Note that normal verbs in English have only 5 forms.)

Form	be	Alternative Name
Base Form	be	Infinitive Form
Present Tense Forms	am, is, are	[no alternative name]
Past Forms	was, were	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	being	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	been	[no alternative name]

The Five Forms of Normal Verbs

This table shows the 5 forms of a normal verb ("to know").

Form	know	Alternative Name
Base Form	know	Infinitive Form
The -S Form	knows	Third Person Singular Form
Past Form	knew	Simple Past Tense
The -ING Form	knowing	Present Participle Form
The Past Participle Form	known	[no alternative name]

More about "To Be"

The verb "be" is an irregular verb. (This means that "be" does not form its simple past tense or its past participle by adding "-ed" or "-d" to the base form.)

Conjugating "To Be" Fully

The tables below show how "be" conjugates in all 12 of the past, present, and future tenses. Bear in mind that "to be" is used as both the auxiliary verb and the main verb in these conjugation tables.

Past Tenses

The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.

was being
were being
was being
were being
were being
were being

The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.

had been
had been
had been
had been
had been
had been

The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.

had been being
had been being
had been being
had been being
had been being
had been being

The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.

Present Tenses

The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.

am being
are being
is being
are being
are being
are being

The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.

have been
have been
has been
have been
have been
have been

The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)

have been being
have been being
has been being
have been being
have been being
have been being

The present perfect progressive tense is for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present (or finished very recently).

Future Tenses

I
you
he/she/it
we
you
they

will be
will be
will be
will be
will be
will be

The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.

will be being
will be being
will be being
will be being
will be being
will be being

The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.

will have been
will have been
will have been
will have been
will have been
will have been

The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.

will have been being
will have been being
will have been being
will have been being
will have been being
will have been being

The future perfect progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.

Most Common Irregular Verbs

The three most common irregular verbs in English are "to be," to have, and to do.

to see, to say, to go, to come, to know, to get, to give, to become, to find, and to think

This page was written by Craig Shrives.