English Grammar Be Forms

UNIT 5

What is Be Form?

The verb be is used as an auxiliary verb (helping verb) and it can also be used as a main verb.

Be is an irregular verb with several forms

They are used to describe the condition of people, things, places and ideas.

What is verb?

Verbs are words that show an action (sing), occurrence (develop), or state of being (exist). Almost every sentence requires a verb.

What is auxiliary verb with example?

An auxiliary verb helps the main verb and is also called a "helping verb". With auxiliary verbs, you can write sentences in different tenses, moods, or voices.

Auxiliary verbs are: be, do, have, will, shall, would, should, can, could, may, might, must, ought, etc.

How many Be Forms are there?

There are eight different be forms:

Be

Am

Is

Are

Was

Were

Being

Been

Simple Examples of be forms

1. We must not be late.

2. I just want it to be healthy.

3. I know you must be tired, so I will let you rest.

The forms of the verb "to be"

When?	Who?	Form	Example
Base form		be	It can be simple.
Simple Present	I	am	I am here.
	You	are	You are here.
	He/She/It	is	She is here.
	We	are	We are here.
	They	are	They are here.
Simple Past	I	was	I was here.
	You	were	You were here.
	He/She/It	was	She was here.
	We	were	We were here.
	They	were	They were here.
Simple Future	I	will be	I will be here.
	You	will be	You will be here.
	He/She/It	will be	She will be here.
	We	will be	We will be here.
	They	will be	They will be here.
Progressive form		being	He is being unusual.
Perfect from		been	It has been fun

 

Simple Present Tense with ‘Be Form’

Subject + Be Form + Rest of the sentence

Subject	To Be	Examples
I	am	I am fine
You	are	You are  a student
He	is	He is a child
She	is	She is an angry girl
It	is	It is a beautiful flower
We	are	We are brothers
You	are	You are from England
They	are	They are at school

Simple Past Tense with ‘Be Form’

(Subject + be form + rest of the sentence)

I + was + tired this morning.

1.     I was a student.

2.     You were going to college.

3.     You were very good.

4.     You were on holiday.

5.     He was the best in his class.

6.     She was late for work.

7.     It was a sunny day.

8.     We were at home.

9.     We were happier last year.

10.  They were at home.

11.  They were happy with their test results.

Simple Future Tense with ‘Be Form’

Simple Future	I	will be	I will be here.
	You	will be	You will be here.
	He/She/It	will be	She will be here.
	We	will be	We will be here.
	They	will be	They will be here.

Progressive Forms of the verb "be form"

The progressive form of the verb "be form" is "being."
This means the action is ongoing (continuing).
Examples:
1. The little boy is being naughty.
2. She was being rude.
3. They are being cheated.

Perfect Forms of the verb “be form”

The perfect form of the verb “be form" is "been."

This means the action is complete (finished).
Examples:
1. The little boy has been naughty.
2. She has been rude.
3. They have been cheated.

Verbs have two further be forms ending with -ed

[1] The old lady is writing a play. 
[2] The film was produced in Hollywood. 

The verb form writing in [1] is known as the -ing form, or the -ing participle form.

In [2], the verb form produced is called the -ed form, or -ed participle form.  (Participle - A word formed from a verb)

The past participle is required for the perfect tenses with simple aspect – which means non-progressive – in order to form the …

Present perfect simple

1. “They have prepared lunch.”

2. “Sandra has worked there for a long time.”

Past perfect simple

1. “We had stayed on holiday for almost four weeks.”

2. “Magmata had bought a new car before he sold his old one.”

Future perfect simple

1. “By the end of next year, Reema will have finished all her exams.”

2. “I will have lived here for 30 years by the end of next month.”

Some example ending with –ing and –ed.

1. I was really bored in that presentation.

2. That was a really boring presentation.

3. She was really tired and went to bed early.

4. Have you seen that film? It's really frightening.

5. I could listen to her for hours. She's so interesting.

6. This lesson is very exciting, I am really excited.

7. My brother is very tired, his work is really boring.