The verb to be serves as one of the three primary auxiliary verbs in the English language, alongside to do and to have. All three of these verbs have special properties that set them apart from other verbs.
To be is the most frequently used and important verb in the English language. It is also an irregular verb, which means it doesn’t follow the standard patterns that most verbs follow.
To be works as a main verb to describe, identify, locate, and show the state or condition of people or things. Additionally, it functions as a primary auxiliary to build continuous tenses and passive constructions.
The Verb To Be: Forms
| Verb Type | Verb Form | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Form | → | be |
| Infinite Form | → | to be |
| Present | → | am, is, are |
| Past | → | was, were |
| Future | → | will be |
| Past Participle | → | been |
| Present Participle | → | being |
A solid understanding of the verb to be is fundamental to mastering English grammar and communicating clearly. Once we have a good grasp of its forms and functions, many other aspects of English become much clearer (it really is that important!).
The Verb To Be In Use
- Please be quiet during the movie.
- He wants to be a doctor and help people.
- I am super excited about our holiday next week!
- She is working from home today.
- They are planning a surprise party.
- The weather was perfect for hiking – not too warm and not too cold.
- You weren’t kidding about the traffic being bad!
- Will the presentation be ready on time?
- He has been living in Japan for three years.
- Kate is being unusually quiet this morning.
* Forms of the Verb To Be
- Please be quiet during the movie.
The Verb To Be as a Main Verb
The verb to be functions as a main verb in three key ways: as a linking verb, as a locative verb, and as an existential verb.
As a Linking Verb
In this role, to be connects the subject to a subject complement in our sentences.
This linking function lets us describe what someone or something is like, identify what it is, or show how it changes.
For instance:
- She was nervous before her job interview. (describing state)
- This is my favourite restaurant. (identification)
- They became best friends in college. (showing change)
For more on how linking verbs work, see our Linking Verbs page.
As a Locative Verb
To be also functions as a locative verb, showing where people or things are located or positioned. This locative function tells us where something or someone is rather than describing or identifying what it is.
For instance:
- I am here. Where are you?
- My keys are over there.
- The meeting is upstairs in Conference Room B.
As an Existential Verb
In addition, to be serves as an existential verb.
Unlike the linking function of to be (describing what something is like) or the locative function (showing where something is), the existential function simply expresses that something exists or is present.
For this function, we use the construction there + be to introduce new information or point out what exists.
For instance:
- There was a power cut during the night.
- There is a new Spanish restaurant that has just opened in the town centre.
- There will be a lunar eclipse later today.
We use the there + be construction frequently in everyday conversation to bring up new topics.
The word there appears to be the subject, but it functions as a dummy subject: it simply fills the subject position without being the actual subject (placeholder).
Note: The verb agrees with whatever noun comes after it, not with there.
For example:
- There is still a seat available (for one seat).
- There are still seats available (for multiple seats).
The Verb To Be as a Primary Auxiliary
While the verb to be serves important functions as a main verb, its auxiliary role is what makes it unique amongst verbs. As a primary auxiliary, to be performs two crucial functions: creating continuous tenses and forming passive voice.
Additionally, the verb to be can form questions and negatives on its own, without needing the auxiliary verb to do.
The Verb To Be & Continuous Tenses
To be combines with -ing verbs to create continuous tenses. These continuous constructions allow us to talk about actions that happen over time, as opposed to simple completed events (such as ‘I went to the beach yesterday.’).
– Present Continuous
Present continuous (am/is/are + verb-ing) constructions show actions happening right now, temporary situations, or planned future arrangements.
For example:
- I am making spaghetti bolognese for tonight’s dinner. (actions in progress)
- He is cycling to work while his car is in for repair. (temporary situations)
- We are meeting them at the cinema tomorrow at 7 pm. (planned future events)
– Past Continuous
Past continuous (was/were + verb-ing) shows actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past, temporary past habits/repeated actions, and polite/indirect statements.
For example:
- Of course, I was taking a shower when the fire alarm went off. (actions in progress at a specific time)
- He was always working late when he started his own business. (temporary past habits/repeated actions)
- I was wondering if you could help me with this when you have a minute. (polite/indirect statements)
– Future Continuous
Future continuous (will be + verb-ing) shows actions that will be in progress at a specific future time.
For example:
- This time next week, we will be lying on a beach and sipping cocktails.
- Will you be working late tonight?
- I will be passing the post office anyway, so I can post that for you.
The Verb To Be & Passive Voice
The verb to be combines with past participles (such as eaten, written, made) to create passive voice, where the focus shifts from who performs an action to what receives the action or what gets done.
For instance:
| Voice | Subject | Verb | Object / Agent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | The dog | ate | my homework. (object) |
| Passive | My homework | was eaten | by the dog. (agent) |
Here, notice how the passive sentence example focuses on what happened to the homework rather than what the dog did. This shows how voice determines emphasis – active voice puts the spotlight on the doer, while passive voice focuses attention on what gets affected.
Forms of to be combine with past participles (to be + past participle) to create passive voice across different tenses:
| Tense | Structure | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Present | am/is/are + past participle | – The museum is closed on Mondays. |
| Past | was/were + past participle | – The package was delivered this morning. |
| Perfect | been + past participle | – Your application has been received. |
| Continuous | being + past participle | – The new employees are being trained this week. |
Notice how the verb to be changes form across different tenses while remaining the essential foundation of all passive constructions.
Questions and Negatives
The verb to be handles questions and negatives differently from most English verbs. Instead of requiring helping verbs like do, to be can form both questions and negatives on its own.
The Verb To Be & Forming Negative Sentences
Forming negatives with the verb to be simply requires adding not after the verb to be.
For example:
| Positive Sentence | Negative Sentence | |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Verb To Be | Rest of sentence – They | are | coming to the party. | ➝ | Subject | Verb To Be | Negative | Rest of sentence – They | are | not | coming to the party. |
The same pattern applies across all tenses – we just add not after the relevant form of the verb to be.
– Present Negatives:
- The supermarket is open today. → The supermarket is not open today.
- The train is running on time. → The train is not running on time.
- We are having dinner at home. → We are not having dinner at home.
– Past Negatives:
- The meeting was productive yesterday. → The meeting was not productive yesterday.
- The roads were busy this morning. → The roads were not busy this morning.
- The weather was good for the picnic. → The weather was not good for the picnic.
– Future Negatives:
- I will be at the meeting tomorrow. → I will not be at the meeting tomorrow.
- The store will be open on Sunday. → The store will not be open on Sunday.
- We will be finished by 5 pm. → We will not be finished by 5 pm.
The Verb To Be & Forming Questions
To create questions with to be, we put the verb word at the start of the sentence. This is different from other verbs that need do / does / did to make questions, where the main verb remains in place after the subject.
| Verb Type | Positive Statement | Question Formation | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other Verbs | – You like pizza. | do/does/did + subject + base verb | – Do you like pizza? |
| The Verb To Be | – You are from Australia. | verb + subject | – Are you from Australia? |
As we can see from the table, other verbs keep the same word order but add do / does / did at the beginning.
With to be, we switch the verb and subject positions: the verb moves from after the subject to before it, and no extra words are needed.
Here are some more easy examples showing how this works across different tenses:
| Tense | Statement | Question |
|---|---|---|
| Present | – She is coming. | – Is she coming? |
| Past | – He was there. | – Was he there? |
| Future | – You will be there. | – Will you be there? |
– Question Words with the Verb To Be
We can also use question words like where, what, who, and how with the verb to be.
For instance:
- Where are you going for lunch?
- What is your favourite type of food?
- Who was at the meeting yesterday?
- How are your parents doing?
The Verb To Be & Contractions
Contractions shorten phrases by combining two words into one shorter form.
With the verb to be, we create contractions by combining the verb word with pronouns or with the word not.
For example:
- I’m = I + am (subject pronoun I + the verb am)
- isn’t = is + not (the verb is + not)
We use contractions mainly in spoken English and informal writing. They are generally not used in academic writing, business correspondence, and legal documents.
Positive Contractions
Positive contractions fuse subject pronouns with forms of to be.
| Pronoun | Full Form | Contraction |
|---|---|---|
| I | I am | I’m |
| you | you are | you’re |
| he | he is | he’s |
| she | she is | she’s |
| it | it is | it’s |
| we | we are | we’re |
| they | they are | they’re |
Sentence examples showing positive to be contractions in use:
- I’m running late for my appointment.
- You’re coming to the party on Saturday, right?
- He’s been working on that project all weekend.
- She’s always late for work.
- It’s going to rain later according to my weather app.
- We’re meeting at the bar later for drinks.
- They’re planning a road trip across Europe this summer.
Negative Contractions
When it comes to negative contractions with to be, we have two ways to form them.
We can contract the verb to be with not (e.g., isn’t, aren’t, wasn’t, weren’t) or contract the pronoun with the verb and add not (e.g., I’m not, you’re not, he’s not).
Pronoun | Full Form | Verb + n’t Contraction | Pronoun + Contracted Verb Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I am not | – | I’m not |
| you | You are not | you aren’t | you’re not |
| he | He is not | he isn’t | he’s not |
| she | She is not | she isn’t | she’s not |
| it | It is not | it isn’t | it’s not |
| we | We are not | we aren’t | we’re not |
| they | They are not | they aren’t | they’re not |
Sentence examples showing negative to be contractions in use:
- I’m not ready to leave yet.
- You aren’t supposed to eat chocolate before dinner.
- He’s not coming to work today.
- She isn’t feeling well this morning.
- It’s not supposed to rain until later.
- We aren’t falling for that trick again.
- They weren’t impressed with my joke about their bad grammar.
Question Tags
Question tags are short questions we attach to the end of statements to seek confirmation or check our understanding. These tags create a more conversational tone and show we want the listener to agree or respond.
These constructions almost always involve contractions. If the main statement is positive, the tag is negative and uses a negative contraction like isn’t or aren’t. If the main statement is negative, the tag is positive and uses the positive form like is or are.
– Positive Statements get Negative Question Tags:
- I am right about this, aren’t I?
- You’re coming to dinner tonight, aren’t you?
- You were at the conference, weren’t you?
- She is a doctor, isn’t she?
- The meeting is at 3 pm, isn’t it?
- We are still on for Saturday, aren’t we?
- They are from Canada, aren’t they?
– Negative Statements get Positive Question Tags:
- You aren’t busy right now, are you?
- He isn’t working today, is he?
- She wasn’t expecting us, was she?
- The coffee isn’t too strong, is it?
- The WiFi isn’t down again, is it?
- We aren’t out of milk again, are we?
- They weren’t happy, were they?
Note: The question tag for I am uses aren’t I rather than amn’t I (which does not exist in standard English):
- I’m late, aren’t I?
- I’m doing this right, aren’t I?