“To be” verbs Completely Explained

What are to be verbs?

To be verbs are: are, am, is, was, were, been and being. They are used to describe or tell us the condition of people, things, places and ideas. For example, they could tell us the subject’s age, nationality, job or other traits.

Simple Tenses to be verbs?

Note: <>, >< Contractions are short forms that will sound more like how people speak.

Forms of to be by tense.

There are many English tenses, but the main ones you will use are present, past, present progressive and present perfect

Reason to use	form/tense	to be verb
Turning a to be verb into a noun for imaginary or unreal situations	infinitive	to be
Turning a to be verb into a noun for fixed or real situations	gerund	being
Things that happen time to time or habits	present	am, is, are
Describing the subject at a time before now	past	was, were
Happening now	present progressive	being
Describing the subject at a later time	future	be
To describe experiences when the time is not important	past participle	were
Giving suggestions	present subjunctive	be
Imaginary or hypothetical situations	past subjunctive	were
Giving commands	imperative	be

Advanced Section

The previous section contained examples of what most beginners need to learn for using to be verbs correctly. In this section, we’ll be covering many other ways to use them.

The present perfect form

The present perfect form is used for describing experiences or events that have happened in the past when the exact time is not important.

The past perfect form, The present perfect form, The future perfect form

The Present Progressive Form

The present progressive form is for describing continuous or ongoing actions happening right now vs the simple present which describes habits or things which happen now and again.

The past progressive form, The present progressive form, The future progressive form

While the red colored phrases are grammatically correct, they are quite rare in everyday English usage. It is generally not commonly used because it can sound awkward and redundant. Instead, we tend to use simpler constructions to express the same idea.

Use this structure for the present progressive tense for “to be” verbs:

Subject + be verb + verb + ing

Examples:

• I am watching television.
• You are pushing the wrong button.
• He is looking at the window.
• She is studying.
• It is raining.
• We are traveling.
• They are thinking.

Question tags using “to be” verbs

You can add a question tag to the end of a statement to turn it into a question. To put question tags onto sentences using “to be” verbs, use this structure:

statement + “to be” verb + pronoun. The “to be” verb used in the question tag must be the same one used in the statement.

Note: When adding question tags, if the “to be” verb in the statement is positive, then the one in the question tag must be negative. If the “to be” verb statement is negative, the one in the question tag, must be positive.

Just think:

+statement - question tag

-statement + question tag

Examples:

• I wasn’t being rude, was I? (negative statement with positive question tag)
• It was good, wasn’t it? (positive statement with negative question tag)
• You were there, weren’t you? (positive statement with negative question tag)
• It wasn’t too bad, was it? (negative question tag with positive question tag)
• They weren’t angry, were they? (negative statement with positive question tag)

The linking “To be” verb (descriptions)

The linking “to be” verb describes the condition of the subject. Below are a few sentence structures using the linking “to be” verbs.

In statements that describe, you’ll see this structure in which the sentences have a “to be” verb linking the subject to a subject complement or adjective complement:

Subject + “to be” verb + complement

Examples:

• I am excited.
• It is boring.
• She is the leader.
• They are at the bank.

Sometimes when answering a question you can see just a subject and “to be” verb used as in this structure:

subject + “to be” verb

Examples:

• Q: Are you the doctor?
• A: I am.
• Q: Is she the teacher?
• A: She is.

Adding adverbs to your sentences with linking “to be” verbs

Reminder: Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs in order to tell us how, when, where, why, how often or to what extent

Structure: Subject + “to be” verb + adverb +complement or Adverb, subject + “to be” verb + complement

Examples:

• I am always on time.
• It is never boring.
• Sometimes, it is difficult.

“To be” verbs for discussing possibility or giving suggestions

When describing possibilities you’ll typically use the following structure:

Subject + modal verb (could, should, would, might etc) + be + complement Note: “be” stays in this base form directly after a modal verb.

Examples:

• He could be a superstar.
• She might be late.
• You should be nice to your parents.
• When giving suggestions, it is a little more complicated.

subject + modal verb (suggest)+ object + be + complement subject + modal verb (advise)+ object + to be + complement

Examples:

• I suggest you be nice to your mother.
• I advise you to be cooperative.

Imperatives: giving commands using “to be” verbs

When giving imperatives or commands, “to be” verbs stay in the base form of be and typically stay at the beginning of the sentence. In these sentences, the subject is implied so it doesn’t have to be written, that is why you only see the “to be” verb followed by the complement.

Structure: “to be” verb + complement or

Do not + “to be” verb + complement

Examples:

• Be a good student.
• Be nice to your teacher.
• Don’t be mean to him.

When to use “to be” verbs as infinitives.

Infinitives are to plus a verb in order to make a noun. So you’ll see them in the subject or object of a sentence. They are used to describe the abstract, so they most often are used with a modal verb of desire.

• I want to be a singer.
• He likes to be the best at what he does.
• They hope to be friends.

When making these negative, you’ll put do not or does not before the modal verb.

Examples:

• Note: following don’t or doesn’t modal verbs such as like, want, need, or hope will stay in base form.
• I don’t want to be difficult.
• He does not like to be mean.
• She doesn’t want to be a musician.

The passive voice using “to be” verbs

In sentences using the passive voice, the person or thing which is performing the action is either in the object of the sentence or even omitted. When written, the noun performing the action is normally found following a preposition such as “by”

The most common passive voice construction is this:

Subject + “to be” verb + verb or Subject + “to be” verb + verb + by + object

In these constructions, the “to be” verb will follow the standard rules for subject verb agreement. The examples below have sentences using “to be” verbs in different tenses.

Examples:

• Present: The car is powered by electricity.
• Present progressive: The work is being done.
• Past: The building was demolished by the crew.
• Future: The meal will be prepared by the chef.
• Present perfect: The coffee had been made.