English, baby!

The Verb " to be "

Date: Sep 27 2007

Author: marksimz

Lesson

The Verb “To Be”

The Forms of “To Be”

The Greek sea god, Proteus, was (like the sea) capable of changing form in an instant. In order to get any decent information out of him, you had to grab him and hold on tight while he went through his various forms — lion, wild boar, snake, tree, running stream — it wasn't easy. The verb “To be” is said to be the most protean of the English language, constantly changing form, sometimes without much of a discernible pattern. Considering that we use it so often, it is really too bad that the verb “To be” has to be the most irregular, slippery verb in the language.

Present Tense
I am	We are
You are	You are
He/She/It is	They are

Past Tense
I was	We were
You were	You were
He/She/It was	They were

Perfect Form (past participle)
I have been, etc.

Progressive Form (present participle)

I am being, etc.

We must choose carefully among these various forms when selecting the proper verb to go with our subject. Singular subjects require singular verbs; plural subjects require plural verbs. That's usually an easy matter. We wouldn't write “The troops was moving to the border.” But some sentences require closer attention. Do we write “The majority of students is (or are) voting against the referendum"? Review carefully the material in our section on Subject-Verb Agreement, and notice how often the choices we make require a familiarity with these forms of the “To be” verb.

Simple Questions

We create simple yes/no questions by inverting the order of subject and the “To be” verb.

· Is your brother taller than you?

· Am I bothering you?

· Were they embarrassed by the comedian?

The same inversion takes place when “To be” is combined with verbs in the progressive:

· Am I working with you today?

· Is it snowing in the mountains?

· Were your children driving home this weekend?

Comments

kochin

Trinidad and Tobago

Does Tagalog have a verb "to be" ?

demet caha

Turkey

well it seams a very kind invitation! ı will start dreaming about Phılipinnes. how wonderfull it would be me in a beautiful country! with different friends. I would like to know more about your religion, and history and ı would like to paint some interesting objects that will also interest my artist friends in Turkey!

marksimz

Philippines

marksimz

Philippines

hi demet caha! how are you.. i dunno.. maybe going to turkey is something that's way far from my capacity as of the moment. maybe you can visit my country someday.

tapha

Senegal

Thank you once again for the lesson about verb “TO BE”

tapha

Senegal

Yes I will;
You have to tell me just when I come near your door

demet caha

Turkey

To be or not to be thats the question!

demet caha

Turkey

Thanks for your reply! Marksimz! Distances are not so much important! when you really desire to do something. I am a new mamber from Turkey! you might come to my country one day?