be

verb

/bi/, strong form /biː/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they am/are	/æm/, /ɑː(r)/ /æm/, /ɑːr/
am not/are not/aren't
he / she / it is	/ɪz/ /ɪz/
is not
isn't
past simple was	/wəz/, strong form /wɒz/ /wəz/, strong form /wʌz/
was not
wasn't	/ˈwɒznt/ /ˈwʌznt/
past simple were	/wə(r)/, strong form /wɜː(r)/ /wər/, strong form /wɜːr/
were not
weren't
past participle been	/biːn/, /bɪn/ /bɪn/
-ing form being	/ˈbiːɪŋ/ /ˈbiːɪŋ/

Idioms

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linking verb used when you are naming people or things, describing them or giving more information about them
- + noun Today is Monday.
- ‘Who is that?’ ‘It's my brother.’
- She's a great beauty.
- Susan is a doctor.
- He wants to be (= become) a pilot when he grows up.
- + adj. It's beautiful!
- Life is unfair.
- He is ten years old.
- ‘How are you?’ ‘I'm very well, thanks.’
- Be quick!
- be (that)… The fact is (that) we don’t have enough money.
- be doing something The problem is getting it all done in the time available.
- be to do something The problem is to get it all done in the time available.
linking verb it is/was used when you are describing a situation or saying what you think about it
- + adj. It was really hot in the sauna.
- It's strange how she never comes to see us any more.
- He thinks it's clever to make fun of people.
- + noun It would be a shame if you lost it.
- It's going to be a great match.
linking verb there is/are + noun to exist; to be present
- Is there a God?
- Once upon a time there was a princess…
- I tried phoning but there was no answer.
- There's a bank down the road.
- Was there a pool at the hotel?
[intransitive] + adv./prep. to be located; to be in a place
- The town is three miles away.
- If you're looking for your file, it's on the table.
- Mary's upstairs.
[intransitive] be from… used to say where somebody was born or where their home is
- She's from Italy.
[intransitive] + adv./prep. to happen at a time or in a place
- The party is on Friday evening.
- The meetings are always in the main conference room.
[intransitive] + adv./prep. to remain in a place
- She has been in her room for hours.
- They're here till Christmas.
[intransitive] + adv./prep. to attend an event; to be present in a place
- I'll be at the party.
- He'll be here soon (= will arrive soon).
linking verb it is/was used to talk about time
- + noun It's two thirty.
- + adj. It was late at night when we finally arrived.
linking verb + noun to cost
- ‘How much is that dress?’ ‘Eighty dollars.’
linking verb + noun to be equal to
- Three and three is six.
- How much is a thousand pounds in euros?
- Let x be the sum of a and b.
- London is not England (= do not think that all of England is like London).
[intransitive] (only used in the perfect tenses) + adv./prep. to visit or call
- I've never been to Spain.
- He had been abroad many times.
- (British English) Has the postman been yet?
In North American English, come is used instead: Has the mailman come yet?
linking verb + noun used to say what something is made of
- Is your jacket real leather?
linking verb [intransitive] used to say who something belongs to or who it is intended for
- be mine, yours, etc. The money's not yours, it's John's.
- be for me, you, etc. This package is for you.
linking verb be everything, nothing, etc. (to somebody) used to say how important something is to somebody
- Money isn't everything (= it is not the only important thing).
- A thousand dollars is nothing to somebody as rich as he is.

Word OriginOld English bēon, an irregular and defective verb, whose full conjugation derives from several originally distinct verbs. The forms am and is are from an Indo-European root shared by Latin sum and est. The forms was and were are from an Indo-European root meaning ‘remain’. The forms be and been are from an Indo-European root shared by Latin fui ‘I was’, fio ‘I become’, and Greek phuein ‘bring forth, cause to grow’. The origin of are is uncertain.

Idioms Most idioms containing be are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example be the death of somebody is at death.

as/that was

as somebody/something used to be called
- Jill Davis that was (= before her marriage)
- the Soviet Union, as was

the be-all and end-all (of something)

(informal) the most important part; all that matters
- Her career is the be-all and end-all of her existence.

(he, she, etc. has) been and done something

(British English, informal) used to show that you are surprised and annoyed by something that somebody has done
- Someone's been and parked in front of the entrance!
see also go and do something

if it wasn’t/weren’t for…

used to say that somebody/something stopped somebody/something from happening
- If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive today.

something is what it is

(informal) used to show that you accept that something negative cannot be changed
- I never imagined that our company share prices would fall so low, but it is what it is.

leave/let somebody/something be

to leave somebody/something alone without bothering them/it
- Leave her be, she obviously doesn't want to talk about it.
- Let the poor dog be (= don't annoy it).

-to-be

(in compounds) future
- his bride-to-be
- mothers-to-be (= pregnant women)

be

auxiliary verb

/bi/, strong form /biː/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they am/are	/æm/, /ɑː(r)/ /æm/, /ɑːr/
am not/are not/aren't
he / she / it is	/ɪz/ /ɪz/
is not
isn't
past simple was	/wəz/, strong form /wɒz/ /wəz/, strong form /wʌz/
was not
wasn't	/ˈwɒznt/ /ˈwʌznt/
past simple were	/wə(r)/, strong form /wɜː(r)/ /wər/, strong form /wɜːr/
were not
weren't
-ing form being	/ˈbiːɪŋ/ /ˈbiːɪŋ/

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used with a present participle to form progressive tenses
- I am studying Chinese.
- I'll be seeing him soon.
- What have you been doing this week?
- I'm always being criticized.
used to make question tags (= short questions added to the end of statements)
- You're not hungry, are you?
- Ben's coming, isn't he?
- The old theatre was pulled down, wasn't it?
used with a past participle to form the passive
- He was killed in the war.
- Where were they made?
- The house was still being built.
- You will be told what to do.
used to avoid repeating the full form of a verb in the passive or a progressive tense
- Karen wasn't beaten in any of her games, but all the others were.
- ‘Are you coming with us?’ ‘No, I'm not.’
be to do something used to say what must or should be done
- I am to call them once I reach the airport.
- You are to report this to the police.
- What is to be done about this problem?
Topics Permission and obligationb2
be to do something used to say what is arranged to happen
- They are to be married in June.
be to do something used to say what happened later
- He was to regret that decision for the rest of his life (= he did regret it).
be not, never, etc. to be done used to say what could not or did not happen
- Anna was nowhere to be found (= we could not find her anywhere).
- He was never to see his wife again (= although he did not know it would be so at the time, he did not see her again).
- She wanted to write a successful novel, but it was not to be (= it turned out never to happen).
if somebody/it were to do something… | were somebody/it to do something… (formal) used to express a condition
- If we were to offer you more money, would you stay?
- Were we to offer you more money, would you stay?