By the end of this page, you should ...
- Understand the different uses of the verb "to be" in English
- Be able to use the verb to be correctly in all forms
The verb to be is the most common verb in English but it’s also a very tricky verb. It can be used in two different ways;
- Main verb
- Auxiliary verb (helping to create other tenses)
Verb To Be: Main Verb
The verb to be describes identity, characteristics, states and existence. It is a stative verb so you don’t normally use it in continuous forms but we sometimes use it when describing temporary behaviour (She is being annoying today. He was being rude yesterday).
Verb To Be: There Is/There Are
Another common use of to be as a main verb is to show existence: there is/ there are or there was / there were.
There is a dog on the street
There are 24 children
There was a dog on the street yesterday
There were 24 children
Verb To Be: Auxiliary Verb
As an auxiliary verb, the verb to be helps build continuous tenses and the passive voice.
The passive voice is created with the verb to be in any tense, followed by the past participle.
The car is cleaned every day.
The report was written yesterday.
The work will be finished tomorrow.
The verb to be is everywhere in English so it’s important to be able to use this verb correctly.
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