To be is the verb for identity, existence, and description. Use it to say who someone is, what something is, where something is, or what state it has. In English, be connects the subject to information about the subject: She is a doctor, The bag is on the chair, I am tired. It also works as a main verb in many sentences and as an auxiliary in forms like am learning and was built. For the base forms and pronunciation of this verb, see To Be.

The present simple forms are am, are, and is. Use I am, you are, we are, and they are. Use he is, she is, and it is. The verb changes only in the present simple, so the subject decides the form. Say I am ready, You are late, She is here. In short answers, the form stays the same: Yes, I am, Yes, he is, Yes, they are.

Present simple forms of be

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation	Example
I	to be	am	I am ready for the meeting.
You	to be	are	You are my best clue in this puzzle.
He	to be	is	He is the captain of the team.
She	to be	is	She is excited about the concert tonight.
It	to be	is	It is a quiet morning outside.
We	to be	are	We are almost ready to leave.
They	to be	are	They are in the kitchen making snacks.

Scramble

Use subject + be + adjective to describe a feeling, condition, or temporary state. A person can be tired, happy, busy, cold, or sick. A place can be quiet, crowded, or dark. A situation can be easy, difficult, or safe. Say I am hungry, The room is warm, They are nervous. This pattern describes how something is now, not an action.

Use subject + be + noun to identify a person or thing. The noun names a role, job, nationality, relationship, or category. Say She is a teacher, My brother is a nurse, This is my phone, They are students. The noun can also show what something belongs to a group of things: Paris is a city, A rose is a flower. When the noun is singular, it usually needs a or an.

The past simple forms of to be are was and were. Use was with I, he, she, and it. Use were with you, we, and they. Say I was at home, She was tired, They were late. Use these forms for past identity, past location, and past states. They describe a situation that existed before now and is finished.

Past simple forms of be

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation	Example
I	to be	was	Yesterday I was tired after the trip.
You	to be	were	You were very helpful at the party.
He	to be	was	He was late for the train.
She	to be	was	She was calm during the interview.
It	to be	was	It was dark before sunrise.
We	to be	were	We were at the museum all afternoon.
They	to be	were	They were surprised by the news.

Scramble

To make a question with be, move the verb before the subject. The pattern is am/is/are/was/were + subject + complement. Say Are you ready?, Is she your sister?, Were they at work?, Was it expensive? The answer usually repeats the verb: Yes, I am, No, she isn’t, Yes, they were. With I, the question form is Am I... ?

Question formation with be

Example	Pattern
Are you ready to start now	Put be before the subject to make a yes or no question.
Am I in the right line	Use am I when the subject is I in a question.
Is she your teacher	Keep the main verb after the subject when asking with be.
Were they at home last night	Use was and were for past questions about states or identity.

Make negatives with be + not. The common contractions are am not, is not or isn’t, are not or aren’t, was not or wasn’t, and were not or weren’t. Say I am not ready, He isn’t home, We aren’t late, She wasn’t happy, They weren’t there. In everyday speech, the contraction is the normal choice. In formal writing, the full form appears more often.

Negative forms of be

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation	Example
I	to be	am not	I am not late for the class.
You	to be	are not	You are not on the guest list.
He	to be	is not	He is not interested in the joke.
She	to be	is not	She is not at her desk right now.
It	to be	is not	It is not a problem today.
We	to be	are not	We are not ready to leave yet.
They	to be	are not	They are not in the room.
I	to be	was not	I was not there yesterday.
You	to be	were not	You were not very loud in the library.
He	to be	was not	He was not happy with the result.
She	to be	was not	She was not in a hurry this morning.
It	to be	was not	It was not as cold last week.
We	to be	were not	We were not surprised by the answer.
They	to be	were not	They were not at the game.

Scramble

Use subject + will be for future states, identities, and descriptions. The pattern is will be + adjective, will be + noun, or will be + place phrase. Say I will be busy tomorrow, She will be a doctor one day, The meeting will be on Friday. This form describes what something will be in the future, not an action. For other future verb forms, compare the basic uses of To Be with future time expressions.

Future forms with will be

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation	Example
I	to be	will be	I will be at the office tomorrow.
You	to be	will be	You will be a great guide one day.
He	to be	will be	He will be busy next week.
She	to be	will be	She will be the winner tomorrow night.
It	to be	will be	It will be warmer in the afternoon.
We	to be	will be	We will be in the park after lunch.
They	to be	will be	They will be ready for the trip soon.

Scramble

Be works as an auxiliary in progressive tenses. The pattern is am/is/are + -ing in the present progressive and was/were + -ing in the past progressive. Say I am studying, She is reading, They were sleeping. The main verb carries the meaning, and be shows the time and progressive form. The -ing form is called the present participle, and it follows the auxiliary be.

Be as the continuous auxiliary

Usage	Explanation	Example
Present progressive	Use am is are plus ing to show an action in progress now.	I am reading a funny comic right now.
Past progressive	Use was were plus ing to show an action in progress in the past.	She was cooking when the phone rang.
Future progressive	Use will be plus ing to show an action that will be in progress later.	We will be waiting at the station at six.

Be also works as an auxiliary in the passive voice. The pattern is am/is/are + past participle in the present passive and was/were + past participle in the past passive. Say The room is cleaned every day, The letter was sent yesterday, The windows are opened in the morning. The subject receives the action, so the doer is less important or unknown. The past participle is the form that follows be in passive sentences.

Passive voice with be

Example	Pattern
The window is cleaned every morning.	Use be plus a past participle to focus on the result instead of the doer.
The cake was baked by my aunt.	Add by plus the agent when you want to say who did the action.
The tickets were checked at the door.	Match be with the tense of the sentence.

Been is the past participle of be. Use it after have in perfect forms and after be in the passive perfect. Use being as the present participle. Say has been, have been, had been, and is being. In They have been busy, been shows a state connected to the present. In The house is being painted, being shows an action in progress inside the passive voice. These forms belong to the same verb family as the basic forms am, is, are, was, and were.

Past participle and gerund forms of be

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation	Example
Past participle	to be	been	I have been very busy this week.
Gerund	to be	being	Being polite makes a strong first impression.

Scramble

Use have/has been to talk about a state or situation that started in the past and continues now or has a present result. The pattern is have/has been + adjective, have/has been + noun, or have/has been + place phrase. Say I have been tired all day, She has been a teacher for ten years, We have been here since Monday. With a time expression like for or since, the sentence shows duration. The form links past time to the present without changing the basic meaning of identity or state.

Perfect uses of have been

Example	Pattern
I have been tired since early morning.	Use have been for a state that started in the past and continues now.
She has been a teacher for five years.	Use has been with he she and it for the same continuing meaning.
They had been friends before the move.	Use had been to show a state that lasted before another past event.