Be Verbs
[A1] Be Verbs in English: Be, Am, Is, Are, Was, Were, Been. Learn how to form and use the verb 'to be' across tenses, with examples and explanations.
Verb “be”
The verb “be” shows a person or thing’s identity, state, condition, or location. It is irregular, so its forms change a lot across time and subject. “Be” can act as a main verb, or as a helper verb to build other tenses and passive voice. Learning “be” means learning which form matches the subject and the time.
El verbo “be” muestra la identidad, estado, condición o ubicación de una persona o cosa. Es irregular, por lo que sus formas cambian mucho a lo largo del tiempo y según el sujeto. “Be” puede actuar como verbo principal o como verbo auxiliar para formar otros tiempos y la voz pasiva. Aprender “be” significa aprender qué forma concuerda con el sujeto y el tiempo.
Present forms
In the present tense, “be” changes based on the subject. Use “am” only with “I.” Use “is” with singular third person and singular nouns. Use “are” with “you” and all plural subjects.
En el presente, “be” cambia según el sujeto. Usa “am” solo con “I.” Usa “is” con la tercera persona del singular y con sustantivos singulares. Usa “are” con “you” y con todos los sujetos plurales.
Subject | 🇪🇸 Español Sujeto | Form | 🇪🇸 Español Forma | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 I | 👤 I |  am | 🧩 am |  I am ready. | 🗣️ Estoy listo. |
| you | 👤 you | are | 🧩 are | You are late. | 🗣️ Llegas tarde. |
| he | 👤 he | is | 🧩 is | He is here. | 🗣️ Él está aquí. |
| she | 👤 she | is | 🧩 is | She is tired. | 🗣️ Ella está cansada. |
| it | 👤 it | is | 🧩 is | It is cold. | 🗣️ Hace frío. |
| we | 👤 we | are | 🧩 are | We are friends. | 🗣️ Somos amigos. |
| they | 👤 they | are | 🧩 are | They are outside. | 🗣️ Ellos están afuera. |
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Past forms
In the past tense, “be” has two forms: “was” and “were.” Use “was” with “I,” “he,” “she,” “it,” and singular nouns. Use “were” with “you,” “we,” “they,” and plural nouns.
En el tiempo pasado, “be” tiene dos formas: “was” y “were.” Usa “was” con “I,” “he,” “she,” “it,” y sustantivos singulares. Usa “were” con “you,” “we,” “they,” y sustantivos plurales.
Subject | 🇪🇸 Español Sujeto | Form | 🇪🇸 Español Forma | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 👤 I | was | 🧩 was | I was busy. | 🗣️ I was busy. |
| you | 👤 you | were | 🧩 were | You were right. | 🗣️ You were right. |
| he | 👤 he | was | 🧩 was | He was sick. | 🗣️ Él estaba enfermo. |
| she | 👤 she | was | 🧩 was | She was happy. | 🗣️ Ella estaba feliz. |
| it | 👤 it | was | 🧩 was | It was quiet. | 🗣️ Estaba tranquilo. |
| we | 👤 we | were | 🧩 were | We were at home. | 🗣️ Estábamos en casa. |
| they | 👤 they | were | 🧩 were | They were early. | 🗣️ Llegaban temprano. |
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Base form “be”
Use the base form “be” after modals like “can,” “must,” and “should,” and after “to” in infinitives. In commands, “be” gives instructions about a state or behavior. This form does not change for the subject.
Usa la forma base “be” después de verbos modales como “can,” “must,” y “should,” y después de “to” en infinitivos. En mandatos, “be” da instrucciones sobre un estado o comportamiento. Esta forma no cambia según el sujeto.
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Participle “been”
“Been” is the past participle form of “be.” Use “been” after “have” or “has” to make perfect tenses, and after “had” for past perfect. “Been” also appears in perfect passive forms when combined with “been” plus a past participle of another verb.
“Been” es la forma de participio pasado de “be.” Usa “been” después de “have” o “has” para formar tiempos perfectos, y después de “had” para el pasado perfecto. “Been” también aparece en formas pasivas perfectas cuando se combina con “been” más un participio pasado de otro verbo.
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Main verb use
As a main verb, “be” links the subject to information that describes or identifies it. It commonly connects to a noun phrase for identity, an adjective for state, or a prepositional phrase for location. This use answers questions like “Who is it,” “What is it like,” or “Where is it.”
Como verbo principal, “be” une el sujeto a la información que lo describe o lo identifica. Conecta comúnmente con una frase nominal para la identidad, con un adjetivo para el estado, o con una frase preposicional para la ubicación. Este uso responde a preguntas como “¿Quién es?”, “¿Cómo es?” o “¿Dónde está?”
Auxiliary use
As a helper verb, “be” forms two important structures. With an -ing verb, it builds the continuous tenses to show an action in progress. With a past participle, it builds the passive voice to focus on the receiver of an action.
Como verbo auxiliar, “be” forma dos estructuras importantes. Con un verbo en -ing, forma los tiempos continuos para mostrar una acción en progreso. Con un participio pasado, forma la voz pasiva para enfocar al receptor de una acción.
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Negatives
To make negative statements with “be,” place “not” after the form of “be.” In speaking and informal writing, contractions are common, such as “isn’t,” “aren’t,” “wasn’t,” and “weren’t.” “Amn’t” is not used in standard English; “I’m not” is normal, and “aren’t I” appears in some question tags.
Para hacer declaraciones negativas con “be,” coloca “not” después de la forma de “be.” En el habla y la escritura informal, las contracciones son comunes, como “isn’t,” “aren’t,” “wasn’t,” y “weren’t.” “Amn’t” no se usa en inglés estándar; “I’m not” es normal, y “aren’t I” aparece en algunas etiquetas de pregunta.
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Questions
To ask a question with “be,” invert the order: put the form of “be” before the subject. This works for yes-no questions and for wh- questions. The rest of the sentence usually stays the same, so the key change is the position of “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,” or “were.”
Para hacer una pregunta con “be,” invierte el orden: coloca la forma de “be” antes del sujeto. Esto funciona para preguntas de sí/no y para preguntas con palabras interrogativas (qué, quién, dónde, por qué, etc.). El resto de la oración suele permanecer igual, por lo que el cambio clave es la posición de “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,” o “were.”
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Agreement notes
Subject–verb agreement is the main challenge with “be.” Singular subjects take “is” in the present and usually “was” in the past; plural subjects take “are” and “were.” “You” always takes “are” and “were,” whether it means one person or more. Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on whether the group is treated as one unit or as individuals.
La concordancia entre sujeto y verbo es el principal desafío con “be.” Los sujetos singulares llevan “is” en el presente y normalmente “was” en el pasado; los sujetos plurales llevan “are” y “were.” “You” siempre lleva “are” y “were,” ya sea que signifique una persona o varias. Los sustantivos colectivos pueden ser singulares o plurales, dependiendo de si el grupo se trata como una sola unidad o como individuos.
