English Verb To Be: Conjugation and Usage

The verb to be in English is both an auxiliary verb and an irregular verb.

In the present tense, it is conjugated: I am, you are, he is, she is, it is, we are, you are, they are.

Verb Be Conjugation Table

The Verb To Be in the Present Tense

When conjugated in the present tense, the verb to be takes different forms from its infinitive depending on the subject. It’s important to memorize these forms as they are used a lot in English.

For negative forms, we mainly use the contracted form. Remember to include the apostrophe before the t in contractions like aren’t and isn’t. All forms end with n’t.

Here is the conjugation of to be in the present tense:

Personal Pronoun	To Be (Affirmative)	To Be (Negative)
I	am / ‘m	am not
You	are / ‘re	are not / aren’t
He, she, it	is / ‘s	is not / isn’t
We	are / ‘re	are not / aren’t
You	are / ‘re	are not / aren’t
They	are / ‘re	are not / aren’t

Uses of Be in Present Simple

1. It allows you to describe yourself, talk about yourself, or introduce yourself.
2. It is used to state general truths.
3. It helps you talk about your preferences—what you like, appreciate, or don’t like.

Examples

Use	Example
Presentation	I am a teacher.
Presentation	She is 14 years old.
General Truth	Older people are wise.
General Truth	The weather is always cold in winter.
Preferences	I am fond of music.
Preferences	She is crazy about skiing.

The Verb To Be in the Simple Past

The simple past of to be is used to describe actions that are completely finished and have no connection with the present.

Example	Audio
When I was younger, I was silly.

Personal Pronoun	To Be (Affirmative)	To Be (Negative)
I	was	was not / wasn’t
You	were	were not / weren’t
He, she, it	was	was not / wasn’t
We, They	were	were not / weren’t

Be careful, the simple past is not the only tense used to talk about the past in English.

We often use a time adverb or a date to introduce the simple past: yesterday, last week, June 15, 1999, etc.

Example	Audio
Last week, I was at a big party in LA.

The Past Participle of the Verb To Be in English

The past participle of to be is: been.

It is mainly used in perfect tenses like the present perfect or past perfect and to form continuous compound tenses, such as the present perfect continuous and past perfect continuous.

The Verb To Be in the Present Perfect and Past Perfect

The present perfect is often confused with the simple past.

To summarize, you use the present perfect to talk about actions that have a link with the present.

Examples	Audio
I have never been camping.
He has been a real support to me.

To form the present perfect with to be, use have + been. For the past perfect, use the auxiliary have in the past: had + been.

Conjugation

Personal Pronoun	Present Perfect	Past Perfect
I	have been / ‘ve been	had been / ‘d been
You	have been / ‘ve been	had been / ‘d been
He, she, it	has been / ‘s been	had been / ‘d been
We, They	have been / ‘ve been	had been / ‘d been

The verb To Be in the Future Tense

Will be or be going to are used to express future actions with to be.

Examples	Audio
We will be right back.
I will be expecting you forever.
It’s going to be a wonderful night.
It’s going to be wet tomorrow.

Notes

• Will + be is often used for promises or decisions made at the moment of speaking.
• Be going to + be is used for plans or predictions based on evidence.

The Interrogative Form of To Be in English

To ask a question using the verb to be in English, you need to reverse the subject and the verb. This applies to all tenses.

Tense	Affirmative form	Interrogative form	Audio
Present simple	You are ok.	Are you ok?
Past simple	He was born in England.	Where was he born?
Future (will)	You will marry me.	Will you marry me?
Future (be going to)	We are going to call him tomorrow.	When are we going to call him?
Present perfect	You have been here for a long time.	How long have you been here?

Tips for Forming Questions

• Always reverse the subject and the verb to be to form a question.
• Practice forming questions in different tenses to become more comfortable.

The Different Uses of the Verb To Be

The verb to be has two main uses in English:

1. As a main verb. 
2. As an auxiliary verb to construct continuous forms or the passive voice.

1. Be as a Main Verb

When used as a main verb, to be is a state verb. It describes a condition or state of being, rather than an action. It is used to define or describe someone or something, give their age, profession, location, and other characteristics.

The forms change with the subject and tense:

• Present Tense: am, is, are
• Past Tense: was, were
• Future Tense: will be

Examples	Audio
My mother is 45 years old.
My father is an English teacher.
My wife is wonderful.
This man is in the middle of the road.

2. Be as an Auxiliary Verb

Be is considered an auxiliary verb when used to construct a verb form; it helps form other verb tenses and structures. 

As an auxiliary, be works with a main verb to create continuous tenses and the passive voice, rather than standing alone.

The auxiliary verb be can be used to form:

• The present continuous
• The past continuous
• The present perfect continuous
• The past perfect continuous
• The passive voice

Tense	Structure	Example	Audio
Present continuous	to be (am/is/are) + verb + -ing	He is walking fast not to be late.
Past continuous	to be (was/were) + verb + -ing	Were you reading this book?
Present perfect continuous	have/has + been + verb + -ing	I have been sleeping deeply recently.
Past perfect continuous	had + been + verb + -ing	I had been running for hours, when I collapsed.
Passive voice	be (in the appropriate tense) + past participle of the main verb	Each employee is paid 1,000€.
Passive voice	be (in the appropriate tense) + past participle of the main verb	The children were told a story by their teacher.

Summary

• To Be as a Main Verb: Used to define, identify, or describe something or someone. It describes states and characteristics.
• Be as an Auxiliary Verb: Used to form continuous tenses, perfect continuous tenses, and the passive voice.

Idiomatic Expressions

Several expressions in English use to be, such as to be hungry, to be afraid, and to be late.

Here is an essential list of these expressions with explanations to help you in conversations:

English expression	Explanation	Example	Audio
be hungry	The need or desire for food.	He’s hungry, he’s starving !
be thirsty	The need or desire for a drink.	These kids are always thirsty.
be cold	Feeling a low temperature.	Are you cold ? It’s cold today !
be warm	Feeling a high temperature.	It’s warmer today than yesterday.
be hot	Feeling a really high temperature.	I was too hot and tired to do anything.
be right	Used to confirm that someone or something is correct.	That can’t be right.
be right	Used to confirm that someone or something is correct.	You may be right, but I can’t believe it.
be right	Used to confirm that someone or something is correct.	I’ll be right back.
be wrong	Used to indicate that someone or something is incorrect or mistaken.	You look sad. What’s wrong?
be wrong	Used to indicate that someone or something is incorrect or mistaken.	He was wrong about her. She’s a nice person.
be afraid	Used to express fear or anxiety.	There’s no need to be afraid.
be afraid	Used to express fear or anxiety.	He’s afraid of spiders.
be afraid	Used to express fear or anxiety.	She’s afraid of heights.
be ashamed	Used to express a feeling of guilt or embarrassment.	You should be ashamed of yourself!
be ashamed	Used to express a feeling of guilt or embarrassment.	It’s nothing to be ashamed of.
be sleepy	Used to describe the need or desire for sleep.	I’m so sleepy, I should go to bed right now.
be patient	Used to describe waiting without becoming annoyed.	He is endlessly patient.
be patient	Used to describe waiting without becoming annoyed.	I won’t be patient forever.
be used to	Used to describe someone accustomed to a situation or activity.	I’m a teacher, I’m used to children.
be used to	Used to describe someone accustomed to a situation or activity.	They are used to carrying heavy things.
be in a hurry	Used to describe someone needing to move or act quickly.	Get off my way, I’m in a hurry!
be late	Used to describe someone who is not on time.	Hurry up or you’ll be late!
be late	Used to describe someone who is not on time.	She’s late for school !