How to use the verb “to be” in English

The English verb to be is one of the most important verbs for learners to know. It has many different uses, including as a helping verb, and its conjugation is very irregular. There's a lot to learn!

Here’s a complete guide to using the verb to be in English.

In this post:

• Meaning of the verb to be
• Conjugations of the verb to be
• Simple present
• Simple past
• Negation of simple present and simple past
• Simple future
• Conditional
• Present perfect
• Past perfect
• Future perfect
• Conditional perfect
• Negation of simple future, conditional, and perfect tenses
• Auxiliary verb to be
• Questions with to be

What is the purpose of the verb to be?

In English, to be is used for a lot of different meanings, such as:

• Describing:
  Lily is serious.
  My shirt is blue.
• Locating:
  Eddy is at home.
  Your phone is on the table.
• Identifying:
  Junior is Eddy’s son.
  My name is Bea.
• and many more!

How to conjugate the verb to be

To be is challenging because it’s an irregular verb, which means you will need to memorize the different conjugations. Luckily, there are some tips and tricks to make it easier to learn!

Simple present

The simple present forms of to be are the first forms you need to know. As you can see in the table below, the verb’s forms are the same for the subjects you, we, and they. However, for the subjects I and he/she/it, the conjugation changes:

When using a present tense form of the verb to be, it is common in writing and speaking to combine the pronoun and the verb to form a contraction:

Simple past

The verb to be in the simple past looks different from the present tense, but it actually follows a similar pattern! In the simple past, to be takes the same form for the subjects you, we, and they. Meanwhile, the form changes for the subjects I and he/she/it:

Negation of simple present and simple past

To make a negative sentence with the verb to be in the simple present or simple past, add the word not after the form of to be:

Like affirmative sentences, negative sentences often use a contraction. In the simple past, there’s only one contracted negative form:

In the simple present, however, most sentences have two possible negative contractions. The only exception are sentences with a first person singular subject (I), which only have one negative contraction (I’m not):

Simple future

The simple future in English is formed with the modal verb will followed by the infinitive to be. Since modals don’t ever change based on the subject of the sentence, the simple future of to be is the same for all subjects: will be!

Conditional

To form conditional verbs in English, use would + the bare form of the verb. So the conditional of to be is always would be! 🎉

Present perfect

The present perfect is created by using a present tense form of to have + the past participle been. Since been is the past participle for all conjugations, you just need to make sure that to have agrees with the subject. For the third person singular (he/she/it), you’ll get has been, and all other subjects will get have been.

Past perfect

The English past perfect is formed from the past tense of to have (which is always had) + the past participle been. That means you need just one form for all subjects: had been!

Future perfect

The future perfect is another tense where every form of to be is the same. 🙌 This tense is made of the modal verb will + the bare form have + the past participle been: will have been.

Conditional perfect

The conditional perfect in English also uses the same form for all subjects: the modal verb would + the bare form have + past participle been: would have been.

Negation of simple future, conditional, and perfect tenses

For the tenses that are made from multiple words, put not after the first word to make the sentence negative.

Auxiliary verb to be

All of the previous examples showed to be as a main verb of the sentence, where the word be has a specific meaning (like “to cost” or “to be located”). 

However, to be can also be used as an auxiliary verb that helps form other tenses. In these cases, to be appears together with another verb. You’ll see this happen for progressive tenses and the passive voice. Here are some examples:

Sentences in one of the progressive tenses (the present progressive, the past progressive, and the future progressive) contain a form of be and a present participle:

Sentences in the passive voice use a form of be together with a past participle:

Questions with to be

If you know the conjugations of to be, you can also use them to ask questions! Here are the most common types of questions and resources to study them more:

➡️ Yes/No questions

➡️ “Wh” questions

➡️ Tag questions

Be confident using to be!

Learning the meanings and forms of to be will help you understand and use English more effectively. Practice them a little at a time, and you'll soon *be* a be-verb rockstar!