"What do I know about the verb 'to be'?".
As you can see above, the verb 'to be' has so many forms ( It is very irregular!) and sometimes it is hard to know the difference between them ( for example, been & being) or (was, were).
So let's take a look at the difference between these forms because the verb 'to be' is the most important & commonest verb in any language. esp, English.
1.Will be:
'Will be' is the future of 'to be'.
example:
-I am a student. => I will be a student.
# There was another future form 'Shall be' but there's a little difference between them and because despite that difference, you can always say 'he will be', 'it will be', 'shall' is not commonly used now.
# 'will be' is shortened to ' 'll be' EX: You'll be, they'll be, etc.
2. Was/ were:
Was/ were are the past of 'to be'. The verb 'to be' is the ONLY verb that has two past forms in English.
3. Am:
'am' is used with the pronoun 'I'.
EX: I am a student.
- In spoken language, it is usually shortened to (I'm)
- In questions, 'am' always comes before 'I'.
EX: Am I invited to the party?
- 'am' can not be shortened with 'not' like (is not = isn't) & ( are not = aren't) ( you can not say amn't )
4. Is:
- used with he, she, & it.
-The negative is (is not = isn't).
- He isn't a football player.
5. Are:
- used with : we, you, & they.
- The negative is ( are not = aren't).
6.Being:
- by adding '-ing' to a verb, we can call it:
1. The present participle form.
2. The gerund. Or
it expresses the continuous tense (present continuous, past continuous, etc)
Examples :-
- Being a doctor means taking care of people's health.
- Being a teacher, David always inspired his students.
7.Been:
- 'been' is the past participle of the verb 'to be'. We use it after 'have/has'.
-' I've been/ she has been' is the present perfect of 'to be'.
Examples:
Lisa has been to Italy. (she's not in Italy now) When I talked to her on the phone afew weeks ago, she said: "I'm in Italy".
Review the present perfect.
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