'to be' conjugation - English verbs conjugated in all tenses with the bab.la verb conjugator. For example: “There’s a good film on TV tonight.” “There are some people in the shop.” For more information about how to use there is / there are, see this page. Auxiliary verbs are verbs that are used together with the main verb of the sentence to express the action or state. Try to find … be verb conjugation to all tenses, modes and persons. The be verbs … * This lesson was inspired by Mini Lessons for Revision by Susan Geye, 1997, Absey & Co. Spring, TX. Were they not aware that strong action verbs still existed? I am = I'm) OR a contraction of the verb and not(e.g. "Conjugating the Verb 'To Be'." The past continuous is usually used to refer to events happening at the same time that something important was occurring. I am still working on my term project. Seconds before engulfing my face with rubberized fecal matter, my colleague down the hall recommended I teach students how to eliminate to be verbs. Instruct students to circle, highlight, or underline all be verbs in their rough draft. Level: beginner. Before giving this worksheet to your students, review and discuss when we use the 'be' verb in English (see chart at top of worksheet). Consider extending the task by having students change the sentences … Normally we use the verb to be to show the status or characteristics of something or someone (as a stative verb). I felt good…until I read their next set of essays. The construction “be + to + verb” is a formal construction that is used either a) to give an instruction or command, or b) to tell what is going to happen in the future. are not = aren't) * Notice that the only possible contraction for I am not is I'm not. Example: Tony is afraid of notebook checks. Before conjugating the verb in its present and past tenses, it's important to understand what this verb does. Resist the urge to consult a thesaurus for the most exotic verb … Passive Voice Lesson Plan: Teach Students or Yourself When and How to Use Active and Passive Voice When Writing. There's no easy trick to learning which form of to be to use here. She decided to stay at home.. Others verbs take the pattern: Verb + noun + to + infinitive She wanted the children to learn the piano. 2. To be is a stative verb, meaning, it refers to the way things are—their appearance, state of being, and even their smell. Even when used figuratively rather than literally, some verbs can still be considered action verbs. It _____ an elephant. Copyright © 2020 Bright Hub Education. The most common nonaction verb is to be. I told him to ring the police.. Two very common verbs … Nordquist, Richard. We use the verb to be to talk about the age: He is 41 … An example would be: "Sue is talking." In fact, it's the verb at the very core of one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays, "Hamlet," in which the title character speaks the famous line: "To be, or not to be?" High School English Lesson Plans - Grades 9-12, This post is part of the series: Better Grammar Equals Better Writing, motivate students to write better, try a paragraph challenge. The present continuous, also known as the present progressive, is generally used to express something happening at the moment. In this lesson about the verb … The verb “to be” is a very important verb in the English language. It is used in many situations. He heads to bed, disappointed, despite having finished his to do list. Teaching Students How to Combine Sentences and Improve their Writing, Lesson Plan: Eliminate Weak Verb-Adverb Combinations, Lesson Plan: Active Voice vs. In this sentence, is, the "to be" verb, takes a direct object, talking. In English, it can be used to say different things according to the context. Nordquist, Richard. Determining when a state-of-being verb is the culprit creates a problem—and finding a better, more powerful verb to replace it— is what makes us writers. In this famous quotation, Prince Hamlet is questioning his very existence, and in effect, wondering if it's better to be dead than alive. Conjugating the Verb 'To Be'. John and I _____ brothers. There are two ways of forming contractions of To Be in negative sentences. https://www.thoughtco.com/present-and-past-forms-verb-be-1690359 (accessed March 5, 2021). In this case, the "to be" verb, am, links the subject "I" with the description of the subject, (a person who is) "sometimes late for work.". ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/present-and-past-forms-verb-be-1690359. To be or be can be a linking verb that joins the subject of a sentence to a word or phrase that tells something about the subject, as in these examples: To be can also be an auxiliary or helping verb that works with the main verb, as in these examples: To be can also be a transitive verb, which is a verb that takes either a direct or indirect object. Many verbs in English are followed by the infinitive with to.Some of these verbs take the pattern: Verb + to + infinitive We planned to take a holiday. Nordquist, Richard. ESL students are studying for their upcoming exam. Conversely, nonaction verbs can indicate a state of being, sense, emotion, desire, possession, or opinion. To be is a stative verb, meaning, it refers to the way things are—their appearance, state of being, and even their smell. If working in pairs or groups, instruct students to look for be verbs in their partner’s writing. Oftentimes, “to be” verbs are weak and slightly wordy. Understanding the Types of Verbs in English Grammar, Simple Past Tense Definition and Examples, The Present Tense of Verbs in English Grammar, Third-Person Singular Verb Endings in English, A Step-By-Step Conjugation of Simple Past-Tense Verbs in Spanish, Visual Explanations of Each English Tense, 100 Key Terms Used in the Study of Grammar, Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia, M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester, B.A., English, State University of New York. In this example, the singer didn’t really break anything, but the verb is still an action verb. Note: When we use "to be" verbs as helping verb, the main verb … Try the techniques below to invigorate your prose. Verbs like am, is, are, was, were do not show action; they are verbs of being. The verb to be is probably the most important verb in English. a) is b) are c) am 3. Fortunately, all the plural forms use are. It says what I am, what you are or what something is. Tim _____ a Pilot. For example: Anna is eating a sandwich. We use the infinitive form be with modal verbs:. BE is the most important verb in the English language. Discuss or review elements of strong writing. Phrasal verbs with 'be' - list of commonly-used phrasal verbs formed with 'be', for learners of English, with their meaning and an example of use. We also use the verb “to be” to talk about what exists. An example sentence might be: "That course is being taken by a number of students." offered by stronger, more-action packed verbs. "Eating" = the main verb… Peter had been to the post office presumably only once before they arrived, and the person being addressed in the second sentence had "been in town" for a specific time period before "he called.". Jackie and I are going to the movie theater. The inefficient time manager heads to bed, unfulfilled, having checked everything off on his unprioritized to do list. 1. The verb to be is one of the shortest and most important—yet oddest—verbs in the English language. Notice how the "to be" verb changes depending on the person—first, second, or third—as well as the number, singular or plural. English verb TO BE conjugated in all forms, with full audio, irregular highlighting, negative forms and contractions. [Note how I replaced the state-of-being verbs in this paragraph.] Grammar builds the foundation for good writing: the better the grammar, the better the writing. It is used as a main verb and as an auxiliary verb, and it is also used in the passive voice.BE is the only English verb that has three conjugations in the simple present (am | are | is).All other verbs … Mini Lessons for Revision by Susan Geye, 1997, Absey & Co. Spring, TX. Show students that writing that relies on, Instruct students to circle, highlight, or underline all, If working in pairs or groups, instruct students to look for, Instruct students to implement the aforementioned strategies and eliminate as many, For a really challenging assignment, have students write a one page narrative without using any. As helping verb in one of the continuous tenses (with "ing"). When used with the present … Replace the to be verb with a stronger, more specific verb… The verb to be is the fundamental verb used to indicate the existence of an entity (person, object, abstraction) or to relate an entity to its qualities or characteristics. The verb be is a link verb.It is used: with a noun phrase:; My mother is a teacher. Past simple indicates that something happened at a specific time in the past, as in: "Her house was built in 1987.". bab.la arrow_drop_down bab.la - Online dictionaries, vocabulary, conjugation, grammar Toggle navigation To Be as a Linking, Transitive, or Auxiliary Verb. The alligator, angry at being disturbed, lurched forward and swallowed the boy’s cat. Action verbs simply indicate an action or occurrence. The verb “to be” is irregular. For example, “I am hungry.” For most … Use a stronger, more specific verb. In this basic grammar lesson, I will teach you how to use this verb correctly. I had taught my students to eliminate weak verb/adverb combinations and to use strong action verbs instead; furthermore, I taught them how to trade weak verbs for strong verbs. Leave the be verb if changing it alters the meaning,diminishes the passage, or makes the structure unworkable. Conjugate also light, dodge, … Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks. To be or be can be a linking verb that joins the subject of a sentence to a … An example of the past continuous in a sentence would be: "The ideas were being discussed while the decisions were being made." The “to be” is a verb used to describe something or someone. However, the most common use of the to be verb is to talk about names, age, feeling, nationalities, and professions, especially when talking in the present tense.The most tricky thing about this verb, however, is that It’s also one of the most irregular verbs in the English language. In linguistics, it is sometimes … They don’t give any meaning but they are used to describe a subject. Unsatisfied, the grouchy gator swam circles around the screaming toddler, showing all the while the kitten’s severed head. However, most of us rely too heavily on to be verbs or use them unconsciously. Search the definition and the translation in context for “ be ”, with examples of use extracted from real-life communication. 2. Sum is the present indicative tense of the verb esse, meaning "to be." All forms use were for the plural tenses. As with any verb, the present tense of the verb to be can take several forms: the indicative or simple present, the present perfect, and the present continuous. They tell us about a state of being or existence. Thinking it a better alternative than plunging my brain and flushing it down the toilet in the custodian’s closet, I tried it. To be is a very common verb, however, it's important to learn how to use it properly. http://www.engvid.com "To be" is the most common verb in English. As with many other living and dead languages, esse is one of the oldest verb forms in Latin, one of the most frequently … At its core, that's what to be connotes: a state of being or existence. 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Review the verb ‘to be’ in English with this fun ESL activity.This game includes the present tense forms of the verb ‘to be’ including ‘am, are, and is‘.This activity is a ‘Telepathy Game’. Verb … Students copy strategies for eliminating to be verbs and a list of be verbs: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been. The verb to be is used to say something about a person, thing, or state, to show a permanent or temporary quality, state, job, etc. They might be tired.. The verb to be shows existence or, as the case may be, nonexistence. Considering that we use it so often, it is really too … Students will see two example sentences with the verb … In this case, the past continuous is used twice to highlight how one action was taking place at the same time as another: Ideas "were being" discussed at the same time decisions "were being" made. The verb “To be” is said to be the most protean of the English language, constantly changing form, sometimes without much of a discernible pattern. It's an irregular verb, and indeed, the only one in English that completely changes form in each tense. 4. The past perfect indicates actions or events that have been completed or have happened in the past. Active vs. 5. It doesn’t have the same form or follow the same grammar rules as regular verbs. Show students that writing that relies on be verbs is weak writing. Main verb + auxiliary verb = complete idea The verb "to be" can be used as an auxiliary verb to express ongoing (continuing) actions. The tables below show how to conjugate to be in these forms: Note that even in the indicative—or simple—present tense, the verb changes in the first, second, and third-person uses. a) is b) are c) am After reading 2300 papers that averaged 34 to be verbs each, I wanted to suck out my brain with the plunger I found lying in the custodial closet. All Rights Reserved. When a writer consistently uses unnecessary “to be” verbs, the writing can sound dull and lifeless. Note that the past singular requires was for the first and third person, while were is used with a second-person pronoun. To be can also be used in other ways in the present and past tense, such as: A copular "to be" verb is essentially a transitive verb, except that the object is a phrase or clause rather than a single word. Flat, wordy writing may cause the reader to lose interest. (2021, February 16). My cousin is watching TV in his room. One is with a contraction of the subject and the verb (e.g. 1. verbs lack the vigor and power . Bill Clinton was the president of the … Eliminate the entire sentence if its omission does not change the meaning of the passage. In the following three sentences, the “be + to + verb… ThoughtCo. a) is b) are c) am 2. As a writer learns to substitute stronger, more expressive verbs for “to be” verbs… It will be dark soon. Example: The inefficient time manager _i_s unfulfilled. "Conjugating the Verb 'To Be'." All of the other forms in this tense use have. Example: Billy is alarmed by the proximity of the shark. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/present-and-past-forms-verb-be-1690359. 1. The present perfect, formed by combining has or have with a past participle—usually a verb ending in -d, -ed, or -n—indicates actions or events that have been completed or have happened in the present. It can be used in simple statements such as: However, it can also be used to express complex thoughts. Learning When to Use Passive and Active Voice Will Improve the Quality of y, Using Student-Created Rubrics in your Classroom for Better Student Success. To be. The “to be” verbs: is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been are state of being verbs, which means that they unduly claim a degree of permanence. As a result, our writing suffers. We use “there is” (singular) and “there are” (plural) for this. Just remember, the first person, singular requires am, the second person requires are, and third-person singular requires is. 3. To correctly use the verb in the present perfect, just remember that only the third-person singular uses has. This existential feature of the be word prompted Shakespeare’s Hamlet to ask: “To be or not to be, that is the question.” The verb to be …