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What is the Verb To Be?

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The verb 'to be' in text messages.
The verb to be in text messages. By Gflex on Canva.

The verb “to be”

👍🏼Usage Note

I am going for a walk.

They were good students.

She are a good student.

We was good students.

Hamlet was right: to be or not to be—that is the question, of this post at least. What is the verb to be? How does it change in tense?

Forms of ‘to be’

The verb to be is deceptively simple, so try not to overthink it. To be describes existing: ‘I am’, ‘you are’, and ‘she is’ are all forms of ‘to be’. For a formal definition, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the verb ‘be’ as “to take place: to occur”. Anything that exists and experiences the state of being that the verb ‘to be’ describes.

Is ‘to be’ a regular or irregular verb?

Since being is taken literally as in existing, its use in English varies to refer to the past, present, or future. Verb tenses refer to the points in time at which things or people can be (read: exist). “To be” is a form of the base verb “am”. This makes it highly irregular in English since its other tenses (was, is, are, were) look nothing like “I am”.

Most English verbs undergo some change in form to show tense, and other information like count, subject, and so on. A verb’s tense is the point in time at which the action or event occurs. We can think of verb tenses as slices of time, and the three main tenses are past, present, and future.

Tense Example
Past My brother saw a movie yesterday.
Present I play football every weekend.
Future I will write that email tomorrow.

Likewise, to be has various verb conjugations based on the number of subjects and the tense:

To be verb forms. Made by Gflex on Canva.
Forms of being. By Gflex on Canva.

Are, am, is, and was usage in sentences

Sentence Tense & Subject
I am going for a walk. Present tense, first person singular
Sarah is a good student. Present tense, third person singular
You are a good student. Present tense, second person singular/plural
They are good students. Present tense, third person plural
We are good students. Present tense, first person plural

Past tense of ‘to be’ (was/were) examples

Sentence Tense & Subject
I was out for a walk. Past tense, first person singular
Sarah was a good student. Past tense, third person singular
We were good students. Past tense, first person plural
They were good students. Past tense, third person plural
You were a good student. Past tense, second person singular/plural
💡Study Tip

The “verb to be” forms (is, are, was, were): link each to a personal image. For example, “I AM strong,” visualize yourself lifting weights; “They WERE happy,” picture a joyful group.

Future tenses (I/she/they will)

Sentence Tense & Subject
I will be a good student. Future tense, first person singular
Sarah will be a good student. Future tense, third person singular
We will be good students. Future tense, first person plural
They will be good students. Future tense, third person plural
You will be a good student. Future tense, second person singular

Origin of the verb “to be”

From etymology online on to be (v.):

Form Origin / Etymology
Old English beon, beom, bion — “be, exist, come to be, become, happen”
Proto-Germanic *biju- — “I am, I will be”
PIE root *bheue- — “to be, exist, grow”

Learn more about verbs

Worksheet: The verb ‘to be’

Question 1 of 10



FAQs

What does the verb ‘to be’ mean?
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The verb ‘to be’ describes existing, taking place, or occurring. It signifies a state of being, as in ‘I am’, ‘you are’, or ‘she is’. It covers anything that exists.

Is ‘to be’ a regular verb?
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No, ‘to be’ is highly irregular in English. Its base form is related to “am,” but its other tenses like ‘was’, ‘is’, ‘are’, and ‘were’ look nothing like the base form, unlike most verbs.

What forms does the verb ‘to be’ have?
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The verb ‘to be’ changes form based on subject and tense. Common forms mentioned are ‘am’, ‘is’, ‘are’ for the present tense and ‘was’, ‘were’ for the past tense, among others.

How is ‘to be’ used in present tense?
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Present tense forms like ‘am’, ‘is’, and ‘are’ are used based on the subject. Examples from the post are ‘I am going…’, ‘Sarah is a good student’, and ‘They are good students’.

What are common mistakes with ‘to be’?
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Common mistakes involve mismatching the form with the subject or tense. The post highlights ‘She are’ (incorrect, needs ‘is’ for singular subject) and ‘We was’ (incorrect, needs ‘were’ for plural.

Yash, D. "What is the Verb To Be?." Grammarflex, Jun 25, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/what-is-the-verb-to-be/.

Sources

  1. P.C. Wren and Martin’s English Grammar and Composition

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