Verb to be(to be, to be) is, without exaggeration, the main element of English grammar, the key to it. In this article, we will analyze its meaning and use.

Why do you need the verb to be

The verb to be – the main hinge in the mechanism of English grammar, it often plays a role in combinations such as "A is B", such combinations are found everywhere in any language. For example:

I am human.

My neighbor is a cook.

A dog is a pet.

As you can see, in Russian we do not insert the verb “to be” or “to be” (in the present tense), but it is meant:

I there is Human.

My neighbour is an the cook.

Dog is an pets.

However, in Russian we insert "to be" in the past and future tense:

House was cozy.

Holiday will be chic.

By the way, in the old days there was a form of the verb "to be" and for the present tense, remember the famous "Az am king "-" I am the king. "

IN English language linking verb to be used in the present, past and future tenses.

To be - the only verb that changes by person

The verb to be changes completely atypical for English way... In English, verbs do not change by person (except for the third person singular, which is formed the same for all verbs by adding -s at the end). The verb to be is the only one that has special forms in different persons and numbers. Fortunately, these forms are few.

All times to be

Let's analyze the verb to be in the present, past and future tenses.

Present verb to be

In the present tense, to be is used in 3 forms: am, is, are.

Note: some forms in colloquial speech are abbreviated, for example: I am - I'm. Abbreviations are given in brackets.

I am a doctor - I am a doctor,

We are colleagues - we are colleagues,

You are my friend - you are my friend,

He (She) is the president - he (she) is the president,

It is your job is your job,

They are our children - they are our children.

Most of the table is occupied by "are" - not difficult to remember.

Past tense verb to be

The past tense is even easier to remember, there are only 2 forms: was- singular, were- plural (you - is considered from the point of view of grammar to be plural, even when it is in the sense of the singular). Abbreviations are not used in the past tense.

I was your teacher - I was your teacher,

We were soldiers - we were soldiers

You were my classmate - you were my classmate,

She was your nanny - she was your nanny,

They were friends - they were friends.

The verb to be in the future tense

In the future tense still easier - auxiliary+ one and only form "be". "Will" itself is not translated in any way, it serves as an indicator of the future tense.

I will be patient - I'll be patient.

You will be happy - You will be happy.

Mark will be busy tomorrow - Mark will be busy tomorrow.

Negative and interrogative forms with to be

Denials with to be are built according to a simple template, in the present and past tense after to be you need to put a negative particle not, in future not put between will and be (will not be).

In negative form, you can also abbreviate, for example: I’m not ..., we’re not.

Note: negatives with are, you, can be abbreviated in two ways:

1. You are not = you’re not; we are not = we’re not,
2. You are not = you aren’t, we are not = we aren’t.

Both methods are equivalent in meaning, both are used in oral speech(abbreviations are generally not typical for written abbreviations), but the first is usually used, because it is easier to pronounce and it is clearer for the interlocutor, in it not sounds clearer.

To form an interrogative form, rearrange to b e at the beginning of the phrase (don't forget the interrogative tone and question mark).

How to forever learn the conjugation of the verb to be

The verb to be is the main hinge in the machinery of English grammar. This is the most common word in the English language (apart from "the", which can hardly be called a separate word). Progressing in grammar without knowing to be is like learning math without knowing the multiplication table. It is necessary not only to learn it, but to bring the use to automatism, so that you do not think about which form you need to choose am or are, was or were.

Here's how you can do it:

1. Conjugate all three tables in your mind to memorize them well.

Start with the present tense - the most difficult (although what is difficult there, there are only 3 forms). Conjugate out loud in order: I am, you are, he is, we are, you are, they are. In order not to get confused in faces, point your finger at yourself, at an imaginary interlocutor (you can put the cat next to you), at "them", at "us" and so on. Do the same with the past tense and the future. With the future, I'm sure you can handle it on the first try - there is only one shape.

2. Make up short phrases with the verb to be and practice with them.

Make up different phrases for all faces, numbers, times. Make cards with these phrases and learn them not only in order, but also randomly - mixing times, faces, numbers. Your task is to see a phrase in Russian and immediately remember it in English. "Right there" - it means instantly, without hesitation. To do this, run the cards with a stopwatch, trying to set a speed record. I told you more about this method in this video:

3. Learn to be in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms.

When you remember the affirmative form well, go through the negative and interrogative. You shouldn't have any problems constructing these forms.

4. Exercise regularly until "teeth bounce".

Even if you perfectly memorize the forms of the verb to be, they need to be repeated, otherwise they will be forgotten. Repeat the exercise with cards from time to time, checking to see if the words have been forgotten, conjugate to be in your mind when you have a minute. Repetition is the key to strong memorization. If you devote only 10-15 minutes a day for repetition, then after a week you will remember very well. Continuing to study (and in general using English), you will very often use this "hinge", so you will not be able to forget it.

I am ready. - I'm ready.
Forbidden fruit is sweet. - The Forbidden fruit is sweet.
We will be I Spain next week. - We
will be in Spain next week.

To use it in speech, you need to know its conjugation, and we can conjugate it in three tenses: in the present / PRESENT in the past / PAST and in the future / FUTURE.

Because the verb
changes their forms when conjugated, they must be REMEMBERED! And do not put it on the back burner!

Conjugation to be in

Conjugation to be in

Conjugation to be in

But the verb “to be” can also be used in NEGATIVE AND QUESTIONAL sentences.

Verb conjugation in NEGATIVES.

WHAT IS “NOT”? To construct a negation with the verb “to be”, a negative particle NOT is required (in Russian it is NOT).

For the convenience of using in speech and spelling negatives with “to be”, it is necessary to know the abbreviated forms of negations.

Abbreviated forms with the "not" particle:

ARE NOT = AREN'T
IS NOT = ISN'T
WAS NOT = WASN'T
WILL NOT BE = WON'T BE

Interrogative sentences

The most basic rule of construction questions in English is based on changing the order of words in a sentence. The verb to be is a little easier to question than the others because it doesn't need the help of the auxiliary do or does. To form interrogative sentence with the verb to be, you should just put it to the beginning of the sentence, i.e. swap places with a noun. For example:

(+) He is a brave soldier. “He is a brave soldier.

(?) Is he a brave soldier? "Is he a brave soldier?"

(+) They are at their friend’s house. - They are at their friends' house.
(?) Are they at their friend’s house? - Are they at their friends' house?

(+) It is hot outside. - It's hot outside.
(?) Is it hot outside? - It's hot outside?

(+) It's eight o'clock now. “It's eight o'clock now.

(?) Is it eight o'clock now? - Is it eight o'clock now?

(+) Lindsay is the tallest girl in the class. - Lindsay is the tallest girl in the class.
(?) Is Lindsay the tallest girl in the class? "Is Lindsay the tallest girl in the class?"

In addition to general issues, there is another category in English - special question. These are questions that begin with special interrogative words what (what?), Who (who?), When (when?), Where (where? Where?), Why (why?), Whom (whom?), Which ( which), whose (whose?), how many / how much, and require a more specific answer.

Word order in special question the same as in general, except for the question word at the beginning of the sentence:

Who will go the cinema today?
Who is going to the cinema today?

Here are some more examples:

(?) What is your job? -I'm a nurse. - What is your job? / What do you do? -I am a nurse.
(?) Who is on duty today? -Alex is. - Who is on duty today? -Alex.
(?) Where is Pascal from? -She is from Canada. - Where does Pascal come from? - She's from Canada.
(?) Which is your favorite color? -It's light blue. - What's your favorite color? -Light blue.
(?) Why is she here? -Because, she is the part of the family. - Why is she here? -Because she's a member of the family.
(?) When is Jane's birthday? -It's in May. - When is Jane's birthday? -In May.
(?) How much are these jeans? -They’re 99 pounds. -How much do these jeans cost? -They are 99 pounds.

Pivot table of the conjugation of the verb "to be". Past, present, future tense. Interrogative, declarative, negative sentences.

Note

The presented table can be downloaded in word format. There are also other tables of English grammar presented there. Simple tense conjugation of a verb, English pronouns, English interrogative words, prepositions, numerals, etc.

The verb to be ("to be, to be. To be") is one of the basic verbs in English and you probably remember its forms in the present tense:.

It is in the present tense that the verb to be presents the main difficulty for us, because in Russian we miss it and do not use it. In Russian, unlike English, the verb "to be" is practically not used in the present tense. Hardly anyone in everyday speech can say "I am hungry" or "I am at work." Therefore, starting to learn English, we often cannot understand for ourselves why it is necessary to put these nasty words am, is, are everywhere. You can read more about the nuances of using the verb to be in the present tense in the article.

But studying the past tense is easier, because in Russian we always use a verb in the past tense: was, was, was, were, respectively, and in English in the past tense we think the same way.

In English, the past tense of the verb to be has only two forms: was and were. It's easy to remember: are becomes were, and am and is become was.

But we will still consider each form in more detail:

Was is the singular form. It is used when they talk about I, he, she, it:

I was tired yesterday. - Yesterday I was tired.
He was at home yesterday. - He was at home yesterday.
She was my best friend. - She was my best friend.
It was a nice present. - It was a good gift.

Were is a plural form that is used when talking about:

We were at work. - We were at work.
You were on holiday. - You were on vacation.
They were happy to see you. - They were glad to see you.

In statements, the verb to be comes after the subject ( character). It is usually followed by a noun or an adjective and both.

The verb to be is a special verb that does not need any auxiliary verbs to form negations and questions.

In negation, the particle not is added to it:

I / he / she / it WAS NOT / WASN "T
We / you / they WERE NOT / WEREN "T

I wasn’t tired yesterday. - Yesterday I was not tired.
He wasn’t at home yesterday. - He was not at home yesterday.
She wasn’t my best friend. - She was not my best friend.
It wasn’t an expensive present. - It was not an expensive gift.

We weren’t at work. - We weren't at work.
You weren’t on holiday. - You weren't on vacation.
They weren’t happy to see you. “They weren't happy to see you.

In the question, the verb comes first, followed by the subject:

WAS I / he / she / it ...?
WERE we / you / they ...?

Was he at work? - Was he at work?
Was she glad to see you? - Was she glad to see you?
Was the weather fine? - The weather was good?
Were you busy yesterday? - Were you busy yesterday?
Were they ready when you came? - Were they ready when you came?

It is important to remember the pronunciation of the forms:

Was
were
wasn't [ˈwəzənt]
weren’t

As for the use of the verb to be in the past tense, it is used in the same cases as in the present, only am, is, are are replaced by was and were:

I was glad to see you yesterday. - Yesterday I was glad to see you. (Connects noun and adjective)
He was my collegue. - He was my colleague. (When we say who or what the subject of discussion was)
She was a teacher. - She was a teacher. (When we talk about the professions of people)
They were Americans / from America. - They were American / American (when talking about nationalities)
I was 25 when we met. - She was 25 when we met (when we talk about age)
The shoes were on the floor. - The shoes were on the floor. (when talking about the location of something)
There were trees in the park. - There were many trees in the park (as part of a turnover)

In addition, the forms was and were combined with the -ing-ending verb form a tense.

Was / were or did?

A common mistake that I would like to mention is using the auxiliary verb did instead of was and were to form a negation or question in the past tense. Often, students are completely confused about when to use did, and when to be, they speak intuitively and make mistakes. First of all, let's remember that there are no forms like did you be or did not be.

But how to understand when, when was and were? I will explain to you simple language as I always explain to my students when they make this mistake. To determine the verb, we look at whether the sentence is about an action or about a description.

Did is an action. To use did, the sentence must have another verb, another active action. When did appears, the verb is in the first form. In sentences with was and were there is no active action, but there is an adjective, a noun, there may be an indication of a place or other descriptive information, but not an action.

For example:

I was at work. - I was at work. (sentence descriptive)
Did you be at work? I did not be at work. - wrong question and wrong negation, since there is no active action in the sentence, there is only the verb “to be”.
Were you at work? is the right question. The verb to be forms a question on its own.

I went to work. - I went to work. (action sentence) Were you go to work? I weren’t go to work. - wrong question and wrong denial. There is an active action in the sentence, so you need to use the auxiliary verb did.
Did you go to work? - correct question, the auxiliary verb did is used.

We will definitely return to the discussion of the verb to be on the pages of our blog, because there are many more nuances to consider.

In the meantime, keep learning English with us, leave comments, ask questions.

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Today we continue to study the tenses of the English language. I hope you have carefully studied the article and are already confidently making sentences with the verb to be in the present tense. Now let's learn to talk about the past tense using the forms of the verb to be - was and were.

The verb to be in the past tense, as a rule, does not cause difficulties for students, because it has a direct translation "was" (was), "were" (were). In the grammar tables below, you will get acquainted with the formation of the affirmative, interrogative and negative forms of the verb to be in the past tense. And to consolidate, as always, a little independent work.

Compare the affirmative and interrogative forms. In Russian, they differ only in intonation. But in English, the verb to be in the past tense requires a change in the order of words when forming a question. Violation of this rule will

THE PAST INDEFINITE TENSE
(THE PAST SIMPLE)
TO BE

Affirmative form
Past Simple (verb to be)
+

Interrogative form
Past Simple (verb to be)
(yes / no questions - general questions)?

Interrogative form
Past Simple (verb to be)
(WH -? - special questions)?

negative form
Past Simple (verb to be)
—

So, today we have reviewed another table - past tense verb to be... Such grammar tables really useful and easy to use. And you will return to them more than once to refresh your knowledge. If you have any questions on the topic or need additional explanations, write in the comments. I will answer all your questions. Expect new articles in the section.

Exercises for Past Simple (verb to be):

Tenses in English.

> Simple past tense of the verb "to be" (Affirmative sentences).

Simple past tense of the verb "to be" in English (Affirmative sentences). Past Simple Tense of "to be" (Affirmative sentences)

Here you can take a lesson on the topic: Simple past tense of the verb "to be" in English (Affirmative sentences). Past Simple Tense of "to be" (Affirmative sentences).

In this tutorial we will look at simple past time in English, and in particular the verb to bein the past affirmative sentences. The verb to be in the past tense has great importance, since so many sentences in English contain this particular verb. There are also many sentences in which it would seem that the verb is not needed at all, but in English, in these cases, to be is always used.

The past tense verb to be has two forms: was and were. The choice of one form or another depends on the number of the subject:

was - used with nouns in the singular, the Russian alternative was.
were - used with nouns in plural, the Russian alternative was.

Consider the past tense conjugation of the verb to be using the example of personal pronouns:

I was - I was
you were - you were / you were
he was - he was
she was - she was
it was - he / she was / was (inanimate)
we were - we were
they were - they were

Reminder: the pronoun you always agrees with verbs plural.

In sentences, the verb was / were can act as both a main and an auxiliary verb. So, in affirmative sentences was / were - the main verb, and in negative and interrogative sentences - an auxiliary verb. Let's consider in more detail affirmative sentences.

1. The verb to be in the past tense differs little in use from its form in the present. However, there is one difference: was / were cannot be shortened. Let's see the difference with examples:

I "m late. - I'm late.
I was late. - I'm late.

You "re at school. - You're at school.
You were at school. - Were you in school.

He's a teenager - He's a teenager.
He was a teenager. - He was a teenager (teenager).

As you can see from the examples, the word order in the affirmative sentence of the simple past tense is the same as in the present: Subject - Predicate - Object.

2. One of the frequently used and fixed phrases with was / were in English is: I was born. Consider in full sentences:

I was born on March 11, 1982. - I was born on March 11, 1982.
I was born in Russia. - I was born in Russia.
They were born on the same day. - They were born on the same day.
You were born in summer. - You were born in the summer.
He was born in New Hampshire. - He was born in New Hampshire.

This phrase is used in the passive voice, and therefore the word order is atypical.

3. All of the above examples show the use of was / were verbs with different personal pronouns. Let's also look at the proposals with other types of subjects:

Lena and her husband were happy to see us. - Lena and her husband were happy to see us.
Sam was there when we came. - Sam was there when we arrived.
Me and my sister were very close friends. - My sister and I were very good friends.
Reading books was my favorite hobby. - Reading books was my favorite hobby.
Baking cakes was something I really liked. - Baking cakes was something I really liked.

4. The simple past tense has its own characteristics. First of all, this time expresses completed action in the past, with time indication. For example:

I was at my parents "house yesterday. - I was at my parents' house yesterday.
He was on holiday two months ago. “He was on vacation two months ago.
The Browns were in their country house last month. - The Browns were at their dacha last month.

As you can see from the examples, the Past Simple time has its own signal phrases, which indicate that the action is completed and occurred in the past. Here is a list of the most popular phrases:

yesterday, last year, last month, last Monday, a day ago, two days ago, a week ago (a week ago), in 1989 (in 1989), etc. These "temporary" phrases can appear both at the beginning of a sentence and at the end. Let's look at a few examples:

Andrew was in army in 1995. - Andrew was in the army in 1995.
Last summer the weather was very hot. - Last summer was very hot.
Somebody was in the house last night. “Someone was in the house last night.
Yesterday the windows were shut. “The windows were closed yesterday.
I was in the village four days ago. “I was in the village four days ago.

5. In some English sentences, it is customary to use the verb were also with subjects singular. Usually this phenomenon occurs in the subjunctive mood. For example:

If I were you, I would go to that party. - If I were in your place, I would go to this party.
If he were rich, he would buy a hotel. - If he was rich, he would buy a hotel.

6. The verbs was and were are often found in proverbs or wise sayings:

If wishes were horses, beggars might ride. “If desires were horses, beggars could ride.
If ifs and ans were pots and pans ... - If "if" and "if only" were pots and pans ... / If only, if only.
If things were to be done twice all would be wise. - If it was possible to do everything a second time, everyone would be wise.

If you young fellows were wise, the devil couldn "t do anything to you, but since you aren" t wise, you need us who are old. (Martin Luther) - If you young people were wise, the devil could not harm you, but since you are not wise, you need us - the older generation. (Martin Luther)

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. (Friedrich Nietzsche) - And those who were seen dancing were considered crazy by those who could not hear the music. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Thus, we got to know English time Past Simple and with the use of the verb to be in past affirmative sentences. In the next lesson, we will take a closer look at the negative and interrogative forms of the verbs was and were, and some other features of their use. In the meantime, read the rules and suggestions, try to come up with your own examples for each rule.