In brief
The verb to be is essential from the very first hours of learning English. Its conjugation is completely irregular: the forms change according to tense, person and number. Mastering to be at all tenses lays the foundation for almost every grammatical structure in the language.
- Infinitive: to be, an irregular verb and the most frequent in English.
- Present: three distinct forms: am (I), is (he/she/it), are (you/we/they).
- Past simple: two forms: was (singular) and were (plural + you).
- Past participle: been, used in the present perfect (have been) and past perfect (had been).
- Future: will be or be going to depending on the context.
- Dual role: main verb (state, identity, location) and auxiliary (continuous forms, passive voice).
To be in the simple present: am, is, are
The simple present of to be has three different forms depending on the subject, which sets it apart from every other English verb. There is no phonetic rule to remember them by — they must be memorised as a block.| Subject | Affirmative | Contraction | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | I am | I’m | I am not / I’m not | Am I? |
| You | You are | You’re | You are not / You aren’t | Are you? |
| He / She / It | He is / She is / It is | He’s / She’s / It’s | He is not / He isn’t | Is he? / Is she? |
| We | We are | We’re | We are not / We aren’t | Are we? |
| They | They are | They’re | They are not / They aren’t | Are they? |
When to use the simple present of to be
To be in the present covers three main uses. It describes a state: I am tired. It expresses identity or profession: She is a doctor. It indicates location: We are in Paris.Contextualised examples:
I am 25 years old. (not I have 25 years)
It is cold today.
Are you ready?
They aren’t here yet.
To be as an auxiliary in the present continuous
In English, the continuous form must be built with to be conjugated in the present, followed by a verb ending in -ing. This is one of the auxiliary functions of to be. For a deeper look at the difference between the two present tenses, the guide on the present simple and present continuous details usage cases with examples. Structure: subject + am/is/are + verb-ing| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Affirmative | I am working right now. |
| Negative | She isn’t sleeping. |
| Question | Are they coming tonight? |
Be in the past simple: was and were
The past simple is one of the most frequent past tenses. The conjugation of to be in the past simple rests on a unique English distinction: was for the singular, were for the plural and for all forms of you.| Subject | Affirmative | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I was | I was not / I wasn’t | Was I? |
| You | You were | You were not / You weren’t | Were you? |
| He / She / It | He was / She was / It was | He wasn’t / She wasn’t | Was he? / Was she? |
| We | We were | We were not / We weren’t | Were we? |
| They | They were | They were not / They weren’t | Were they? |
Examples:
I was at home yesterday.
We were very tired after the trip.
Was she at the meeting?
They weren’t ready.
Common mistake: using was with you (“you was here” ✗). The rule is absolute: you always takes were, whether it refers to one person or several. You were here. ✓
To be in the past continuous
The past continuous uses was/were + verb-ing to describe an action that was in progress in the past, often interrupted by another event.| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Affirmative | She was reading when I arrived. |
| Negative | They weren’t working at midnight. |
| Question | Was he sleeping? |
Been: to be in the present perfect
The past participle of to be is been. It is used in compound tenses. In the present perfect, the structure is have/has + been. This tense links the past to the present: it describes an experience, a recent state or an action whose effects are still felt.| Subject | Affirmative | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / You / We / They | I have been / I’ve been | I have not been / I haven’t been | Have I been? |
| He / She / It | She has been / She’s been | She has not been / She hasn’t been | Has she been? |
Examples:
I have been to Japan twice.
She has been sick since Monday.
Have you been waiting long?
They haven’t been to this restaurant before.
Have been to expresses the experience of having visited somewhere (and having returned). Have gone to means the person is still there. This distinction, subtle but consistent, is a frequent source of confusion.
To be in the past perfect: had been
The past perfect places a state or event before another moment in the past. The structure with to be is invariable: had been for all subjects.| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Affirmative | They had been friends for ten years. |
| Negative | He hadn’t been informed. |
| Question | Had she been there before? |
The future of to be: will be and going to be
The future of to be has two main forms, each with a specific use. Will be expresses a prediction, a promise or a future fact unconnected to the present. Be going to is used for a plan already decided or a future that is predictable from present evidence. The guide on the future in English details the differences between will, going to and the present continuous with future meaning.Will be: simple future
| Subject | Affirmative | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I will be / I’ll be | I will not be / I won’t be | Will I be? |
| You | You will be / You’ll be | You won’t be | Will you be? |
| He / She / It | He will be / He’ll be | He won’t be | Will he be? |
| We / They | We will be / We’ll be | We won’t be | Will we be? |
Be going to: planned future
The structure am/is/are + going to + be expresses an intention or a probability based on concrete present evidence.| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Affirmative | I am going to be late. |
| Negative | She isn’t going to be there. |
| Question | Are they going to be ready? |
Will be vs going to be:
I think it will be cold tomorrow. → general prediction without concrete evidence.
Look at those clouds, it’s going to be cold. → predictable from visible signs.
To be in the passive voice
The passive voice in English is always built with to be conjugated at the required tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb. This is the other major auxiliary role of to be.| Tense | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present | am/is/are + PP | The letter is written. |
| Past simple | was/were + PP | The house was built in 1920. |
| Present perfect | have/has been + PP | The report has been sent. |
| Future | will be + PP | The results will be announced tomorrow. |
Summary table: be conjugation at all tenses
This table summarises the conjugation of to be in full, for I and he/she, the two persons showing the most variation.| Tense | I (1st pers. sg.) | He/She (3rd pers. sg.) | They (3rd pers. pl.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple present | am / am not | is / isn’t | are / aren’t |
| Present continuous | am + -ing | is + -ing | are + -ing |
| Past simple | was / wasn’t | was / wasn’t | were / weren’t |
| Past continuous | was + -ing | was + -ing | were + -ing |
| Present perfect | have been | has been | have been |
| Past perfect | had been | had been | had been |
| Simple future | will be / won’t be | will be / won’t be | will be / won’t be |
| Planned future | am going to be | is going to be | are going to be |
| Conditional | would be | would be | would be |
| Past subjunctive | were (hypothesis) | were | were |
Special uses of the verb to be
Were in hypothetical subjunctive
In unreal present hypotheses, English uses were for all persons, including I and he/she/it. This is the subjunctive form.If I were you, I wouldn’t do that.
If she were here, she would know what to do.
The use of was instead of were in these constructions is accepted in informal English, but were remains preferable in careful writing and formal contexts.
To be in common idiomatic expressions
To be appears in many fixed expressions that learners encounter quickly. Here are the most frequent ones.| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to be on time | to be punctual | The train was on time. |
| to be late | to be behind schedule | Sorry, I’m late. |
| to be right / wrong | to be correct / incorrect | You are right. |
| to be in a hurry | to be in a rush | I am in a hurry. |
| to be in charge of | to be responsible for | She is in charge of the project. |
| to be about to | to be on the point of doing something | We are about to leave. |
| to be used to | to be accustomed to | He is used to working nights. |
| to be worth | to be worthwhile | It is worth trying. |
Common mistakes with to be for learners
Several constructions in other languages that use a “have” equivalent translate with to be in English, generating recurring errors. The guide on the verb to have covers other cases where languages diverge.Age: I have 20 years old. ✗ → I am 20 years old. ✓
Hunger / thirst: I am hungry. ✓ I am thirsty. ✓ (not I have hunger)
Hot / cold: I am hot. ✓ I am cold. ✓
Weather: It is cold today. ✓ (not It makes cold or It has cold)
Fear: I am scared. ✓ She is afraid. ✓ (not I have fear)
The general rule: when a language uses a “have” equivalent to express a physical state or feeling (hunger, thirst, cold, heat, fear, shame, being right or wrong, luck…), English uses to be. This shift is one of the most persistent errors among learners from Romance language backgrounds, even at intermediate level.
Forming questions with to be
Questions with to be are formed by simple inversion: the verb moves before the subject, without any additional auxiliary. This is a unique feature of to be. Other English verbs need do/does/did to form questions.| Tense | Affirmative | Question |
|---|---|---|
| Present | You are tired. | Are you tired? |
| Past simple | He was there. | Was he there? |
| Present perfect | She has been sick. | Has she been sick? |
| Future | They will be ready. | Will they be ready? |
Practice exercise
Test your knowledge of the conjugation of to be:Question 1. What is the correct present tense form of to be with the subject he?
In the present, to be has three forms: am for I, is for he/she/it, and are for you/we/they. The form be is the infinitive, not a conjugated form.
Question 2. Which of these sentences is correct in the past simple with the subject you?
In the past simple, you always takes were, without exception, whether it refers to one person or several. You was is a very common error but incorrect in standard English.
Question 3. Which is the correct English structure for expressing age?
In English, age is expressed with to be, not to have. I am 30 years old is the only correct form. This is one of the key differences that learners from many language backgrounds encounter.
Question 4. What is the correct structure of the present perfect of to be?
The present perfect is formed with have (I/you/we/they) or has (he/she/it) + past participle. The past participle of to be is been. Had + been is the past perfect, a different tense that places a state before another past moment.
Question 5. Which of these sentences correctly uses to be in the past simple passive?
The passive in the past simple uses was/were + past participle. Here, bridge is singular → was built. The specific date (in 1850) rules out the present perfect, which is used without a fixed point in the past.
Question 6. In which sentence is were used as a hypothetical subjunctive?
In unreal present hypotheses (if + were), were is used for all persons, including I. This construction is called the past subjunctive or unreal conditional. The other sentences use were as the standard past simple.
Question 7. Which is the correct question form of “She was there.” using to be?
To be forms its questions by simple subject-verb inversion, without do/did. Was she there? is the only correct form. Did she be is a typical error: did is never used with to be.
