Verb TO BE

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Verb TO BE :


The Auxiliary Verbs :


The Auxiliary Verbs

1) verb to be
2) verb to have
3) verb to do

The auxiliary verbs help other verbs to form the following.

The tenses
The mood (indicative - imperative - subjunctive)
The voice (active - passive)
The interrogation
The negation
The emphasis

Verb TO BE

Affirmation Form

Subject……Present……Past……Future

1. I am / was / shall be.

2. He is / was / will be.

3. She is / was / will be.

4. It is / was / will be.

5. You are / were / will be.

6. We are / were / shall be.

7. They are / were / will be.



Being : (Present participle)

Been : (Past participle)

Examples :

1. I am not a doctor. I am a teacher.

2. He is a bore.

3. She is a heavenly creature.

4. It is you who said that.

5. I suppose you are right.

6. We are here.

7. They are all after you.

Negative Form

PRESENT

I am not

We are not (aren’t)

You are not (aren’t)

He is not (isn’t)

She is not (isn’t)

It is not (isn’t)

They are not (aren’t)

PAST

I was not (wasn’t)

We were not (weren’t)

You were not (weren’t)

He was not (wasn’t)

She was not (wasn’t)

It was not (wasn’t)

They were not (weren’t)

FUTURE

I shall not be (shan’t)

We shall not be (shan’t)

You will not be (won’t)

He will not be (won’t)

She will not be (won’t)

It will not be (won’t)

They will not be (won’t)

I am not / was not / will not be.

He is not / was not / will not be.

She is not / was not / will not be.

It is not / was not / will not be.

You are not / were not / will not be.

They are not / were not / will not be.

We are not / were not / will not be.

Examples :

I am not scared.

I am not at my best.

He was not (wasn’t) perfectly right.

She is not (isn’t) my sister.

It is not in the least important.

You are not the master of the situation.

We are the master of the situation.

They are not the master of the situation.

Interrogative Form

PRESENT

Am I?

Is he?

Is she?

Is it?

Are you?

Are we?

Are They?

PAST

Was I?

Was he?

Was she?

Was it?

Were you?

Were we?

Were they?

FUTURE

Shall I be?

Will he be?

Will she be?

Will it be?

Will you be?

Shall we be?

Will they be?

Examples :

Am I that bad?

Is he a careful student?

Is she a beautiful girl?

Is it hard to explain?

Are you tired of waiting?

How are you?

Why are you mixed up?

Will you come with us tomorrow?

Negative Interrogative Form

PRESENT

Am I not?

Is he not?

Is she not?

Is it not?

Are you not?

Are we not?

Are they not?

PAST

Was I not?

Was he not?

Was she not?

Was it not?

Were you not?

Were we not?

Were they not?

FUTURE

Shall I not be?

Will he not be?

Will she not be?

Will it not be?

Will you not be?

Shall we not be?

Will they not be?

In negative interrogative sentence, NOT is placed after Pronouns and before nouns.

Examples :

Am I not your friend?

Was not Ali your friend?

Was not the girl guilty?

Were they not innocent?

Isn’t she cute?

The Imperative Mood

Affirmative Imperative

be + (complement.)

Do be + (complement)

Examples :

Be nice!

Lady! be good.

Be reasonable.

Be always in time.

Negative Imperative

Don’t be + (complement)

Never be + (complement)

Examples :

Don’t be late tomorrow.

Don’t be shy.

Don’t be silly.

Never be a backbiter.

Never be in a hurry.

Usage of Auxiliary Verb TO BE

a) As a full verb

Examples

God is in all places.

Love is all there is.

Can you prove that you are?

There is no time for joking.

b) As a joining verb

To express a state…

is / are + complement

was / were + complement

shall / will + complement

should / would + complement

Complement is….

Noun

Adjective

Adverb

Phrase

Clause

Examples :

Forgive me, I am so sorry. (adjective)

She is at a loss. (phrase)

She is my sweetheart. (noun)

That is what I mean. (clause)

Her mother is not here (adverb)

c) As an auxiliary verb

1. To form the continuous tense

is / are + present participle

was / were + present participle

shall be / will be + present participle

Examples :

I am playing now.

He was playing yesterday.

They will be playing football tomorrow.

What will you be doing tomorrow?

We are getting on well, aren’t we?

2. To form the passive voice

is / are + past participle

was / were + past participle

shall be / will be + past participle

Examples :

Spies must be put to death.

Your services are no longer needed.

The agreement is signed.

The agreement will be signed.

To express An arrangement or a command

is / are + infinitive with to

was / were + infinitive with to

Examples :

Nobody is to know.

You are not to do that.

We are to start our journey by 8 am tomorrow.

You are not to address me like that.

To express the subjunctive mood

I / he / she / it + were + complement.

Examples :

If I were you I should put an end to all that.

If I Were in your place, I shouldn’t apologize.

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