be
part of speech
verb (be; am, is, are; was, were; been; being; short forms I'm, he's, they're, isn't, aren't, wasn't, weren't)
meaning for a pupil
1) To be means to exist, to be there: There is a cat in the garden. tree →
2) To be tells what someone or something is like: She is tall. The soup is hot. tree →
3) To be tells where something is: The keys are on the table. tree →
4) To be tells someone's age or job: Ben is 7. Mum is a doctor. tree →
5) Be also helps other verbs: I am running; the cake was eaten. tree →
6) In maths «is» often means «equals»: 3 + 4 is 7. tree →
7) (casual) In chatty speech forms of be are dropped or bent: «you coming?», «we was late», «them sweets is 2 dollar», «ain't» for «isn't» or «am not»; (US casual) «I'm like» and «she was all» mean «I said» and «she said». tree →
8) (formal) The exam voice uses be in stiff passive and «shall be» forms: «It is given that …», «A total of 12 apples is distributed …», «Answers shall be expressed in whole numbers». tree →
sense in the lessons
saying what is on the table or in a group, now or before («There were 9 apples», «How many are there now?»); in maths «is» often means equals: 3 + 4 is 7; in everyday life «be careful», «be quiet», «be kind», «there is / there are», «be back soon»; in science «Water is a liquid»; in casual talk dropped or bent forms («you okay?», «we was», «ain't»); in rough talk «be quiet» becomes «shut up»; in the exam voice the passive «is distributed», «is given», «shall be»
examples
- How many apples are on the table? tree →
- There were 9 apples. Tom ate 1 of them. tree →
- There are 5 rows with 4 chairs in each row. tree →
- Ben is 7 and Kate is 10. tree →
- Three plus four is seven. tree →
- Be careful near the pool. tree →
- I am hungry; are you? tree →
- The children were very happy at the zoo. tree →
- Ice is frozen water. tree →
- you coming or what? bus is here tree →
- them sweets is 2 dollar each, we ain't got enough tree →
- It is given that a quantity of 9 apples was present upon the table, of which 1 was subsequently consumed. tree →
- "Why are you knocking me about?" tree →
note
«There were N» gives the starting amount; «there are N … and N …» lists parts. The verb itself is no clue; the tense shows start (was, were) versus now (is, are). Trap: «is 3 more than» is a comparison that still needs reading. Forms: I am, you are, he/she/it is, we/they are; past: I/he was, you/we/they were. Say «there are 5 apples», not «there is 5 apples»; «we was» and «ain't» are heard in casual talk but are not standard English. «It is given that» in an exam just introduces the facts. In a passive sentence («was eaten by Tom») the doer comes after «by».
In the corpora
- Stories about annoying colleagues told at home are private and should not be repeated outside.
- When a parent seems frazzled after work, it is usually the workload, not anything the child did.
- Knowing this helps you understand why a family's week is planned round a piece of paper on the fridge.
- Overtime is working extra hours beyond the normal ones; sometimes it is paid at a higher rate, sometimes not paid at all.
- Being turned down is normal for everyone, and being picked is the reward for trying again and again.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «be» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.