The verb to be in the past present. The verb to be in English: meaning, types, rules of use

In the last article, we examined the use of the verb to be in the present tense. So, if you haven't read it, we recommend starting with it. And in this article we will look at this verb in the past tense.

How is to be translated in the past tense and when is it used?

How is to be translated in the past tense and when is it used?

We use the verb be in the past tense when we want to say:

someone / something was someone / something;
someone / something was somehow;
someone / something was somewhere.

This verb can be translated into Russian as: was, was, It was, were... Past tense verb to be has two forms: was and were... What form and when to use? As in the present tense, the form depends on who produces an action.

I was - I was;
you were - you / you were / were;
he was - he was;
she was - She was;
it wa s- he / she / it was, was, was;
we were - we were;
they were - they were.

As seen, was we use if it comes about one man were- if about several... When using the word you(you / you) we always use the form were... That is, it doesn't matter here, in question about one person or several.

Singular

I was a small boy.
I AM was small boy.

He was strong.
He was strong.

She was at work yesterday.
She was yesterday on work.

The book was interesting.
The book was interesting.

You were at home at 5 PM
You was at home v 5 evenings.

Plural:

We were happy that time.
We were happy at the time.

They were students last year.
They were students last year.

You were at home at 7 PM
You were at home v 7 evenings.

Negative past tense of to be

Negative sentences in the past tense are formed in the same way as in the present. To do this, we add the particle not after the verb be in the past tense (was / were).

I was not- I was not;
he was not- he was not;
she was not- she was not;
it was not- he / she / it was not / was / was;
you were not- you / you were not / were not;
we were not- we were not;
they were not- they weren't.

Let's take a look at some examples.

I was not late for a lesson.
I was not late for class.

He was not rich.
He was not rich.

My cat was not gray.
My cat was not gray.

They were not friends.
They weren't friends.

The interrogative form of the verb to be in the past tense

To ask a question in the past tense, you need to move the verb be in the past tense (was / were) at the beginning of the sentence, in the first place. The rest of the word order remains the same.

Statement

The film was interesting.
The movie was interesting.

They were at home yesterday.
They were at home yesterday.

Question

Was the film interesting?
Was the movie interesting?

Were they at home yesterday?
Were they home yesterday?

Answer will contain the same be, in the same form.

Yes, it was.
Yes, I was.

Yes, they were.
Yes they were.

If we want negative answer to the question, then all to the same form, add not.

No, it was not.
No, I was not.

No, they were not.
No, they weren't.

Examples of

Was he late for the date? Yes, he was.
Was he on a date later? Yes, I was.

Was he late for the date? No, he was not.
Was he on a date later? No, I was not.

Were they engaged? Yes, they were.
Were they engaged? Yes they were.

Were they engaged? No, they were not.
Were they engaged? No, they weren't.

How to ask a question with question words?

When we ask a question with words what, why, how long and others, we put these words in the first place, and then the word order goes, as in an ordinary question.

What (what)		I
Why		you	happy
When	was	he / she	married
Who (who)	were	we	glad
Where (where)		they	at home
How long		it

For example

Short forms of the verb to be in the past tense

Unlike the present tense of the verb be, in the past we do not abbreviate the affirmative form. After all, if we shorten, for example, she was or you were, then we get she’s and you’re, as we remember, such abbreviations already exist in the present tense, and it will not be clear what time we mean. We use abbreviations only for negation, abbreviating the not particle.

Denial (long form)	Negation (abbreviated form)
I was not	I wasn "t
You were not	You weren "t
He was not	He wasn "t
She was not	She wasn "t
It was not	It wasn "t
We were not	We weren "t
They were not	They weren "t

Brief summary

So let's summarize.

1. The verb be in the past tense has the form was, were. The form changes depending on who performs the action and in what quantity.

2. The verb be is translated in the past tense - was, was, was, were.

3. When we say that something was not, we use was not, were not.

4. When asked, we take out was / were to the first place.

5. We can use contractions only in negation by canceling the particle not.

What to do now?

If you understand everything, then compose examples of the use of the verb to be in the comments, and I will check.

Useful articles on the topic:

If something remains incomprehensible to you or is not fully understood, write in the comments what exactly. I will definitely answer and explain.

In combinations like "A is B", such combinations are ubiquitous 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 seems to be implied:

I AM 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 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. "

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

To be - the only verb that changes by person

This verb seems to be taken from the English language, it changes completely atypical for English way... In English, verbs do not change by person (except for the 3rd person singular form, which is formed in all verbs the same way, 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

Present verb to be

In present time 3 forms: am, is, are.

Note: some forms in colloquial speech are shortened, 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

Past tense it's 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 simpler - auxiliary verb + single 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:

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.

	Present time
	Singular	Plural
1 person	I am not	We are not
2 person	You are not	You are not
3rd person	He (she, it) is not	They are not
	Past tense
1 person	I was not	We were not
2 person	You were not	You were not
3rd person	He (she, it) was not	They were not
	Future tense
1 person	I will not be	We will not be
2 person	You will not be	You will not be
3rd person	He (she, it) will not be	They will not be

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

	Present time
	Singular	Plural
1 person	Am I ...?	Are we ..?
2 person	Are you ..?	Are you ..?
3rd person	Is he (she, it) ..?	Are they ..?
	Past tense
1 person	Was I ..?	Were we ..?
2 person	Were you ..?	Were you ..?
3rd person	Was he (she, it) ..?	Were they ..?
	Future tense
1 person	Will I be ..?	Will we be ..?
2 person	Will you be ..?	Will you be ..?
3rd person	Will he (she, it) be ..?	Will they be ..?

How to forever learn the conjugation of the verb to be

The verb to be is the main hinge in mechanisms English grammar... This is the most common word in the English language (apart from "the", which is difficult to name in 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 (read more about this method of working with cards).

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.

Flashcards for memorizing the verb to be

It is best if you make the cards yourself, substituting the words of your choice, but you can use these as well. The cards are divided into three groups: to be in an affirmative, interrogative, negative form. Don't forget that Quizlet has whole

It is with this verb that you need to start learning English grammar. Verbs in English do not change by person, but the verb to be is an exception. With the help of this verb, we will learn how to make simple sentences that do not contain a verb in Russian, for example, "I am a student", "he is at home", "this is interesting", etc. In English, it is unacceptable to compose without a verb that performs an action, and to be serves as a linking verb. For example, to say "I am a student", we must insert the necessary form of the linking verb to be and, as a result, the sentence will acquire the meaning "I am a student" - "I (am) a student."

Present tense forms of the verb to be

In the present tense, the verb to be has three forms: AM, IS, ARE:

Remember: to be and AM, IS, ARE are not 4 different, but forms of the same verb:

(We hope our dragon will help you remember this)

Consider how the verb to be changes in the present tense

Affirmative form

We are friends - we are friends
They are busy - they are busy
The book is thick - the book is thick
It is a cat
She is clever - she is smart

negative form

To form a negative conjugation of a given verb, you need to put a negative particle "not" after one of the required forms of the verb (am, is or are). Here are some examples of a negative sentence:

I am not hungry
He is not busy
The room is not big

Interrogative form

To form an interrogative form, you need to put the appropriate form of the verb (am, is or are) at the beginning of the sentence:

Are you Peter? - Are you Pete?
This room? - Is this a room?
Are you hungry? - Are you hungry?
He is busy? - Is he busy?

To understand how verbs live in English, let's first remember at least one verb of the Russian language in its initial form, for example, the verb "to live". As you know, the verbs of the Russian language in the initial form end in "-т", and later, when conjugated, the ending changes. As far as English is concerned, the verb in its initial form is used together with the to particle, for example, we say to be - would be, find be Xia, i.e. if the particle to precedes the verb, this means that the verb is in the initial form, and when the verb is used with persons, this particle is omitted. Let's give an example: "To be or not to be" - there are two verbs in the sentence - and both are in the initial form, and they must be used together with the to particle, and, accordingly, we will translate into English as "to be or not to be". If we have before us the sentence “I (am) a student”, i.e. we have changed the verb to match the subject, then the to is dropped and the proper form of the verb is used, in this case- am.
Unlike the verb to be, the rest of the verbs in English are not conjugated, for example, the verbs “to live, sit, love” in the initial form in English are translated “to live, to sit, to love”, ie with particle to, and when conjugated - without to, for example, “I live, sit, love” into English will be translated as “I live, sit, love”, ie initial form of a verb in English without particletonot used, but when conjugatingtogoes down. The initial form in English is called Infinitive - Infinitive.

More about the particle to see in our video tutorial:

Verb conjugations tobe in present time

Now let's learn how the verb to be changes (conjugates) in the present tense. As mentioned above, in Russian, sentences like "I am a student, she is a doctor, we are workers" are formed without a predicate verb. But to translate these sentences into English, you need to put the appropriate form to be after the subject - “I am a pupil, she is a doctor, we are workers”.

Pay attention to the translation of the following sentences in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms into English:

Verb conjugations tobe in the past and future tense

In the past tense, the verb to be distinguishes between two forms - was and were (was, was, were)

In the future tense, the verb to be conjugated as follows

Note: In modern English, the form shall is of little use for the formation of the future tense of verbs (although its use is not a grammatical error), for all persons the form is used will... Therefore, sometimes there is a discrepancy in different textbooks.

To summarize, consider the following table:

Here are some commonly used verb expressions to be which you should learn and conjugate yourself using the conjugation table:

To be happy / unhappy - to be happy / unhappy
To be glad - to be joyful
To be hungry / to be full up– to be hungry / full
To be fond of - to love, to be carried away by something
To be busy - be busy
To be late (for) - be late (for)
To be in time for - to be on time
To be present at - to be present at (for example, in a lesson)
To be absent (from) - to be absent
To be married - to be married
To be single - to be single / not married
To be lucky - to be lucky
To be ready (for) - to be ready (for, for example, a lesson)
To be afraid (of) - to be afraid
To be interested (in) - to be interested in something
To be ill / well - to be ill / to feel good
To be angry (with) - angry, angry (at someone)

Let's conjugate together the expression to be married in the affirmative, interrogative, and negative sentences. What did you do?

What is the difficulty? Why is the topic so simple and there are so many mistakes? Because, starting to learn English, not everyone rebuilds their thinking, but continues to think in Russian. Verb "to be" is present in Russian, but ... we miss it when we construct a sentence in the present tense. In the past, the verb "to be" had many forms of the present tense: you are, you are, you are, the essence etc. But in modern Russian only "is" has survived: I am, he is, we are etc. But no one says that, "is" remains "in the mind"! Therefore, it seems to us very strange that you need to insert this very "is" in English.

In English, the verb to be has three forms of present tense: am, is, are.

If you are talking about yourself ( I), then use the verb am:

I am a teacher. - I (am) a teacher.

I am happy. - I (am) happy.

If you are talking about he(he), she(she), or it(it), use the form is:

He is a doctor. - He (is) a doctor.

She is beautiful. - She (is) beautiful.

It is my dog. - This (is) my dog

If you are talking about we(we), you(you you), they(they) then use the form are:

We are friends. - We (are) friends.

You are hungry. - You are (are) hungry.

They are my parents. - They (are) my parents ..

Many textbooks say that the verb to be is not translated into Russian. Agree that the word "is" looks rather strange in our example sentences, but if you want to speak English, you will have to think this way, especially in initial stages studying. To be can be translated with verbs "to be", "to be", "to exist", although this gives the statement some kind of formal coloring, you can also put a dash.

Another observation from practice that needs to be paid attention to. Sometimes the three forms are forgotten and said like this: I be a teacher... It's something like: I be a teacher... Of course, you should get rid of such a mistake if you notice it in your speech.

To use the verb to be correctly, you need to remember the main use cases. Because to be acts primarily as a linking verb, its main function is to connect parts of a sentence.

1. The verb to be connects a noun (pronoun) and an adjective.

Since to be is indispensable in descriptions, characterizing or describing something using adjectives, do not forget to connect words using a linking verb:

I am fine. - I (am) fine.

My son (he) is happy. - My son (is) happy.

The children (they) are healthy. - The children are (are) healthy.

This book (it) is interesting. - This book is interesting.

Please note that if the subject in the sentence is a noun, then in order to find the correct form of the verb to be, you should replace the noun with the appropriate pronoun: son- he; children- they; book- it.

2. The verb to be is used when they want to say who or what the subject of discussion is.

In other words, answering questions like: Who is this? What is it?, in your answer use to be... Also to be is required if you introduce yourself or represent someone:

I am your teacher. - I am your teacher.

She is my sister Mary. - This is my sister Mary.

They are my colleagues. - They are my colleagues.

3. The verb to be is used when talking about professions.

Mary is a writer. - Mary is a writer.

John is a businessman. - John is a businessman.

My friends are engineers. - My friends are engineers.

If you are talking about someone's profession, then the verb to be can be translated as "appear", but such a translation is not always appropriate.

4. To be is used when talking about nationalities.

It is not for nothing that many English textbooks begin with the study of the names of countries and nationalities, thus, it is very convenient to practice the use of the verb to be:

I am American. - I am American.

Anna is Russian. - Anna is Russian.

Max is Canadian. - Max is Canadian.

My partners are Chinese. - My partners are Chinese.

You will find detailed information on nationalities in English.

5. To be used when talking about age.

A common mistake is the use of the verb have in this case. Although some languages use have when talking about age, in English always use to be in the correct form:

I am thirty (years old). - I'm thirty years old.

My sister is twenty-five (years old). “My sister is twenty-five years old.

The students are eighteen (years old). - Students are eighteen years old.

6. The verb to be should be used when talking about the location of something.

Verbs "to be", "to be located" may be applied if the content of the offer allows:

I am in the kitchen. - I'm in the kitchen.

We are at home. - We're home.

Her bag is on the table. - Her bag is on the table.

The cat is in the box. - Cat in a box.

London is in Great Britain. - London is located in the UK.

7. To be (or rather its forms is and are) - this is an important part of the turnover there is / there are.

We will not talk about this turnover here, because we have already published detailed material on this topic. You can read more about the reverse of there is / there are, but first we recommend that you finish reading this article so as not to get confused.

In English, there is a very important verb "to be", which is translated into Russian as "to be, to exist". It is also a linking verb that connects the subject and what it is associated with in the sentence.

It is also important to take into account the word order in English sentence: subject -> predicate -> object. The predicate is necessarily present in the sentence: either it is an action verb, or some state expressed by the verb to be.

For example: He is a student. / He (is) a student.

As we can see, "to be" is used in English, but in the present tense it is not translated into Russian in the sentence, but only implied.

"To be" has affirmative, negative and interrogative forms. Today we will analyze the forms of this verb in the present, past and future tenses.

To be in the present tense

Verb forms: am (when talking about ourselves), is (singular), are (plural).

I am a teacher. - I'am a teacher.
John is my brother. - John is my brother.
Mary is the smartest student in the class. - Mary is the smartest student in the class.
It is my dog "s toy. - This is my dog's toy.
We are best friends. - We are best friends.
You are right. - You (you) are right (s).
His parents are very nice. - His parents are very nice.

we put the particle not

I am not = I "m not
He is not = He isn "t
She is not = She isn "t
It is not = It isn "t
We are not = We aren "t
You are not = You aren "t
They are not = They aren "t

Am I?
Is he / she / it?
Are we / you / they?

To be in the past tense

Verb forms: was (when we talk about ourselves), was (singular), were (plural).

I was a teacher. - I was a teacher.
John was my classmate. - John was my classmate.
Mary was the smartest student in the class. - Mary was the smartest student in the class.
It was his book. - It was his book.
We were best friends. - We were best friends.
You were right. - You (you) were (and) right (s).
His parents were in London. - His parents were in London.

When do we need to build negative sentence -we put the particle not after the required form of the verb to be. Abbreviations are also used.

I was not = I wasn "t
He was not = He wasn "t
She was not = She wasn "t
It was not = It wasn "t
We were not = We weren "t
You were not = You weren "t
They were not = They weren "t

To ask a question, just put the required form of the verb to be at the beginning of the sentence. Don't forget about interrogative intonation!

Was I?
Was he / she / it?
Were we / you / they?

To be in the future tense

Verb forms: will be for all persons and numbers.

I will be a teacher. - I'm going to be a teacher.
John will be my colleague. - John will become my colleague.
Mary will be the best student in the class. - Mary will be the best student in the class.
It will be his birthday. - It will be his birthday.
We will be best friends. - We will become best friends.
You will be late. - You (you) will be late (will be late).
His parents will be in London. - His parents will be in London.

When we need to build a negative sentence - we put the particle not after will. Abbreviations are also used.

I will not be = I won "t be
He will not be = He won "t be
She will not be = She won "t be
It will not be = It won "t be
We will not be = We won "t be
You will not be = You won "t be
They will not be = They won "t be

To ask a question, just put will at the beginning of the sentence. Don't forget about interrogative intonation!

Will I be?
Will he / she / it be?
Will we / you / they be?

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