The verb be

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The verb be
 
The verb be has the following forms:
Present simple:
Affirmative
I am
You are
He/She/It is
We are
You are
They are

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

Negative:
I am not/ I’m not
You are not/ aren’t
He/She/It is not/ isn’t
We are not/aren’t
You are not/aren’t
They are not/aren't
 
Past simple

I was
You were
He/She/It was
We were
You were
They were
The past participle:

been.

Present perfect:

has/have been

Past perfect:

had been

 The verb be is used in the following patterns:
1. with a noun:
My mother is a teacher.
Bill Clinton was the president of the US.
2. with an adjective:
This soup is very tasty.
The children were good.
2.1 with the -ing form to make the continuous aspect
We were walking down the street.
Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours.
2.2 with the -ed form to make the passive voice
The house was built in 1890.
The street is called Montagu Street.
This car was made in Japan.
3. with a prepositional phrase:
John and his wife are from Manchester.
The flowers are on the table.

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