Forms of ‘to be’ in all tenses
(Overview of the auxiliary and main verb ‘to be’ in all tenses)
Contents
Particularities of the verb forms
- ‘to be’ can be an auxiliary verb and lexical (main) verb.
- It has more forms in the present and past than all other verbs.
- When ‘to be’ appears as the main verb, it requires ‘to have’ as an auxiliary verb in the perfect tenses (example: “I have been”).
Forms of the irregular verb ‘to be’ in all tenses
‘to be’ is one of the most common and most difficult verbs, so all its verb forms in all tenses are listed here. The tables also highlight the particular forms that differ from the repeating ones. For clarification, the grammatical persons
are presented as follows:
| Number | Person |
| Singular | 1 I 2 you 3 he, she, it |
| Plural | 1 we 2 you 3 they |
Forms in the present
| Tense | Person and subject | Simple | Progressive/continuous |
| Present | 1 I 2 you 3 he, she, it 1 we 2 you 3 they | am are is are are are | am being are being is being are being are being are being |
| Present perfect | 1 I 2 you 3 he, she, it 1 we 2 you 3 they | have been have been has been have been have been have been | (have been being) (have been being) (has been being) (have been being) (have been being) (have been being) |
- Information: Negations are solely formed with ‘not’ placed after the form of ‘to be’. This method contrasts with the rule of ‘don’t/doesn’t’, which applies to all other verbs except the modals.
- Grammatically, these forms would be possible; however, they sound very unnatural and are usually not used.
Forms in the past
| Tense | Person and subject | Simple | Progressive/continuous |
| Past | 1 I 2 you 3 he, she, it 1 we 2 you 3 they | was were was were were were | was being were being was being were being were being were being |
| Past perfect | 1 I 2 you 3 he, she, it 1 we 2 you 3 they | had been | (had been being) |
- Information: Negations are solely formed with ‘not’ placed after the form of ‘to be’. This method contrasts with the rule of ‘didn’t’, which applies to all other verbs except the modals.
Forms in the future
| Tense | Person and subject | Simple | Progressive/continuous |
| Future (will) | 1 I 2 you 3 he, she, it 1 we 2 you 3 they | will be | will be being |
| Future (going to) | 1 I 2 you 3 he, she, it 1 we 2 you 3 they | am going to be are going to be is going to be are going to be are going to be are going to be | am going to be being are going to be being is going to be being are going to be being are going to be being are going to be being |
| Future perfect | 1 I 2 you 3 he, she, it 1 we 2 you 3 they | will have been | (will have been being) |
Infinitives and imperatives of ‘to be’
The imperative expresses commands and exists only in the 2nd person singular and plural, with its forms agreeing. Note that the negated (negative) imperative is formed with ‘don’t’, which is not the case with the other tenses above:
| Person and subject | Imperative (affirmative) | Imperative (negated) |
| 2 you 2 you | be be | don’t be don’t be |
The infinitive is the base form and, like the participles, appears in different aspects:
| Verb form (aspect) | Infinitive | Present participle | Past participle |
| Simple | to be | being | been |
| Progressive | to be being | – | – |
| Perfect | to have been | having been (perfect participle) | – |
| Perfect progressive | (to have been being) | (having been being) | – |