That Crazy Little Thing Called the “Be” Verb (Part II)

The "be" verb is the most irregular verb in the English language, but because it is so commonly used, learners stop making mistakes with subject/verb agreement fairly quickly. What makes the "be" verb so tricky is knowing when to use it and what form you are using.

Be Verb as the Main Verb

 

Adjective Complements

 

The first, most common use of the "be" verb is as a main verb. When an action or non-action verb is used as the subject of a clause, the noun that comes after the verb is the direct object, so the most common type of clause is an SVO clause. However, when the "be" verb is the main verb, the word (or phrase) that comes next is called a complement and the clauses are called SVC clauses. In English, there are four kinds of complements that can be connected to the "be" verb.

 

The most common complement that comes after the "be" verb is an adjective complement. The adjective describes the condition or state of the subject. 

• The runner is tired. (the tired runner)
• The test was difficult. (the difficult test)
• Everything is ready.

Noun Complements

 

The second most common type of complement is a noun complement. This is when a noun describes the subject, often a relationship or a job. The subject and the complement are the same person or thing. 

• My brother’s name is Justin.                   (brother’s name = Justin)
• Mr. Smith is my math teacher.                (Mr. Smith = math teacher)
• London is the capital of Great Britain.    (London = capital of Great Britain)

One feature of noun complements is that they can switch places with the subject. For example:

• Justin is my brother’s name.
• My math teacher is Mr. Smith.
• The capital of England is London.

To decide which noun should be the subject and which should be the complement, you must decide which piece of information is most important. The most important piece of information should be the complement and the other should be the subject.*

 

Second language learners often use the "be" verb between two nouns when it shouldn’t be. If you are trying to decide whether to use the "be" verb or not, just ask this simple question. "Are the two nouns the same person or thing?" If the answer is yes, then you can use the ‘be" verb. If the answer is no, then you need something else, very often the verb have. For example.

• I ≠ a cold.                            The cause of the accident = icy roads.
•      I have a cold.                        The cause of the accident was icy roads.
• I ≠ high school.                      I = high school student.
•       I go to high school.               I am a high school student.

 Adverb and Prepositional Phrase Complements

 

The final two are less common, but they are regularly used. You can also connect an adverb to a subject with the "be" verb. The adverbial complement usually answers the questions when or where.

• The test is tomorrow.                 (When is the test?)
• The children are outside.            (Where are the children?)

 Finally, the "be" verb can connect a prepositional phrase to the subject. These also usually answer the questions when or where.

• Jason is in the library.                (Where is Jason?)
• The test is on Monday.                (When is the test?)

 

 

Be Verb as a Helping Verb

 

The Continuous Tense**

 

The second use for the ‘be’ verb is as a helping verb. The simplest and most common use is in the continuous tense. To do this, you simply add the gerund form of the main verb to the "be" verb. For example:

• The children are playing...
• The dog is barking...
• We were sleeping...

Again, this is relatively simple, but there are frequent errors. The most common is putting the base form of the verb after the "be" verb rather than the gerund form. For example:

• I was eat lunch in the cafeteria.
• We aren’t have a pet. 

One possible root of this error will be discussed later. To avoid this error, just remember you always need ~ing after the "be" verb.

 

 The Passive Voice***

  

The final use of the "be" verb is also as a helping verb. It is used in the passive voice and followed by the past participle form of the main verb.

•  This blog was written...
• The game was played...
• The tests are taken... 

This is it. This is how the "be" verb is used in English. With a little time and practice, the "be" verb isn’t that hard to master. The trick is knowing when to use it.

 

-- Back to Part I --

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 *As a general rule, when organizing information, the least important information should go first and the most important information should go last. This is because you remember best what you hear or read last.

•  We will have a unit test next Friday.
• (The day of the test is the most important.)
• Next Friday, we will have a unit test.
• (The plan for next Friday is the most important.)

**For more on the continuous tense, you can read this blog post. (I haven’t written the blog yet. Give me a little more time.)

 

***For more on the passive voice, you can read this blog post.