be-pref.1. Completely; thoroughly; excessively. Used as an intensive: bemuse.2. On; around; over: besmear.3. About; to: bespeak.4. Used to form transitive verbs from nouns, adjectives, and intransitive verbs, as:a. To make; cause to become: bedim.b. To affect, cover, or provide: bespectacled.[Middle English bi-, be-, from Old English be-, bi-; see ambhi in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.be- prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives 1. (from nouns) to surround completely; cover on all sides: befog. 2. (from nouns) to affect completely or excessively: bedazzle. 3. (from nouns) to consider as or cause to be: befool; befriend. 4. (from nouns) to provide or cover with: bejewel. 5. (from verbs) at, for, against, on, or over: bewail; berate. [Old English be-, bi-, unstressed variant of b? by]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014be (bi; unstressed bi, b?) v. and auxiliary v., pres. sing. 1st pers. am, 2nd are, 3rd is, pres. pl. are; past sing. 1st pers. was, 2nd were, 3rd was, past pl. were; pres. subj. be; past subj. sing. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pers. were; past subj. pl. were; past part. been; pres. part. be?ing. v.i. 1. to exist or live: Shakespeare’s ?To be or not to be? is the ultimate question. 2. to take place; occur: The wedding was last week. 3. to occupy a place or position: The book is on the table. 4. to continue or remain as before: Let things be. 5. to belong; attend; befall: May good fortune be with you. 6. (used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject): He is tall. She is president. 7. (used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences): Is that right? Be quiet! auxiliary verb. 8. (used with the present participle of another verb to form progressive tenses): I am waiting. We were talking. 9. (used with the infinitive of the principal verb to indicate a command, arrangements, or future action): He is to see me today. You are not to leave before six. 10. (used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice): The date was fixed. 11. (used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form perfect tenses): He is come. [before 900; Middle English; Old English b?on; akin to Old Frisian, Old High German bim (I) am, Latin fu? (I) have been, Greek phýein to grow, become] usage: See me. Be Chem. Symbol. beryllium. be- a prefix with the original sense ?about,? ?around,? ?all over,? hence having an intensive and often disparaging force; used as a verb formative (becloud; besiege), and often serving to form transitive verbs from intransitives or from nouns: belabor; befriend; belittle. [Middle English, Old English, unstressed form of b? by1] B.E. 1. Bachelor of Education. 2. Bachelor of Engineering. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
be-
Bé
beexist, live; take place; happen; to belong; attend: I?ll be at the concert.Not to be confused with:bee ? an insect, as a bumblebee or honeybee; a community social gathering: a sewing bee; a spelling beeAbused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary EmbreeBeThe symbol for beryllium.BEabbr.1. Bachelor of Education2. Bachelor of Engineering3. barium enema4. bill of exchange5. Board of EducationBéabbr. Baumé scalebe (b?) v. First and third person singular past indicative was (w?z, w?z; w?z when unstressed) second person singular and plural and first and third person plural past indicative were (wûr) past subjunctive were past participle been (b?n) present participle be·ing (b???ng) first person singular present indicative am (?m) second person singular and plural and first and third person plural present indicative are (är) third person singular present indicative is (?z) present subjunctive be v. intr. 1. To exist in actuality; have life or reality: I think, therefore I am. 2. a. To occupy a specified position: The food is on the table. b. To remain in a certain state or situation undisturbed, untouched, or unmolested: Let the children be. 3. To take place; occur: The test was yesterday. 4. To go or come: Have you ever been to Italy? Have you been home recently? 5. Used as a copula in such senses as: a. To equal in identity: “To be a Christian was to be a Roman” (James Bryce). b. To have a specified significance: A is excellent, C is passing. Let n be the unknown quantity. c. To belong to a specified class or group: The human being is a primate. d. To have or show a specified quality or characteristic: She is witty. All humans are mortal. e. To seem to consist or be made of: The yard is all snow. He is all bluff and no bite. 6. To belong; befall: Peace be unto you. Woe is me. v. aux. 1. Used with the past participle of a transitive verb to form the passive voice: The mayoral election is held annually. 2. Used with the present participle of a verb to express a continuing action: We are working to improve housing conditions. 3. Used with the infinitive of a verb to express intention, obligation, or future action: She was to call before she left. You are to make the necessary changes. 4. Used with the past participle of certain intransitive verbs to form a perfect tense: Those days are gone. Let me know when you are finished. [Middle English ben, from Old English b?on; see bheu?- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots. See am, is, etc. for links to other Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: Traditional grammar requires the subjective form of the pronoun in the predicate of the verb be: It is I (not me), That must be they (not them), and so forth. The rule is based on the vague notion that the complement of be is being equated with the subject of the sentence and so it should be treated like the subject and have subjective case. This reasoning is faulty because the grammatical case of a noun or pronoun is really determined by its position in the sentence, not by what it refers to, and in anything but the most formal style the complement of be takes objective case: people say It’s me, not It’s I. Indeed, in informal contexts the subjective pronoun can sound pretentious and even ridiculous, especially when the pronoun also functions as the object of a verb or preposition in the relative clause, as in It isn’t them/they that we have in mind, where the third-person pronoun serves as both the complement of is and the object of have. In our 2016 survey, 71 percent of the Usage Panel accepted It isn’t them that we have in mind, while only 53 percent accepted It isn’t they that we have in mind. Following the traditional rule in such cases is more of a stylistic preference than a grammatical imperative. Fortunately, writers who wish to avoid sounding stilted but prefer not to violate the standard rule can usually revise their sentences easily enough: They are not the ones we have in mind, We have someone else in mind, and so on. See Usage Notes at I1, we.Our Living Language In place of the inflected forms of be, such as is and are, used in Standard English, African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and some varieties of Southern American English may use zero copula, as in He working, or an invariant be, as in He be working, instead of the Standard English He is working. As an identifying feature of the vernacular of many African Americans, invariant be has been frequently seized on by writers and commentators trying to imitate or parody black speech. However, most imitators use it simply as a substitute for is, as in John be sitting in that chair now, without realizing that within AAVE, invariant be is used primarily for habitual or extended actions set in the present. Among African Americans the form is most commonly used by working-class speakers and young persons. Since the 1980s, younger speakers have tended to restrict the use of the form to progressive verb forms (as in He be walking), whereas their parents also use it with adjectives (as in He be nice) and expressions referring to a location (as in He be at home). Younger speakers also use invariant be more exclusively to indicate habitual action, whereas older speakers more commonly omit be forms (as in He walking) or use present tense verb forms (such as He walks), sometimes with adverbs like often or usually, to indicate habituality. · The source of invariant habitual be in AAVE is still disputed. Some linguists suggest that it represents influence from finite be in the 17th- to 19th-century English of British settlers, especially those from the southwest of England. Other linguists feel that contemporaneous Irish or Scotch-Irish immigrants may have played a larger role, since their dialects mark habitual verb forms with be and do be, as in “They be shooting and fishing out at the Forestry Lakes” (archival recordings of the Royal Irish Academy) and “Up half the night he does be” (James Joyce). But some have argued that the development of invariant be in Irish English came after its development in AAVE. Other linguists believe that habitual be in AAVE may have evolved from the habitual does be construction brought to America by Caribbean Creole slaves and migrants from the 17th century on; until very recently, the construction was still in use among Gullah speakers from coastal South Carolina and Georgia, where Barbadian and other Caribbean slaves had been well-represented in the founding populations. Still other linguists suggest that invariant be is an innovation within AAVE arising in the second half of the 20th century, essentially a response to the wide range of meanings that the English progressive tense can express. See Notes at like2, zero copula.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.be (bi?; unstressed b?) vb (intr) , pres. sing 1st pers am, 2nd pers are, 3rd pers is, pres. pl are, past sing 1st pers was, 2nd pers were, 3rd pers was, past pl were, pres. part being, past part been1. to have presence in the realm of perceived reality; exist; live: I think, therefore I am; not all that is can be understood. 2. (used in the perfect or past perfect tenses only) to pay a visit; go: have you been to Spain?. 3. to take place; occur: my birthday was last Thursday. 4. (copula) used as a linking verb between the subject of a sentence and its noun or adjective complement or complementing phrase. In this case be expresses the relationship of either essential or incidental equivalence or identity (John is a man; John is a musician) or specifies an essential or incidental attribute (honey is sweet; Susan is angry). It is also used with an adverbial complement to indicate a relationship of location in space or time (Bill is at the office; the dance is on Saturday)5. (takes a present participle) forms the progressive present tense: the man is running. 6. (takes a past participle) forms the passive voice of all transitive verbs and (archaically) certain intransitive ones: a good film is being shown on television tonight; I am done. 7. (takes an infinitive) expresses intention, expectation, supposition, or obligation: the president is to arrive at 9.30; you are not to leave before I say so. 8. (takes a past participle) forms the perfect or past perfect tense of certain intransitive verbs of motion, such as go or come: the last train is gone. 9. be that as it may the facts concerning (something) are of no importance[Old English b?on; related to Old High German bim am, Latin fui I have been, Greek phuein to bring forth, Sanskrit bhavati he is]be the internet domain name for (Computer Science) Belgium Be the chemical symbol for (Elements & Compounds) beryllium BE abbreviation for 1. (Commerce) bill of exchange 2. (Education) (in the US) Board of Education 3. (Education) Bachelor of Education 4. (Education) Bachelor of Engineering Bé abbreviation for (Units) Baumé Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014be (bi; unstressed bi, b?) v. and auxiliary v., pres. sing. 1st pers. am, 2nd are, 3rd is, pres. pl. are; past sing. 1st pers. was, 2nd were, 3rd was, past pl. were; pres. subj. be; past subj. sing. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pers. were; past subj. pl. were; past part. been; pres. part. be?ing. v.i. 1. to exist or live: Shakespeare’s ?To be or not to be? is the ultimate question. 2. to take place; occur: The wedding was last week. 3. to occupy a place or position: The book is on the table. 4. to continue or remain as before: Let things be. 5. to belong; attend; befall: May good fortune be with you. 6. (used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject): He is tall. She is president. 7. (used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences): Is that right? Be quiet! auxiliary verb. 8. (used with the present participle of another verb to form progressive tenses): I am waiting. We were talking. 9. (used with the infinitive of the principal verb to indicate a command, arrangements, or future action): He is to see me today. You are not to leave before six. 10. (used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice): The date was fixed. 11. (used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form perfect tenses): He is come. [before 900; Middle English; Old English b?on; akin to Old Frisian, Old High German bim (I) am, Latin fu? (I) have been, Greek phýein to grow, become] usage: See me. Be Chem. Symbol. beryllium. be- a prefix with the original sense ?about,? ?around,? ?all over,? hence having an intensive and often disparaging force; used as a verb formative (becloud; besiege), and often serving to form transitive verbs from intransitives or from nouns: belabor; befriend; belittle. [Middle English, Old English, unstressed form of b? by1] B.E. 1. Bachelor of Education. 2. Bachelor of Engineering. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.BeThe symbol for beryllium. The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.be1. formsBe is the most common verb in English. It is used in many different ways.The present tense forms of be are am, are, and is, and the past tense forms are was and were. Be is both an auxiliary and a main verb.Am, is, and are are not usually pronounced in full. When you write down what someone says, you usually represent am and is using ‘m and ‘s.You can also represent are using ‘re, but only after a pronoun.You can also use the forms ‘m, ‘s and ‘re when you are writing in a conversational style.Be is an auxiliary when forming continuous tenses and passives.In conversation, get is often used to form passives.You use be as a main verb when you are describing things or people or giving information about them. After be, you use a complement. A complement is either an adjective or a noun group.When be is followed by a noun group indicating a unique job or position within an organization, you do not have to put ‘the’ in front of the noun.Be Careful!Make is sometimes used instead of ‘be’ to say how successful someone is in a particular job or role. For example, instead of saying ‘He will be a good president’, you can say ‘He will make a good president’.You can talk about a person’s age by using be followed by a number.You can also use be to say how much something costs.You can use many kinds of prepositional phrase after be.You sometimes use to-infinitive clauses after be.When you use be as a main verb in questions and negative clauses, you do not use the auxiliary ‘do’.Be is not usually a main verb in continuous tenses. However, you can use it in continuous tenses to describe someone’s behaviour at a particular time.Do not confuse be with become. Be is used to indicate that someone or something has a particular quality or nature, or is in a particular situation. Become is used to indicate that someone or something changes in some way.Be is often used after there to indicate the existence or occurrence of something.Be Careful!You cannot use be without there to indicate that something exists or happens. You cannot say, for example, ‘Another explanation is’ or ‘Another explanation must be’. You must say ‘There is another explanation’ or ‘There must be another explanation’.Be is often used after it to describe something such as an experience, or to comment on a situation.If you have visited a place and have now come back from it, British speakers say that you have been there.
be
beexist, live; take place; happen; to belong; attend: I?ll be at the concert.Not to be confused with:bee ? an insect, as a bumblebee or honeybee; a community social gathering: a sewing bee; a spelling beeAbused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary EmbreeBeThe symbol for beryllium.BEabbr.1. Bachelor of Education2. Bachelor of Engineering3. barium enema4. bill of exchange5. Board of EducationBéabbr. Baumé scalebe (b?) v. First and third person singular past indicative was (w?z, w?z; w?z when unstressed) second person singular and plural and first and third person plural past indicative were (wûr) past subjunctive were past participle been (b?n) present participle be·ing (b???ng) first person singular present indicative am (?m) second person singular and plural and first and third person plural present indicative are (är) third person singular present indicative is (?z) present subjunctive be v. intr. 1. To exist in actuality; have life or reality: I think, therefore I am. 2. a. To occupy a specified position: The food is on the table. b. To remain in a certain state or situation undisturbed, untouched, or unmolested: Let the children be. 3. To take place; occur: The test was yesterday. 4. To go or come: Have you ever been to Italy? Have you been home recently? 5. Used as a copula in such senses as: a. To equal in identity: “To be a Christian was to be a Roman” (James Bryce). b. To have a specified significance: A is excellent, C is passing. Let n be the unknown quantity. c. To belong to a specified class or group: The human being is a primate. d. To have or show a specified quality or characteristic: She is witty. All humans are mortal. e. To seem to consist or be made of: The yard is all snow. He is all bluff and no bite. 6. To belong; befall: Peace be unto you. Woe is me. v. aux. 1. Used with the past participle of a transitive verb to form the passive voice: The mayoral election is held annually. 2. Used with the present participle of a verb to express a continuing action: We are working to improve housing conditions. 3. Used with the infinitive of a verb to express intention, obligation, or future action: She was to call before she left. You are to make the necessary changes. 4. Used with the past participle of certain intransitive verbs to form a perfect tense: Those days are gone. Let me know when you are finished. [Middle English ben, from Old English b?on; see bheu?- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots. See am, is, etc. for links to other Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: Traditional grammar requires the subjective form of the pronoun in the predicate of the verb be: It is I (not me), That must be they (not them), and so forth. The rule is based on the vague notion that the complement of be is being equated with the subject of the sentence and so it should be treated like the subject and have subjective case. This reasoning is faulty because the grammatical case of a noun or pronoun is really determined by its position in the sentence, not by what it refers to, and in anything but the most formal style the complement of be takes objective case: people say It’s me, not It’s I. Indeed, in informal contexts the subjective pronoun can sound pretentious and even ridiculous, especially when the pronoun also functions as the object of a verb or preposition in the relative clause, as in It isn’t them/they that we have in mind, where the third-person pronoun serves as both the complement of is and the object of have. In our 2016 survey, 71 percent of the Usage Panel accepted It isn’t them that we have in mind, while only 53 percent accepted It isn’t they that we have in mind. Following the traditional rule in such cases is more of a stylistic preference than a grammatical imperative. Fortunately, writers who wish to avoid sounding stilted but prefer not to violate the standard rule can usually revise their sentences easily enough: They are not the ones we have in mind, We have someone else in mind, and so on. See Usage Notes at I1, we.Our Living Language In place of the inflected forms of be, such as is and are, used in Standard English, African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and some varieties of Southern American English may use zero copula, as in He working, or an invariant be, as in He be working, instead of the Standard English He is working. As an identifying feature of the vernacular of many African Americans, invariant be has been frequently seized on by writers and commentators trying to imitate or parody black speech. However, most imitators use it simply as a substitute for is, as in John be sitting in that chair now, without realizing that within AAVE, invariant be is used primarily for habitual or extended actions set in the present. Among African Americans the form is most commonly used by working-class speakers and young persons. Since the 1980s, younger speakers have tended to restrict the use of the form to progressive verb forms (as in He be walking), whereas their parents also use it with adjectives (as in He be nice) and expressions referring to a location (as in He be at home). Younger speakers also use invariant be more exclusively to indicate habitual action, whereas older speakers more commonly omit be forms (as in He walking) or use present tense verb forms (such as He walks), sometimes with adverbs like often or usually, to indicate habituality. · The source of invariant habitual be in AAVE is still disputed. Some linguists suggest that it represents influence from finite be in the 17th- to 19th-century English of British settlers, especially those from the southwest of England. Other linguists feel that contemporaneous Irish or Scotch-Irish immigrants may have played a larger role, since their dialects mark habitual verb forms with be and do be, as in “They be shooting and fishing out at the Forestry Lakes” (archival recordings of the Royal Irish Academy) and “Up half the night he does be” (James Joyce). But some have argued that the development of invariant be in Irish English came after its development in AAVE. Other linguists believe that habitual be in AAVE may have evolved from the habitual does be construction brought to America by Caribbean Creole slaves and migrants from the 17th century on; until very recently, the construction was still in use among Gullah speakers from coastal South Carolina and Georgia, where Barbadian and other Caribbean slaves had been well-represented in the founding populations. Still other linguists suggest that invariant be is an innovation within AAVE arising in the second half of the 20th century, essentially a response to the wide range of meanings that the English progressive tense can express. See Notes at like2, zero copula.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.be (bi?; unstressed b?) vb (intr) , pres. sing 1st pers am, 2nd pers are, 3rd pers is, pres. pl are, past sing 1st pers was, 2nd pers were, 3rd pers was, past pl were, pres. part being, past part been1. to have presence in the realm of perceived reality; exist; live: I think, therefore I am; not all that is can be understood. 2. (used in the perfect or past perfect tenses only) to pay a visit; go: have you been to Spain?. 3. to take place; occur: my birthday was last Thursday. 4. (copula) used as a linking verb between the subject of a sentence and its noun or adjective complement or complementing phrase. In this case be expresses the relationship of either essential or incidental equivalence or identity (John is a man; John is a musician) or specifies an essential or incidental attribute (honey is sweet; Susan is angry). It is also used with an adverbial complement to indicate a relationship of location in space or time (Bill is at the office; the dance is on Saturday)5. (takes a present participle) forms the progressive present tense: the man is running. 6. (takes a past participle) forms the passive voice of all transitive verbs and (archaically) certain intransitive ones: a good film is being shown on television tonight; I am done. 7. (takes an infinitive) expresses intention, expectation, supposition, or obligation: the president is to arrive at 9.30; you are not to leave before I say so. 8. (takes a past participle) forms the perfect or past perfect tense of certain intransitive verbs of motion, such as go or come: the last train is gone. 9. be that as it may the facts concerning (something) are of no importance[Old English b?on; related to Old High German bim am, Latin fui I have been, Greek phuein to bring forth, Sanskrit bhavati he is]be the internet domain name for (Computer Science) Belgium Be the chemical symbol for (Elements & Compounds) beryllium BE abbreviation for 1. (Commerce) bill of exchange 2. (Education) (in the US) Board of Education 3. (Education) Bachelor of Education 4. (Education) Bachelor of Engineering Bé abbreviation for (Units) Baumé Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014be (bi; unstressed bi, b?) v. and auxiliary v., pres. sing. 1st pers. am, 2nd are, 3rd is, pres. pl. are; past sing. 1st pers. was, 2nd were, 3rd was, past pl. were; pres. subj. be; past subj. sing. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pers. were; past subj. pl. were; past part. been; pres. part. be?ing. v.i. 1. to exist or live: Shakespeare’s ?To be or not to be? is the ultimate question. 2. to take place; occur: The wedding was last week. 3. to occupy a place or position: The book is on the table. 4. to continue or remain as before: Let things be. 5. to belong; attend; befall: May good fortune be with you. 6. (used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject): He is tall. She is president. 7. (used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences): Is that right? Be quiet! auxiliary verb. 8. (used with the present participle of another verb to form progressive tenses): I am waiting. We were talking. 9. (used with the infinitive of the principal verb to indicate a command, arrangements, or future action): He is to see me today. You are not to leave before six. 10. (used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice): The date was fixed. 11. (used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form perfect tenses): He is come. [before 900; Middle English; Old English b?on; akin to Old Frisian, Old High German bim (I) am, Latin fu? (I) have been, Greek phýein to grow, become] usage: See me. Be Chem. Symbol. beryllium. be- a prefix with the original sense ?about,? ?around,? ?all over,? hence having an intensive and often disparaging force; used as a verb formative (becloud; besiege), and often serving to form transitive verbs from intransitives or from nouns: belabor; befriend; belittle. [Middle English, Old English, unstressed form of b? by1] B.E. 1. Bachelor of Education. 2. Bachelor of Engineering. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.BeThe symbol for beryllium. The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.be1. formsBe is the most common verb in English. It is used in many different ways.The present tense forms of be are am, are, and is, and the past tense forms are was and were. Be is both an auxiliary and a main verb.Am, is, and are are not usually pronounced in full. When you write down what someone says, you usually represent am and is using ‘m and ‘s.You can also represent are using ‘re, but only after a pronoun.You can also use the forms ‘m, ‘s and ‘re when you are writing in a conversational style.Be is an auxiliary when forming continuous tenses and passives.In conversation, get is often used to form passives.You use be as a main verb when you are describing things or people or giving information about them. After be, you use a complement. A complement is either an adjective or a noun group.When be is followed by a noun group indicating a unique job or position within an organization, you do not have to put ‘the’ in front of the noun.Be Careful!Make is sometimes used instead of ‘be’ to say how successful someone is in a particular job or role. For example, instead of saying ‘He will be a good president’, you can say ‘He will make a good president’.You can talk about a person’s age by using be followed by a number.You can also use be to say how much something costs.You can use many kinds of prepositional phrase after be.You sometimes use to-infinitive clauses after be.When you use be as a main verb in questions and negative clauses, you do not use the auxiliary ‘do’.Be is not usually a main verb in continuous tenses. However, you can use it in continuous tenses to describe someone’s behaviour at a particular time.Do not confuse be with become. Be is used to indicate that someone or something has a particular quality or nature, or is in a particular situation. Become is used to indicate that someone or something changes in some way.Be is often used after there to indicate the existence or occurrence of something.Be Careful!You cannot use be without there to indicate that something exists or happens. You cannot say, for example, ‘Another explanation is’ or ‘Another explanation must be’. You must say ‘There is another explanation’ or ‘There must be another explanation’.Be is often used after it to describe something such as an experience, or to comment on a situation.If you have visited a place and have now come back from it, British speakers say that you have been there.