2. Grammar Revision The verbs “to be” and “to have”

The verb “to be”

Revise the form of the verb “to be” in the Present, Past and Future (Simple, Continuous and Perfect).

Present Simple Past Simple Future Simple

I am I was I shall (will)

You are You were You will be

He He We shall (will) be

She is She was They will be

It It He

They are They were She will be

We are We were It

Present Continuous Past Continuous Future Continuous

am was being will being (seldom used)

are being were

is

Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

have been had been will (shall) have been

has

Note. The form “shall” is rarely now used for the Future. It is substituted by “will” or the contracted form ’ll, e.g. I’ll, we’ll, you’ll, he’ll

The verb “to be” as Notional, Auxiliary and Modal.

1. The verb “to be” as a notional verb in the meaning «быть, находиться» (при спряжении - «есть», «был, была, были», «будут, будем, будете»), etc.

E.g. I am a future economist.

My father was a student of economics, when he was young

We’ll be the experts in the world economy after graduating from our University.

The interrogative and negative forms of the verb to be are formed by means of placing the verb to be before the subject of the sentence (for questions) and putting the particle not after it (for negative sentence).

2. The verb “to be” as an auxiliary verb is used to form the finite forms of the English verb forms system. Note that in this case it can acquire almost all the verb forms systems such as Simple, Continuous and Perfect:

E.g. 1.) am, is, are;

2.) is being, am being, are being;

3.) was being, were being;

4.) will be being;

5.) has been, have been, had been, will have been.

E.g. I am given a good piece of advice.

I was given a good piece of advice.

I will be given a good piece of advice.

A new supermarket is being built opposite us.

A new school was being built opposite us, when I was a child.

A new school will be being built opposite us, when I become a student (seldom used).

A new campus has already been built in our University.

A new campus had already been built before I entered the University.

The interrogative and negative forms of such sentences are formed by means of putting the first auxiliary at the beginning of the sentence (for the general question) or after the interrogative world (for the special question) and putting the particle “not” after the first auxiliary (for the negative sentences).

E.g. Is Paris situated in France? - Yes, it is.

Is Pittsburg not situated in Russia? – No, it is not.

Pittsburg isn’t in America.

Is a new school being built opposite your house?

3. The verb “to be” as a modal verb expresses the attitude of the speaker towards the action, expressed by the notional verb.

The verb “to be” in this meaning expresses one’s obligation or duty to fulfill a certain action because this action has been planned before. In this case the verb “to be” has only two forms: Present and Past Simple.

Перевод на русский язык осуществляется с помощью русского глагола «предстоять ч.-л. сделать», «нужно».

E.g. I’m to pass my exam tomorrow, so I can’t come to your party tonight.

Мне нужно сдавать завтра экзамен, поэтому я не могу прийти завтра к тебе на вечеринку.

It is translated into Russian as должен, должен был, предстоит, предстояло.

This woman was to become my mother

Этой женщине предстояло стать моей матерью.

He is to fulfil the task immediately.

Ему предстоит выполнить задание немедленно.

Interrogative sentences are formed by placing the verb “to be” in the first position. In negative sentences one must put the particle “not” after the verb “to be”.

E.g. I am not to do this task now, so I am free. - Мне не нужно выполнять это задание сегодня, я свободен.

Is he to do this task now? – Ему сейчас предстоит выполнять это задание?