written by teacher Jeneen.
Let’s think about the verb “be”. It is a small, simple word, but it sure does some interesting things in English!
There is not much verb agreement in English compared to other languages (I walk, she walks), but the verb BE is active in this area (I am, you are, he is…). There is also no verb in English that needs agreement in the past except for BE (I was, you were, she was…). That is strange! BE is unique.
Another surprise is that BE can make questions and negatives by itself, without “do”, while other main verbs can’t.
Heartland is in Winnipeg. / Is Heartland in Winnipeg?
Learning English isn’t difficult.
You like grammar/ / Do you like grammar?
They don’t have class today.
What you might notice as well is that the BE verb can sometimes disappear!
This city is beautiful. (must stay)
I find this city (to be) beautiful. (can disappear)
She strikes me as (being) friendly. (can disappear)
The hotter the weather (is), the more I like it. (can disappear)
Interestingly, we can hear “this city beautiful”, with no BE, in other languages, such as Arabic, Ukrainian and American Sign Language. Dropping BE has also become a common feature in dialects of African American English.
BE is a busy verb. It acts like a main verb, it helps other verbs, it forms the passive, and it forms many phrasal verbs.
I am happy.
They are learning English.
Heartland was created in 1999.
Some phrasal verbs with BE:
· be up They were up at 7:00am this morning. (awake)
· be off She is off to the library now. (going)
· be into I am into volunteering. (like)
· be onto He tried to trick me, but I was onto him. (know)
· be up to What are you up to after school today? (doing)
This little word is one of the first verbs students learn, but it is more complicated than it seems, so it remains a part of lessons all the way to advanced classes!
We will BE waiting for you at Heartland 🙂