9 Questions
The base form of the verb 'to be' is ______.
be
The ______ participle of the verb 'to be' is been.
past
In the sentence 'I am learning English', 'am' is the ______ simple form of the verb 'to be'.
present
The ______ continuous tense of the verb 'to be' is used to describe an action in progress at a specific time.
present
The verb 'to be' in the sentence 'The lesson was being taught by the teacher' is in the ______ voice.
passive
To convert an active sentence to a passive sentence, the subject of the active sentence becomes the ______ in the passive sentence.
agent
The ______ perfect tense of the verb 'to be' is used to describe an action that started in the past and continues up to the present.
present
The sentence 'The teacher is teaching the lesson' is in the ______ voice.
active
In the passive voice, the verb 'to be' is used in the correct ______, followed by the past participle of the main verb.
tense
Study Notes
Forms of "to be"
- Base form: be
- Past simple: was (singular), were (plural)
- Past participle: been
- Present participle: being
Tenses of "to be"
-
Present simple:
- I am
- you are
- he/she/it is
- we are
- they are
-
Present continuous:
- I am being
- you are being
- he/she/it is being
- we are being
- they are being
-
Present perfect:
- I have been
- you have been
- he/she/it has been
- we have been
- they have been
-
Present perfect continuous:
- I have been being
- you have been being
- he/she/it has been being
- we have been being
- they have been being
-
Past simple:
- I was
- you were
- he/she/it was
- we were
- they were
-
Past continuous:
- I was being
- you were being
- he/she/it was being
- we were being
- they were being
-
Past perfect:
- I had been
- you had been
- he/she/it had been
- we had been
- they had been
-
Past perfect continuous:
- I had been being
- you had been being
- he/she/it had been being
- we had been being
- they had been being
Active and Passive Voice with "to be"
-
Active voice:
- The teacher is teaching the lesson. (The subject "teacher" performs the action)
-
Passive voice:
- The lesson is being taught by the teacher. (The subject "lesson" receives the action)
-
Conversion from active to passive:
- The subject of the active sentence becomes the agent in the passive sentence, usually preceded by "by"
- The verb "to be" is used in the passive voice, in the correct tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb
Forms of "to be"
- Base form of "to be" is "be"
- Past simple of "to be" is "was" (singular) and "were" (plural)
- Past participle of "to be" is "been"
- Present participle of "to be" is "being"
Tenses of "to be"
Present Tenses
- Present simple:
- First person singular (I) is "am"
- Second person singular (you) is "are"
- Third person singular (he/she/it) is "is"
- First person plural (we) is "are"
- Third person plural (they) is "are"
- Present continuous:
- Formed with "am/are/is" + "being"
- Present perfect:
- Formed with "has/have" + "been"
- Present perfect continuous:
- Formed with "has/have" + "been being"
Past Tenses
- Past simple:
- First person singular (I) was "was"
- Second person singular (you) was "were"
- Third person singular (he/she/it) was "was"
- First person plural (we) was "were"
- Third person plural (they) was "were"
- Past continuous:
- Formed with "was/were" + "being"
- Past perfect:
- Formed with "had" + "been"
- Past perfect continuous:
- Formed with "had" + "been being"
Active and Passive Voice with "to be"
- Active voice:
- Subject performs the action (e.g. The teacher is teaching the lesson)
- Passive voice:
- Subject receives the action (e.g. The lesson is being taught by the teacher)
- Conversion from active to passive:
- Subject of active sentence becomes the agent in passive sentence, preceded by "by"
- Verb "to be" is used in passive voice, in correct tense, followed by past participle of main verb
Learn about the different forms and tenses of the verb 'to be' in English grammar, including base form, past simple, past participle, and present participle.
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