Irregular Verb 'To Be': Forms and Usage

• Irregular verbs don't form the past tense by adding -(e)d.
• Common irregular verbs include "be," "have," and "do."

Irregular Verb: To Be

• "To be" has different forms in both the present and past tenses.

To Be in Present Tense

• am: Used with I (first-person singular).
• is: Used with he, she, it (third-person singular).
• are: Used with we (first-person plural), you (second person singular and plural), they (third-person singular and plural).
• Examples:
  • I am a student at NYU.
  • You are 17 years old.
  • Joe Biden is the U.S. President.
  • Kamala Harris is the first female U.S. Vice President.
  • My cat is happy to sleep under the table.
  • We are in Morocco.
  • They are from Italy.

To Be in Past Tense

• was: Used with I, he, she, and it.
• were: Used with we, you, and they.
• Examples:
  • Last fall, I was in Arizona.
  • Last time I saw you, you were happy to work at Costco.
  • Zora Neale Hurston was a student at Howard University.
  • We were in New York in 2009.
  • Yesterday, John and Mary were at the market.

Irregular Verb: To Do

• The verb "to do" is an irregular verb with different forms in present and past.

To Do in Present Tense

• do: Used with I, you, we, and they.
• does: Used with he, she, and, it.
• Past Tense: Only one form exists, did.
• Examples:
  • I do some Yoga every day.
  • You do the dishes, and I will clean the floor.
  • Sandy always does her job in a timely manner.
  • Mark does his chores meticulously.
  • This foundation does a good job of concealing wrinkles.
  • Every year, we do the same play for our school.
  • They do their homework in the library.

Irregular Verb: To Have

• The verb "to have" can be an auxiliary or a main verb.

To Have in Present Tense

• have: Used with I, you, we, and they.
• has: Used with he, she, and it.
• Examples:
  • I have four siblings.
  • You have many books at your home.
  • She has three dogs.
  • Paul has a lot of friends.
  • My room has three windows.
  • We have four tickets for the game.
  • They have a garage sale.

To Have in Past Tense

• Meaning there is only one form: had, which is used with all pronouns.
• Examples:
  • I had four siblings.
  • You had many books at your home when you were ten.
  • Last year, she had three dogs.
  • Paul had a lot of friends when he lived in Mexico.
  • My room had three windows when I was living in Germany.
  • We had four tickets for the game.
  • Last weekend, they had a garage sale.

Future Tense of Irregular Verbs

• All irregular verbs share one future tense form.
• Consists of "will" + the base form of the verb.
  • Will be
  • Will do
  • Will have
• Examples:
  • I will be in my office for the next few hours.
  • You will be seventeen in 2022.
  • They will do a good job painting the house.
  • He will do his homework tomorrow.
  • We will have dinner at 7:00.
  • Next week, she will have some time off.

Explore the irregular verb 'to be' in present and past tenses. Learn its various forms such as 'am,' 'is,' 'are,' 'was,' and 'were.' See examples of proper usage with different subjects and tenses.